The therapeutic value of horse riding for people with disabilities was well known to the Greeks as early as the 5th Century B.C.
Historians quote Hippocrates as saying, "Riding in clean air strengthens body muscles and keeps them in good form".
In 1952, Danish Liz Hartel won the silver medal for Dressage in the Helsinki Olympic Games while suffering from partial paralysis of both her lower limbs, caused by Polyomelitis; thus becoming the inspiration for the establishment of the first therapeutic riding centers in the U.K. and Scandinavia.
In 1983 therapeutic riding came to Greece thanks to the initiative and work of Aideen Lewis. The Therapeutic Riding Association of Greece (TRAG) was established in 1992, as a non-profit, volunteers' organization with a solid social goal; one year later, TRAG was also recognized as a sports organization.
Therapeutic riding is an rehabilitation programme, where the horse is the therapeutic medium; it improves the overall health and quality of life of people with physical, mental, or emotive disorders or handicaps.
The horse becomes an extension of their own body; it helps them venture into new experiences and discover unprecedented feelings: the pleasure of a ride or the thrill of a walk in the countryside, or, mainly, that precious sense of movement and personal independence.
The walk of a horse is similar to the human gait; therefore, it transmits to the rider's body that same movement which legs produce in people with no disabilities.
In this way, the torso muscles of people with mobility problems are strengthened significantly; at the same time, sitting in that particular upright posture promotes good respiration.
Therapeutic riding is a unique experience for people with handicaps, who never thought that they could ride; it differs from traditional treatments of gyms, physical therapy, and hydrotherapy.
More: Therapeutic Riding Association of Greece: Goudi, Athens
