'I haven’t seen him that happy in a long time' says Mum of child with autism after riding sessions

The Einstein Centre is a specialist centre for children on the Autistic Spectrum on the Isle of Wight and the children have been visiting, riding, grooming and bonding with our horses and ponies over the last few months, with subsidised donations from Wight Horse CIC.

The group have grown in confidence, most were understandably nervous about meeting and riding the horses but over the weeks, their achievements have been growing.

Sharing a wonderful bond
Roo Hirons who has always wanted to horse ride has met and fallen in love with Colin the Cob – both share blue eyes and a wonderful bond.

Roo understands that he has to calm down when he visits the horses as they can get frightened and even though he finds this very hard, his behaviour and manners have calmed when he works with the horses.

“Haven’t seen him that happy in a long time”
His mum, Helen says,

“He was so excited and exhilarated when he came home from his first session and I haven’t seen him that happy in a long time.”

Made new friends with hoses and people
Roo is now riding regularly and his confidence and calmness with the horses has grown, Roo adds,

“My biggest achievement is that I’ve made friends – with horses and people.”

His mum has also seen his outlook change,

“Before coming here, Roo’s safe place was home, but now he’s happy to come here not once but twice on some days and he even tells me to leave early to get there on time!”

Building confidence
Another Einstein student, Izzy was extremely anxious about coming somewhere new, the first few sessions saw her very quiet and worried but as the weeks have gone on and she’s spent more time in the saddle and interacting with the horses, she’s become a lot more confident.

Working with horses provides a focus and a safe space where individuals can learn and grow and seeing achievements, no matter how large or small is always special.

Watch Roo and Izzy riding at the Einstein Centre …