At The Right Step, 'Empowering' Horses Supply Physical, Emotional Gifts
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - When Teri Izquierdo climbs aboard Snoopy, life's challenges melt away.
"On a horse, I'm just like everyone else," she says.
Izquierdo, who has cerebral palsy, says the therapeutic horse riding program she participates in at The Right Step helps her boost her physical wellbeing; but it also furnishes a mental and emotional health that's less tangible.
The Right Step therapeutic riding program treats patients with a range of physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive disabilities.
Located on South Santa Fe north of C-470, the organization offers rides on 14 horses to those in need of equine therapy.
Each week, lessons strengthen and stretch Izquierdo's muscles, and while the physical rewards are clear, the emotional support Snoopy and The Right Step provide reaches deeper.
"Connections with horses are unbreakable," she says. "There's no way to describe it but to create one yourself."
The Right Step's executive director says it's evident the organization's horses change lives.
"Horses are empowering," Christine Remy says. "You can imagine some of our clients don't have a lot power in their lives. But you get up on a horse, a 1,000-pound animal, and you're telling that animal what to do."
The organization says that research proves therapy with horses benefits a patient's health and outlook partly because the gentle and rhythmic motion of a horse improves flexibility, balance and muscle strength.
But The Right Step can't thrive without support from the public, donation campaigns and scholarship programs. Through the end of the year, the "Step Up For The Right Step" campaign is accepting donations. Since Nov. 1, it's brought in $1,345. The Right Step also partners with the Wounded Warrior Project to provide therapy to veterans.
LINK: The Right Step
For Izquierdo, 28, therapy means freedom.
"I can go anywhere else," she says. "I can do anything else. It's just an expression of freedom and just the feeling of connection with the horse, just like anybody else riding."
She's been riding since she was 4, and has been taking lessons at The Right Step for years.
It's clear she adores Snoopy, who likes having his ears rubbed, his profile says.
"We have the same kind of attitude," she says. "He can get rambunctious at times, which is fun. And he has his slow days as well. That's OK -- love him anyway. He's pretty awesome."
More 12 Days Of Christmas Stories
