Therapeutic Riding

The last class period we met at Horse Sense La Crosse to learn a little more about therapeutic horseback riding. Therapeutic riding uses horse oriented activities to help the riders gain better cognitive skills as well as a better physical, emotional and social well being. Some areas of focus for the riders are to increase posture, balance, strength and coordination. Physical benefits of riding consist of muscle tone and strength, increase range of motion and improve flexibility. Psychological benefits consist of promoting self confidence, self esteem, control over actions and learning new skills. The idea of therapeutic riding seems very fun and beneficial but can be intimidating to some due to the size of the big horses. The Horse Sense program is well designed with a beautiful barn and arena, however when we went we were unable to see the horses which was very disappointing and may have helped to better understand the program and how the clients may interact with the horse. On the internet I came across a wonderful website that also relates to therapeutic riding called Miracles in Motion. This is a great web page and one of the best I found. I suggest checking it out. http://www.mimnh.org/

Body paint art

In class we decided to switch it up by showing our creative side by painting on our hands. Some images included a pumpkin, ghost, skeleton, and animals. My group decided to do an outdoor theme which consisted of a tree, butterfly, sun and me the beautiful tulip. While doing this activity you can possibly express your emotions by painting them on yourself or paint what you feel like. Also we were met by the president of the nasa association which is an organization that helps the elderly and physically challenged by providing outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, biking and golf. I really enjoyed what this program has to offer and plan someday to volunteer. Cant wait to see what we're doing come this Thursday.

Tape art

In class we did this little activity called tape art which consisted of using packaging tape to create everyday items. First we checked out the YouTube clip and website of Mark Jenkins  http://twistedsifter.com/2009/10/art-with-packaging-tape-mark-jenkins/ who specializes in tape art. It is amazing to see all the wonderful things he has made. Then in class we made some art ourselves. Our group pretended like we were facilitating a group in the corrections setting. We made a tape cast of 5 arms making the peace sign and when we taped the fingers together it made a star. We decided to put colored paper in the fingers to make it stand out more. We related this to many different cultures and backgrounds uniting as one so we can all become "stars" We learned however that many limitations can be made with this activity for a corrections population. Tape, scissors and saran wrap can all be dangerous items that need to be monitored heavily. All in all it was a very fun and innovative day.