In a report by News 14 Carolina, tiny Colfax, North Carolina (located about halfway between Winston-Salem and Greensboro) is home to a special program that pairs horses with people who have suffered brain injury.
The non-profit Horsepower Therapeutic Learning Center calls on different aspects of horsemanship to develop athleticism, memory, balance, and speech among people who lost some of that function.
“There’s three different stations,” said Jan Clifford, executive director and founder of Horsepower, Inc. “They’re working on the farrier, who provides the footwear for the horses. They have a riding segment where they actually ride the horses and work on balance and speech. Then they have a section where they go in and work on memory and recall, working on different things that horses and equestrian activities do.” (from the News14 story)
The news piece tells the story of Brandy Gilliam who was hit by a car 11 years ago. She spent 3 months in a coma, and another year in the hospital. She has participated in the Horsepower program for three years, and has experienced significant improvements in her posture, walking, and speaking abilities.
This amazing program provides help to more than 250 people every year. There is no cost to the participants, thanks to a grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation.
To read or watch the full news story, click here: News14 Carolina.
To read more about Horsepower, visit their website here: www.horsepower.org
For more information about the Winston-Salem Foundation, click here: Winston-Salem Foundation
And if you have legal questions about traumatic brain injury, visit our website here: HensonFuerst Law (www.lawmed.com)