INCREASING THERAPY NEEDS Riding on angels' wings

They have the land but not the money to meet their expansion needs.
By MATT BIXENSTINE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Charn Creed knows her 4-year-old son Daniel's disability will restrict him all his life. She also knows no bounds when it comes to remedies.
In her son's battle against cerebral palsy, a disorder marked by defective muscle control, the North Lima resident has been energized by horsepower.
"This is neat for him because there's so many things he'll never be able to do," Creed said. "He'll never be able to play football or so many other sports.
"This gives him an avenue to shine."
Daniel is one of 16 children with a disability undergoing therapy on horseback at On Angels' Wings Riding Center's temporary barn, 9594 Akron-Canfield Road. The weekly therapeutic riding sessions help improve the participants' balance, coordination and movement skills.
"Some of them can hardly walk when they first come here, so you see how much they improve," said Ruth Anne Cannell, On Angels' Wings volunteer and Canfield resident.
Besides activities for treating specific ailments, participants engage in general riding practices under the direction of the organization's therapists. Because the therapeutic riding is not considered a medical service, the riders do not need a doctor's prescription to participate.
However, On Angels' Wings still requires a doctor's release from its riders.
Proposed facility
The nonprofit organization can treat up to 30 riders ages 4 and older with mental or physical disabilities, using volunteers, six trained horses and a borrowed facility. Because On Angels' Wings has outgrown its current barn, a waiting list of prospective riders has mounted.
"We've gotten to the point where we can't expand here," manager/instructor Ginger Bulkley said. "We have the land [for expansion] but not the money."
On Angels' Wings has secured seven acres in Canfield essentially from a donation through Mill Creek Metroparks, in hopes of building a permanent therapeutic riding center equine facility to expand its capabilities.
The facility would boast a heated indoor arena and stables that could allow for up to 25 horses and year-round riding for 150 to 200 riders each week.
The cost of the proposed facility has been estimated at $1 million, but Bulkley said On Angels' Wings could provide its basic components with $250,000 and expand in phases. The organization has raised almost $40,000.
Karen Kanotz, coordinator of special services at Struthers City Schools, started developing the idea for On Angels' Wings in August of 2001. She called upon Bulkley, Dawn Speece and Debbie Zarlenga, all of whom also have experience riding horses and working with individuals with disabilities, to round out the quartet responsible for the organization. Since the riding sessions began in May 2002, Kanotz, Speece and Zarlenga have acted as On Angels' Wings administrator, program director and volunteer coordinator, respectively.
Nontraditonal
Berlin Center resident Patti Ripley and North Lima resident Diane Spalding both had a child on the waiting list when openings became available last year.
Even with access to the therapy, though, parents still must pay for their child's riding.
"The medical community still looks at it as unorthodox," Spalding said. "They won't approve [insurance] coverage because horseback therapy is nontraditional."
Recently, Ripley's daughter, Chelsea, and Spalding's daughter, Natalie, participated in a riding activity in which they closed their eyes and attempted to guess how many steps their horses had taken. After the hour session, the children fed their horses treats.
"It's a wonderful thing," Spalding said. "The kids love riding ... it builds their confidence."
Donations toward funding On Angels' Wings proposed new facility may be made by calling (330) 533-3067 or by visiting the organization's Web site: http://www.onangelswings.org/.
mbixenstine@vindy.com