Wonders in the saddle: Therapist finds hope with kids on horseback

DETROIT — As a commercial mortgage lender, Jessica Moore went to work every day wearing suits and skirts, and sat in a cubicle, dreaming of something more.

Every day she made 20 to 25 cold calls, talking, she says, "to people who didn't really want to talk to me."

It was decent, dependable, predictable — 9 to 5, no weekends, solid benefits.

Then, about 2 <0x00BD> years ago, Moore, 28, of Holly, Mich., quit to become a horse rehabilitation therapist. It combined her two loves: helping kids and riding horses.

Now, she is the program director at Banbury Cross Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Oxford, Mich. She works days, nights, weekends — wearing blue jeans and boots — sometimes 60 hours a week.

But she loves it.

Because she is working with kids.

Because she is working with horses.

And she's making a difference. She can see children improve in amazing ways by spending time on horseback.

"I'm never going to be a millionaire doing it," Moore says. "But I'm always happy to be at work."

Emotional Connection

More than 42,000 people participate in therapeutic horseback riding every year at about 800 facilities accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, or NARHA. They seek treatment for conditions that include autism, traumatic brain injuries and cerebral palsy.

Proponents say the movement of the horse mimics the movement of the human body, stimulating different muscles and areas of the brain while creating an emotional connection between the rider and the horse.

Moore, who became a certified instructor in 2007, works with 90 people ranging from age 3 to 70 and older with various health conditions every week.

"We have everything from learning disabilities to autism to Down syndrome to traumatic brain injuries to stroke victims and multiple sclerosis," she says.

She has seen amazing success stories.

"I've had a small handful of riders say their first words on a horse, which is very neat," she says.

One, a 6-year-old autistic boy, said "Go" on horseback after six months of therapy.

"He is still riding with me, and he talks like crazy now," Moore says.