Volunteering at Miracles Sudan riding center.

A Volunteer’s Comments on Miracles Sudan horse riding center.

My name is Pauline, I’m from the UK and I am a relatively new volunteer at Miracles Sudan horse riding school, helping Jane-Anne whenever or wherever I can.Have you ever heard of hippotherapy? Well I hadn’t, until recently. I thought of horseback riding as nothing more than riding a horse for pure enjoyment and to relax and get some exercise. I never even considered that riding a horse could be something that would help children by using the horse's movement to enhance physical, mental and emotional development. In a personal sense, it means a wonderful new world has been opened up to me and also for those lovely children. In an academic sense, it describes a therapy session that uses a horse as a tool.When I first heard of Miracles Sudan, I was a bit apprehensive about volunteering, as what did I know about hippotherapy or working with disabled or orphaned children, and how could this simple act of riding a horse help these children? In the months I have been helping Jane-Anne at Miracles Sudan riding center, I would begin to discover just how little I knew and just how much riding a horse can benefit these wonderful children. And my first lesson was learning the term of "hippotherapy", which means treatment with the help of the horse.