A Close-Up Look At People Who Matter : Her Program Helps Rein In Disabilities

“Look at Nikki!” Nora Fischbach said excitedly.

Nikki, a 2 1/2-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, was into a full stand on the back of a pony, a feat that lasted only a second or two. But that was enough to make Fischbach happy.

“It teaches them (disabled children and adults) to trust and overcome their fears,” explained Fischbach, program director for Special Equestrian Riding Therapy in Agoura Hills.

Since 1987, the program has helped children and adults overcome their disabilities, build speech and muscular control and resolve emotional problems, all on horseback.

“This has helped Nikki with balance and walking,” said the child’s mother, Sandi Finch of Calabasas, who has been bringing Nikki to the center since October.

Finch said the program has made a world of difference for Nikki, who excitedly gives the sign that means “horse” when the car has turned off the Ventura Freeway and onto Kanan Road, which leads to the ranch.

Nikki’s training sessions begin with volunteers selecting a helmet for her before sitting her in a special training saddle on Pony Express, an older, white pony.

The gait of a horse is similar to that of a person, and the rider can learn the balance and motion of walking from the horse, Fischbach said. The difference between this and other forms of physical therapy, which can be grueling for a person with a disability, is that “when you’re on a horse, it’s fun,” she said.

“Most handicaps are in your mind, and not your body,” said Fischbach, 47, who has worked with the disabled as a volunteer since she was 13.

But even she has been surprised by the progress made at the ranch.

Some of the riders have taken their first steps “right here at the ranch,” Fischbach said. She also has seen some speak their first words and others receive a big boost in self-esteem.

The riding therapy program was created by parents of disabled children. When Fischbach first heard of it shortly after its inception, she assumed it referred to the physically therapeutic benefits horseback riding offers.

But Fischbach, who has a background in special education and behavioral therapy, was battling a case of encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that had impaired her ability to walk.

She told the program’s organizers, “If you can wait until I can walk again, I will help.” She kept her word when she recovered from her illness.

Fischbach said working at the ranch keeps her spirits up. “I come here and everyone is smiling and laughing,” she said. “I can’t stay sad here.”

Riders at the ranch range in age from 18 months to 57 years old. They learn to help groom the horse and prepare it for riding. Sessions may last from 30 to 90 minutes depending on the rider’s ability.

The horses are chosen carefully for their demeanor, and must learn not to get startled from the crashing noise of wheelchairs and crutches.

When riders fall, horses usually will stop and wait until they climb back on. The animals know that their riders are special and make accommodations for them, Fischbach said.

The ranch has 11 mostly older horses. Pony Express, in his mid-20s, is one of the gentler animals. After a ride, he will put his hoof in a rider’s lap.

“They bond to the horses,” Fischbach said. That helps to reach children with emotional problems, she said.

The riders learn to be kind and how to treat animals well, to take pride in their achievements, to become aware of others--lessons that can be transferred into their daily lives, she said.

The 1,000-acre ranch has an assortment of other animals such as ducks, pigs, peacocks, camels, llamas and ostriches, which also delight the riders.

“There was one rider whose first word was ostrich ,” Fischbach said.

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