The Wilmington College Equine Center hosted a Therapeutic Horse Camp for 30 local students through a collaboration of the Occupational Therapy program and the Equine Studies program, and funding through the Clinton County Foundation. Mark and Joey Bush presented grant funding to underwrite all camp expenses for the week, through their Bush Fund for Local Colleges. Wilmington College President Corey Cockerill was on hand to accept the donation on behalf of the college, and get acquainted with the campers and program.
Javonne Mullins of the Equine Studies program and Erin Bales of the Occupational Therapy program described their weeklong program, which serves 5-8 year olds in the morning, elementary students midday, and teens in the afternoon. Wilmington College students are paired with campers for one-on-one attention. In addition to crafts and games, all campers have time on horseback in the arena to work on communication skills and physical skills to nurture their development.
“Our non-verbal campers have a colored felt system next to the saddle horns when on horseback for communication. When our horse guides stop the horse, the camper must then tap the felt color to restart movement – green to go, red to stop – in an effort to introduce and reinforce communication methods”, explained OT Erin Bales.
At the same time, college students get direct feedback on their therapy styles and skills outside of a clinical setting.
Setting Up a Fund
If you would like to set up a fund like the Bush family to support community programs such as this and more, visit our page on setting up a charitable fund here.
