The older girls vaulting class in South Bend have steadily been improving their skills and working on new challenges. A few weeks ago they started working on standing at the trot using a strap to help them with balance. Yesterday they attempted (and succeeded!) standing at the trot without the strap or other extra supports in place. We are continuously amazed and proud of how far they have come and the skills they continue to build! Sully has also continued to grow as a vaulting partner and got extra gold stars last night. 🤸♀️❤️🐴
#equineassistedservices #reinsoflife #interactivevaulting #sully #skilldevelopment #achievementunlocked #equinepartner
Yesterday was the start of our summer session, which means that it was our newest horse, Tonka's, first time working with a student. We think that it's safe to say that fun was had by all and a new friendship was made.
Thanks to the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation for funding the purchase of Tonka for our program! We look forward to partnering with him for years in a variety of programs!
#reinsoflife #equineassistedservices #therapeuticdriving #tonkatruck #belgianhorse
At Reins of Life our goal is always to empower our participants to reach their greatest potential. To enable this, we consider many different factors including which program is the best option for them, which horse or pony will be the best fit, which volunteers will help them excel, and what equipment will give them the most independence. In addition to those key elements, we use other equipment or make adaptations to assist our students.
Here is a great example of using adaptive* equipment to empower one of our students to be more independent. Due to the tracheostomy that helps her breathe this student is unable to speak. Check out the new buttons that she is able to use to tell her volunteers when to take the lead rope off of her pony, and also to tell her pony to "walk on."
*According to Merriam-Webster:
Definition of adaptive
a: designed or intended to assist disabled persons: assistive adaptive devices
b: engaged in by disabled persons with the aid of equipment or techniques adapted for a disability adaptive skiing
c: participating in a sport with the aid of equipment or techniques adapted for disability an adaptive skier
Reins of Life hosted an educational driving clinic in conjunction with the Carriage and Sleigh Association of Northern Indiana and Sandy Green today.
Two of the Reins staff members, two of our volunteers, two of our students and six ROL horses were able to participate lessons along with horse owners from our area.
#reinsoflife #therapeuticdriving #drivingteam #carriagedriving #carriageandsleighassociationofnorthernindiana #continuingeducation
The older vaulting class in South Bend has been working on creating a freestyle routine. They decided on a theme as a group and worked together to decide on, and create, the moves in the routine. We are so proud of all of their hard work!!!
#reinsoflife #equineassistedservices #interactivevaulting #teamwork
Did you know that Reins of Life now has the largest therapeutic driving program in the country? As this discipline continues to grow and expand at ROL so does the opportunity for views like these. Come on board in the driver's seat with Bunny, Fancy Fay (x2), and S'more and see what today's four therapeutic driving students got to experience during their lessons.
#reinsoflife #therapeuticdriving #equineassistedservices #haflinger #pony #bunny #fancyfay #smore #outdooradventures
We have a great update regarding our pony S'more!
For those who might not remember, he coliced and underwent emergency surgery at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine & Veterinary Hospital on September 11th. He has been involved in a long and fairly strict recovery but hit another major milestone today! He did his first driving lesson with one of our students!
Thanks to all of those who have helped us provide care to him during his ongoing recovery as well as the many individuals who donated to help cover the significant cost of his surgery and medical care.
We are so glad to have him back in action helping fulfill our mission of improving the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities!
#smore #reinsoflife #recovery #pony #therapeuticdriving #backinaction #colicsurgerysurvivor
March is National Reading Month! To celebrate we thought that we would share a sweet video of one of our school groups reading a book about a real life horse, known as Justin Morgan, to Princess.
Several Special Education Classes from La Porte Community Schools come to our barn once a month. Each month they practice their reading skills by sharing a different horse themed book with one of our horses or ponies. They then reinforce what they learned in the book by participating in connecting activities in the arena through Interactive Vaulting or Therapeutic Riding.
We think it's pretty evident what Princess's favorite part of this program is! 🐴📖♥️
One of the volunteers got some videos when the driving team was out a couple of weeks ago and managed to catch the stunning sunset
Enjoy!
#nofilter #reinsoflife #drivingteam #therapeuticdriving #smore #sawyer #pony #norwegianfjordhorse #sunset #beautiful
Volunteers needed!
Do you want to have a meaningful impact on an individual's life and join a great community? If so, please consider joining the Reins of Life family as a volunteer!
In 2023 Reins of Life served a record number of participants, with over 45,000 hours of assistance from our amazing team of volunteers!
As our programs continue to grow we also need to add more members to our volunteer team!
Volunteers can help us in MANY different ways but right now we are short and really need your help in two main areas:
Lesson Volunteers - this is a weekly commitment of about 2 hours each week. Lesson volunteers should be at least 13 years old, but no experience is required! We will provide training and pair you with an experienced volunteer while you are learning.
Feeder volunteers - This is also a once weekly commitment of about two hours. Feeder volunteers should be at least 16 years old and able to be outside in the elements. Again, no horse experience is necessary. We will provide training and you will be working with a team at each of your feeding shifts.
We have current openings for both positions at both our Michigan City and South Bend facilities!
If you think that you might be able to commit to helping in just one lesson or feeding shift each week please call us to talk with a team member and learn more!
South Bend: 574-232-0853
Michigan City:219-874-7519
If you are already part of the Reins family please share this post to spread the word and talk to your friends and family about volunteering at Reins!
We can't wait to see you at the barn! ♥️🐴♥️
We hope that all of our friends are staying warm and safe in this winter weather. We thought that we would share a quick video from the barn tonight. All of the horses are all cozy and warm in the barn tonight. Many thanks to the wonderful volunteers who came out in the wintery weather to help make sure that the horses were cared for. We, and the horses, appreciate you!
#snugasabug #winter #ourvolunteersrock #dedication #thankyou #reinsoflife
