HIPPOTHERAPY Donations send pony across the country for happy reunion

Enough money also was raised to send the horse's foal to Texas.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Rain should finally make it to Texas sometime this week.
The white pony was separated from 11-year-old Amy Rhodes last July when the former Lawrence County girl moved to Plano, Texas, where her father, Rick had found a new job.
Amy, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, met the horse a few years ago when she enrolled in a hippotherapy program operated by her occupational therapist, Sherrie Welsh.
Hippotherapy is a form of therapeutic horseback riding that helps those with physical disabilities mimic the pelvic motions of someone walking and helps strengthen muscles.
After moving to Texas, Amy was unable to find a similar therapy program and her progress made while riding and grooming horses decreased. Amy's joints started to stiffen, and her self-confidence eroded, said her mother, Kathy Rhodes.
Rain also started to show signs of depression, refusing to eat and nipping at some children, said Welsh, also Rain's owner.
The horse and Amy both brightened up after a visit from the Rhodes family during the Thanksgiving holiday.
After seeing how the two interacted, Welsh decided to give the horse to Amy, but found it too costly after learning transportation costs would be about $1,200.
Raising money
Donations to send the horse to Texas started pouring in after a March 14 story in The Vindicator. In all, about $4,800 was raised, said Brian Welsh, Sherrie's husband and executive director of the Family Center, a nonprofit agency handling the arrangements.
Rain will be transported to the Rhodes' home this week.
"We were just pleased as all get out. I know Amy and her family were just very, very touched by the support and outpouring of help we received from this," he said.
The Welshes initially had hoped to raise $1,200 to pay only for Rain's transport. But offers came in to transport the horse for free from at least two haulers, freeing up extra money that allowed them to also send Rain's foal, Spirit.
"Amy was quite concerned about breaking up a mom and a baby horse, so this was actually a really nice addition to the project," Brian Welsh said. "They received enough money to make the necessary accommodations for both horses in their place in Texas."
The Rhodes family lives on about four acres just outside of Plano.
There was a delay in transporting the horses because both needed a series of vaccinations before being transported across state lines. Spirit also had to be gelded before traveling.
After medical costs, there was enough money to buy a special saddle that allows Amy to ride the horses, as well as brushes and buckets with special handles that Amy can use when grooming them.
Brian Welsh said they should just have enough money left over to pay the gasoline costs of the hauler taking both horses to Amy.
cioffi@vindy.com