At ManeGait Equine Therapy in McKinney, a unique program called “Gaitway to the Brain” is changing lives. Before riding, participants build new brain pathways through targeted therapy—helping them gain confidence and skills that carry far beyond the barn.
GaitWay to the Brain, a first-of-its-kind program developed at ManeGait, has been shared in seven states and four countries.
When 20-year-old Zosh Shearer steps onto the property at , he’s in his happy place.
Watch 온라인카지노사이트 5 free wherever you are
“It makes me happy,” Shearer said. “All the time!”
Shearer started going to ManeGait for equine therapy, but before he slides into the saddle, he goes through a first-of-its-kind therapy to get his brain ready to learn.
Get top local stories delivered to you every morning with 온라인카지노사이트 DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
"You ready? Three, two, one," speech-language pathologist Robin Harwell asked Shearer as she spun him in circles on a swing. "How you doing?"
Harwell stopped the spin after 10 turns, then applied pressure with her hands on his head. She grabbed an object and moved it in front of Shearer, asking him to alternate focus from it to her.
It’s one in a series of activities that includes drumming rhythms and bouncing balls—part of a therapy program Harwell developed called GaitWay to the Brain.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"We do activities that literally go and lay down new wiring in the brain, new neuropathways, that allow and support learning and function," Harwell said. "They called it 'Robin's Voodoo,'" Harwell said, laughing.
"It's not voodoo," Associate Professor of Kinesiology Rhett Rigby said. "There's a lot more to it!"
Rigby , published in a peer-reviewed journal, to document the effectiveness of GaitWay to the Brain and ManeGait’s equine therapy program. He said participants showed measurable improvement in understanding, calmness, speech and social skills.
“Zosh has had a remarkable improvement from what I’ve seen in his competence and his ability to communicate, his ability to process the environment around him,” Rigby said. “And that goes to show they must be doing something right here.”
"It has made me grow up," Shearer said. "To be a better rider."
“To see how he’s grown over the years, and his confidence, and what he can do,” Zosh’s mom, Margo Shearer, said, wiping a tear. “It’s incredible!”
“It brings me tears of joy, because it’s really emotional, you know,” Zosh Shearer said. “It has changed my life, um, like a lot!”
ManeGait has shared its GaitWay to the Brain program with equine therapy facilities in seven states and four countries.
