HSU horses help special-needs children find freedom

ABILENE—About 70 children with special needs discovered an unfamiliar sense of liberation on horseback, thanks to volunteers from Hardin-Simmons University and the school's Six White Horses.

"Not all of these children can move well on their own, but put them on the back of a horse, and they are free," said Bob Brooks, dean of the Hardin-Simmons University School of Music and Fine Arts.

Bob Brooks, dean of the Hardin-Simmons University School of Music and Fine Arts, leads Powder, one of the HSU White Horses, who offers a ride to a Camp Rehab participant. (PHOTO/Hardin-Simmons University)

Brooks joined several volunteers from HSU, recruited by Debbie Jones, director of the university's Six White Horses, to help lead the horses for children attending the West Texas Rehabilitation Center's Camp Rehab program at Buffalo Gap.

Jones, with a little help from the horses' riders, volunteers and several sets of stairs, helps children up on the backs of the horses, giving rides to about 15,000 children every year. The horses travel to elementary schools throughout the Abilene area during the school year.

In the summer, Jones fulfills hundreds of requests for rides at children's camps, as well as performances at rodeos, appearances in parades and participation in military activities.

Some of his colleagues who know Brooks' background at the Juilliard School of Music might be surprised by his skills as a horse wrangler, but he noted his cowboy roots run deep.

"I grew up chasing cattle and horses on our family's ranch in Northeast Texas," Brooks said. "I used to go down to Columbus Circle in New York, where the horses line up to pull the carriages, and just stand there, breathing in the air and say 'home.'

"Horses are very therapeutic. Many studies in equine therapy show that riding is beneficial to children and adults with a range of physical and psychological conditions. Working with horses can provide more than just some riding skills. People can learn companionship, responsibility, confidence and leadership."

Carol Lester, an audiologist for the West Texas Rehab Center, agreed.

"Getting to ride these big animals earns the children both confidence and independence. Big animals can be intimidating, but the kids are learning to take it all in stride," she said. "It's a wonderful experience for all of us."

The Six White Horses stay busy year around, and summers often are the busiest season, Jones noted.

"The horses are ambassadors, and there is always more work to do, because there is nothing like the face of child riding high in the saddle," she said. "A ride on a horse is a memory they may recall many times in life."