Help on Hooves

02/23/2026

⭐️Check it out! It’s scientifically proven that our friends on the spectrum make greater progress if their occupational therapy includes horses! 🐴

Research matters because one well-designed study can change practice, improve welfare, and transform lives. Funding research fuels that ripple effect.

02/18/2026

⭐️Ever notice a kiddo who slouches at the table, gets tired quickly, or struggles to stay steady while moving?

Strong core muscles and body control play a big role in helping kids sit up tall, move safely, and keep up during everyday activities like eating, playing, and completing schoolwork. 🍽️🛝📚

🐴In hippotherapy, the horse’s gentle movement makes working on these skills fun and natural. You might see a rider practicing things like starting and stopping the horse or weaving between poles, all while learning how to adjust their body as the movement changes. 🤩

🤲Playing “Simon Says” is also a fun way to challenge balance! When kids lift their hands to play, their core has to step up and do the work — helping build stronger posture and better body control without relying on holding on. ✨

These fun activities help build strength, balance, and body awareness that carry over into daily routines for both at home and in the classroom. 🎒💪📓

02/14/2026

Ellie says, post session pets are her favorite 💕🐴

02/12/2026

🐴 Ellie says she’s a fine motor promoter!

Today’s session was all about building strong hands and strong bodies — and Ellie was the perfect partner. 💪🏻

💙While sitting tall, this kiddo reached to grasp clothespins and clip them onto paper horses.

That big reach? It’s not just cute — it’s core work! Reaching outside the base of support challenges balance, activates trunk muscles, and helps build the postural stability kids need for everyday tasks. 🖍️

👏🏻Holding the paper steady with one hand while manipulating the clothespin with the other = bilateral coordination! Both sides of the body working together with purpose!

👕And let’s not forget the squeeze! Opening and closing those clothespins strengthens grasp, finger muscles, and hand endurance — all important for skills like handwriting, dressing, and self-care.

Strong core + coordinated hands + powerful fingers = therapy magic ✨

Way to go — and thank you, Ellie, for always helping us meet our goals! 🐎💕

02/07/2026

✨ Ellie wanted to join the trend! ✨

Meet Ellie, our favorite four-legged friend who loves making new friends 🩵 From first hellos to big smiles, she’s always ready to cheer kids on as they work toward their therapy goals—one playful moment at a time. 🧩✂️🎯

Helping kids grow, gain confidence, and reach goals is kind of her thing 💕🐴

02/07/2026

✨Looking for a skilled, compassionate in-home speech therapist? Marissa is here to bring personalized speech therapy right to your doorstep! 🏡

📞Contact Budding Communication Therapy to schedule a session and watch your child’s communication skills blossom! 🌼

📚Reading to children provides SO many benefits! 📚

📘Language: New vocabulary, varied sentence structure, grammatical markers

📘Cognitive: Critical thinking, imagination, problem-solving

📘Social-emotional: Create empathy, perspective-taking

🤓Establish a lifelong love of reading!

02/06/2026

🐴Tall kneeling and quadruped on a horse?! Yep — you got it!

🔥Check out this guy absolutely crushing his OT session today!

🙌🏻Tall kneeling targets core strength and postural control, supporting the stability needed for upright sitting and functional movement. 💪🏻

🤲Quadruped and upper-extremity weight bearing build shoulder girdle stability — an essential foundation for fine motor skills like grasping, writing, and bilateral coordination. ✏️

✨ Progress spotlight: This kiddo has shown incredible gains in endurance and tolerance for movement on the horse — starting with 30-minutes and, in just 4 sessions, working up to a full 45 minutes with noticeably less fatigue! 🎉

✔️ More eye contact and smiles 😄👀
✔️ More babbling and new sounds 🗣️🎶
✔️ Increased engagement and functional play 🧩🎈

We are SO proud of you, buddy!! 💙👏🌟

02/05/2026

🧩Fine Motor Fun with a Twist! 🧩

⬆️Level up your puzzle play with this visual perceptual + fine motor activity!

Wrap pipe cleaners around the puzzle pieces and have your kiddos rescue the animals before returning them to their homes 🐶🦁🏠

Puzzles are fantastic for strengthening visual perceptual skills, and adding pipe cleaners gives this classic activity a playful challenge!

This twist encourages:�✋ Fine motor strength & dexterity�🧠 Problem-solving skills�🤝 Bilateral hand use & coordination

💡 No pipe cleaners? No problem! Hair bands or small rubber bands work just as well for an easy at-home swap 🙌

Simple setup, big skill-building benefits—plus tons of fun! 🎉

01/30/2026

✨ Meet Ms. Savannah! ✨

If you’ve been around Help on Hooves recently, you may have already met this friendly face! We are SO excited to welcome Ms. Savannah to our team and can’t wait for you to get to know her a little better!

Hi everyone! My name is Savannah Sumrall, and I’m a doctoral occupational therapy student from the University of South Alabama. I am currently completing my doctoral capstone experience here at Help on Hooves.🐴🩵

My capstone project is focused on hippotherapy-based occupational therapy interventions that support school-related skills and how those skills carry over into a child’s daily life. 📚🧸🛝

During sessions, my goal is to intentionally use the movement of the horse to work on skills children need for school, such as:
✨ Sitting upright and maintaining posture
🤝 Using both hands together in an activity
👂 Following directions and improving attention
✏️ Fine motor and visual-motor skills
💛 Emotional and sensory regulation

The goal is to help children practice these skills in a meaningful and motivating environment so they can better participate in classroom activities, daily routines, play, and social interactions.✂️🖌️📓

I’m so excited to be part of the Help on Hooves team and to support our clients and families through purposeful, evidence-based therapy that connects movement, learning, and real-life skills.🌟

09/09/2025

🐴 A horse’s body temperature is about 1-5 degrees warmer than that of a human, primarily in the neck/mane and quarters.

🌡️This extra warmth can promote an overall sense of relaxation, aid in stretching muscles, increase the riders plasticity, and reduce spasticity.

💪🏻Not all activities are appropriate for every client, but, lying on the back of a horse during therapy may be particularly effective for children diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy or hyperactivity!