Equinoterapia- June 29th

Today was my first day at my field placement, Equinoterapia. Yamila and I conquered the bus system and made it on time. When we arrived we got to work right away. We watched how to clean the horses and put on the saddles. I have been around mules and horses before but being so close to such a large animal that early in the morning was a little frightening. I was a little worried about the communication and being given instructions in Spanish but my site partner Yamila was very helpful and so was everyone there.
Carolina is the owner of Equinoterapia. She started it and runs it by herself and with the help of some other workers, they are not aided by the government at all. She is retired and had previously been a physical therapist within the Mexican health care system. She is extremely well educated and knows a lot. The facility is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. She told us that Saturdays are their busiest because children are not in school. It was a very busy day. Children were constantly coming in and out, maybe there was 20 mins at one point when there were no children. Carolina explained to us some about the children, how equine therapy works, and how she runs the business. Children with all different physical and mental disabilities come to get therapy. Some children have conditions such as autism, down syndrome, muscular developmental disorders, and other conditions from the result of being born prematurely. Using a horse for physical therapy is a very innovative technique. Horses have an internal body temperature of a little over 100 degrees F. When a child sits on the horse the heat relaxes the child's muscles. The way that a horse walks and moves it's legs is the same exact motion of a human walking. At Equinoterapia the child gets lower body therapy from the horse and upper body therapy from whoever else is sitting up on the horse. If the child is not able to walk, when the horse walks those exact muscles move and are stimulated on the child as if they were walking. I had never known how equine therapy works before Equinoterapia but was very amazed when I found out all of the details.
Equine therapy would normally be very expensive. Carolina recognizes that most people within the area would not be able to pay for the therapy. People either pay a relatively cheap price or pay her in another form. If people are not able to pay she tells them to bring her plastic recyclables as their payment. She then is able to turn around and cash these recyclables in and get money.

The recyclables she collects in one of the empty pools.

I absolutely love this idea. Not only is she still able to make money for the facility but she is also helping to clean up Oaxaca and recycle (the amount of garbage you can see everywhere is frightening). Sadly a few months before we arrived the facility was robbed. Someone broke into the house and stole her computer, all of the money, and several other valuables. Right now they are a little down and are not able to have all the events they normally do, such as a parade into the town center with all of the horses and patients which they use to do every year and also attending different conferences. But Carolina is a very strong woman and it does not stop her, she still puts her patients first and does everything she can for them with what she has. It is very easy to tell that she is super passionate about what she is doing.
Our first day there was packed. We meet two other men who work there to take care of and train the horses. Yamila and I helped to walk the horses around while the children were getting therapy. We also got the chance to ride the horses a little bit when there was down time. Two other local girls were there volunteering as well. I worked with Karen a lot that day, a 20 year old from Oaxaca who is going to school to study physical therapy and volunteering at Equinoterapia. She gave the children therapy while I lead the horse around. It was great to get to interact with someone my age and practice my Spanish. It felt very comfortable to practice my Spanish with someone my own age and she was also trying to practice her English so it worked perfectly. It was a great first day. I love that fact that I get to work outside with animals and children, 3 things that I love!