By Rachel H. Goldman

Staff Writer

When Judith Kline started riding again at Carlisle Academy earlier this month, it was the first time she’d gotten back on a horse since before she served in the military 35 years ago.

Kline said picking up her childhood pastime was a surreal experience.

“Everyone stopped and looked but you know, it came back naturally,” she said.

Kline is one of three participants in an occupational therapy study at Carlisle Academy, an equine therapy and sports center in Lyman. The center, formally known as Equest, became Carlisle Academy last May and expanded its offerings to include sports and education equine programs.

 Occupational therapy students in University of Southern Maine’s masters program began the study to see whether equine assisted therapy affects the socialization skills of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The study includes a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Iraq War and Kline, who served during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War. Equest Foundation, a nonprofit organization, funded their scholarships.

Kline, 70, and an Arundel resident, was a secretary and member of the communications department for the Air Force and Army. She said she decided to participate in the study because she experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after her service.

“You don’t just have to be in combat to have PTSD,” Kline said. “That was over 30 years ago so I’ve come a long ways beyond it. But you’re never completely cured. I can say I have control of my life now.”

Kennebunk natives Sarah and Nick Armentrout in 2008 started the therapeutic riding program for veterans, the first approved program of its kind in the state. The program was part of what was then known as Equest, the therapeutic riding center the Armentrout’s began in 1998 to provide riding therapy for adults and children with emotional and physical disabilities.

Sarah Armentrout, a life-long rider, said she is continually impressed with the power of riding and working with horses.

 “There are times when I’m amazed what happens on this farm,” she said. “The testimonies you get back – this program changed my child’s life, it’s given him the ability to speak his first words. They are incredible.”

Armentrout said therapeutic riding helps veterans with physical disabilities, including those with amputated limbs. It helps those with brain and other injuries reconnect with their neurological systems. The therapy also has emotional advantages for the riders, she said.

“More than anything we see a lot of people struggling with emotional disabilities. Our program is geared more toward veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said.

Since the veteran program began it has served more than 75 people. Armentrout said one of the most emotionally profound components of therapeutic riding is the partnerships riders form with horses.

“(The horses) are partnering with us willingly. They have every chance to refuse to participate but they choose to participate and they become your partner in therapy. We facilitate the process but the connection is between the horse and the rider. They are a 1,000 pound animal that commands our presence and that keeps you in the moment when you are with them,” she said.

She said veterans and all riders become empowered as they connect with the horse and master the skill of riding.

“It’s a rebuilding of confidence and self-esteem. We have found with many veterans that we’re giving them an opportunity to reconnect with an animal. They’re not just riding them, they are reestablishing relationships and trust. That’s a doorway they are opening,” she said. “Hopefully it is a medium for other things and what they take away from this can be applied to everyday life.”

Carlisle Academy this fall opened its doors for University of Southern Maine’s occupational therapy students to study the effects of therapeutic riding. Three students, Jeremy Richardson, Maureen Sclar and Angela Potvin, conducted the program’s first study at the academy earlier this fall. They explored the connection between riding therapy and fall prevention in the elderly population. Earlier this month students Wayne Cote, Jane Kewkirk and Jessica Sprinkle began studying veterans in therapeutic riding who have post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Research is something we definitely want to do more and more of,” Armentrout said. “We are always on a crusade to debunk the myth of this therapy as a nice little pony ride. People will say ‘oh, it’s so sweet what you do over there,’ but we want them to know that there’s neuroscience here. Real things are happening and there are profound changes.”

Roxie Black, University of Southern Maine’s occupational therapy program director and professor, said she was excited to form a partnership with Carlisle Academy.

“We’re always trying to find gaps in the literature and there is very little research done into riding therapy,” she said.

The first study into the connection between riding therapy and fall prevention among the elderly population included eight subjects, six of whom rode at Carlisle Academy. Occupational therapy students conducted pre- and post-interviews with the subjects after they underwent seven-weeks of riding therapy.

“Typically what happens with elders is they develop a fear of falling and that impacts them and becomes a barrier almost as much as the falls themselves,” Black said.

Black said the findings from the study were interesting. Although the students observed some physical improvements, including balance and coordination, the biggest difference subjects experienced was in their perceptions of falling.

“(Students) were surprised by that. They didn’t expect that because they started out looking just at the physical changes, but what emerged from this study was equally if not more important. (The subjects) experienced improvements in confidence, satisfaction and a changed perception of their ability,” she said. “Riding therapy had eliminated their fear of falling.”

Black said her students are in the final editing stage of the first study. She said she hopes to eventually publish the study.

Occupational therapy students began the second study of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder on Nov. 4. After five weeks of riding therapy students will conduct post-interviews with the subjects.

Black said their questions will relate to socialization: how they felt the riding sessions helped, whether they experienced any changes in their ability to express themselves and socialize with family, friends and the community.

Kline said she has valued her two weeks riding at Carlisle Academy.

“I enjoy the companionship (of riding),” she said. “I know I was a different person from the time I arrived the fist day to when I finished grooming. The horses, they are so calm and relaxing. It is just plain enjoyable.”

She said every part of the program is supportive: grooming, riding, interacting with the horses and trainers as well as having an activity to bring her out of the house.

“It occupies me,” she said. “It means I’m not sitting at home just looking at the four walls. That’s one of the reasons I very much wanted to do this.”

Both studies are qualitative, Black said, which means results are based not in numbers but in interviews with subjects. She said because of that, findings can’t be extrapolated to represent larger subject samples, but they can stand as jumping off points for further research.

“There is a lot to be done here,” she said.

Armentrout said she hopes Carlisle Academy can continue to host riding therapy research projects.

“A lot of this is the efficacy piece,” she said. “It’s definitely progressive but there are people that get it. There’s enough studies out there now that show that we can impact language, movement, range of motion, balance, core strength,” she said. “Not to mention the emotional benefits.”

She said she’s excited to watch Carlisle Academy’s impact as the awareness of therapeutic riding grows.

“It’s really an exciting time. We’re getting the backing of the medical world and the insurance companies and research is at the heart of that. We can only hope that more research is done,” she said.

Staff Writer Rachel H. Goldman can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.