On a recent afternoon, five people tended to Noble, a 27-year-old, large gray Percheron cross horse, in the barn at Rising Tide Therapeutic Equestrian Center in West Tisbury. While 10 hands weren\u2019t necessary to prepare Noble for an upcoming riding lesson, his pull drew everyone in the barn.<\/p>\n
Volunteer Ashley Loehn brushed his coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get the benefit of the connection while you\u2019re doing it,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t take your hands off of them once you\u2019ve started, you know, and that\u2019s their magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rising Tide\u2019s mission is rooted in the idea that everyone can benefit from this ineffable connection between humans and horses. In keeping with this belief, the center recently expanded their programming.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2007 by Vicky Thurber as a therapeutic barn, Rising Tide\u2019s operations previously catered primarily to riders with disabilities. Now they have a wide variety of offerings for riders of all experience levels and abilities.<\/p>\n
Hot to Trot is a recent addition for riders aged 55 and over. A Hatha yoga program will incorporate horses in both mounted and un-mounted poses. Trail rides and private and semi-private lessons are available to all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just for people who need special solutions in their lives . . . it\u2019s for everyone, and our horses are able to give to everyone, which is what makes them remarkable,\u201d said program director Linda Wanamaker.<\/p>\n
Ms. Wanamaker is certified as a therapeutic riding instructor. She said horses have the ability to mirror the energy of those around them. To approach and interact with horses, riders have to settle themselves first. \u201cSo it helps you to center yourself, to calm yourself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lucy Menton said Rising Tide is a unique light in her son John\u2019s life. John is 34 and has schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe shuffled around to different group homes and day programs and never really fit in,\u201d Ms. Menton said. She found Rising Tide in 2015 and John got involved shortly after. He volunteers twice a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 34 years he\u2019s had nothing. But this program, just him going a couple days a week and volunteering with these gentle horses . . . has totally changed his life,\u201d Ms. Menton said.<\/p>\n
Frances Pizzella feels similarly. Ms. Pizzella started volunteering at Rising Tide in January 2016 because she rode horses as a child and wanted to reintroduce them to her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go out there, I\u2019m scooping poop, it\u2019s happy, I\u2019m happy to do it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In August, she began taking riding lessons with Ms. Wanamaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to feel what the riders were feeling, just like a sense of accomplishment, and really just becoming close to the animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She added that riding and volunteering at Rising Tide helped with her winter blues. \u201cIn riding them, they\u2019re protecting and helping you out. I just started feeling such a sense of trust with the animals, and I just wanted to be over there more and more, helping with the animals.\u201d It\u2019s hard to explain, she added, but the animals have a calming, non-judgmental presence that she finds incredibly relaxing.<\/p>\n
Staff and volunteers at Rising Tide have countless stories about the healing powers of the five equines in their stables: a nonverbal autistic child spoke her first words on horseback, riding helped a grieving woman through her loss.<\/p>\n