12/02/2025
It’s Giving Tuesday! Please read Grant’s story below:
“And Wonders of His Love”
Have you ever paused to think about all of the wonders of His love in your life after singing Issac Watts’ Christmas hymn “Joy to the World?” Oxford dictionary defines wonder as a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. Parenting is a journey filled with wonders no matter the abilities of the child.
Our son Grant turned seven-years-old this year. His birth has been accompanied by a long story filled with wonders, but that story is for another day. He was born at only twenty-six weeks and spent one-hundred thirty-five days in the NICU. The day of his birth, we looked at each other and said, “No matter his story, we will look to Him for guidance.” We did not know that making that promise would give us a life filled with joy and surprise that has been mingled with beauty and admiration.
We moved from Rome, Georgia, to Easley when Grant was two-years-old. When we were preparing for this transition, Grant’s physical therapist stressed the importance of finding equine therapy for him. We did not know what that meant, but knew we wanted to give him every opportunity for success. Grant has dyskinetic cerebral palsy. He is an intelligent young man whose brain doesn’t know how to tell his muscles to move. This affects all muscles from top to bottom: head control, speech, eating, sitting, hand control, standing, and walking.
The first barn we attended taught us the wonders of equine therapy. Studies have shown it benefits a multitude of areas. The easy to see include physical and motor benefits. These include posture and core strength as well as enhancing balance, coordination, and joint mobility. The less easy to see areas include neurological and cognitive benefits, speech and communication, and psychosocial/emotional benefits. People involved in equine therapy have improved sensory integration and enhanced cognitive function. It can strengthen orofacial muscles that impact eating and speech. The most common benefits are improved mood and self-esteem boost.
We joined the Happy Hooves program at Eden Farms about a year ago. This has been the fastest Grant has improved with any therapy. He started as a timid boy who had to lay on sweet Twiggy the entire ride but quickly transitioned to a child that squeals with excitement coming to the barn, and he sits tall with his head held up with maximum support from the volunteers working with him. This has been a true wonder.
We know there are so many great wonders for you to support this season and for that we are thankful. We ask that you support this program so other people in the disability community have the opportunity to experience the wonder of therapy with a horse. The team here at Happy Hooves is so amazing for giving this gift to so many. Thank you all so much for being part of this story!
Love,
Samantha & Grant Hollis (Grant’s parents)
To make a donation to Happy Hooves, please visit: https://www.happyhoovessc.com/how-to-help.html
