Cody- Riding on Angels Wings- Day Five

Day 5 was cut short because there was inclement weather that was predicted for our path back home. We still went up to the farm to help out with one hour of class. A normal day has three different hour long classes with three or four riders at a time. For this last day we went up to just help with the first of these, and to say goodbye to everyone at ROAW. We worked in the office a little before the kids came, and we set up and watered the arena once again just like on day 4. There is a new set of riders for each day that we were there. The kids come one day a week, so we saw a different group each time. Spending times with these kids were by far the best part about this trip. This allowed us to see firsthand the help that we were giving. These kids were so happy to be coming out and spending time with these horses. I'm sure it seems like to the kids that this was for just entertainment, but horse therapy is so much more than that. These kids are receiving many physical benefits, but there are also self-esteem, mental, and other personal gains being made as a result of horse therapy. The whole reason we went on this trip was for the kids, so to be able to help them out and to see the joy that horse therapy brought them was really amazing. Side walking was very painful in the shoulders, and mucking was very hard work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat to be able to see those kids again, and to help them improve thanks to the horse therapy system and more specifically the organization of ROAW. As a pre-med student this trip opened my eyes to different means of treatment for developmental disorders. I had so much fun on this trip, and I hope the kids that I had the privilege that I met got half out of it as I did.