DREW IS KNOWN AS “PRETTY BOY” — a 12-year-old palomino who used to perform in western pleasure shows. Now, the gentle horse is helping people improve their health.

He is one of three horses used at RideAbility Therapeutic Riding Center, a nonprofit organization in Florence that helps people with disabilities through supervised horseback riding.

“We work with those who are battling a lot of different things – from autism to cerebral palsy to multiple sclerosis,” says Christy Henderson, executive director and certified instructor at RideAbility. “Part of our motto is body, mind and spirit, and we truly believe that therapeutic riding helps in all those areas.

“Riding can improve your body. It can help your self-esteem when you can talk to this 1,000-pound animal and get him to do what you ask. And your spirit can be lifted by being outside and around other people.”

Henderson is a member of NARHA, an association in the United States and Canada that teaches equine assisted activity and therapy programs. The organization was founded in 1969.

One of Henderson’s riders is 46-year-old Preston Wade, a resident at Community Place, a skilled nursing home in Jackson. Wade is battling multiple sclerosis. He must use a wheelchair and has limited use of his arms and hands.

“I don’t ever see Mr. Wade ‘yee-hawing’ down the side of an arena on a horse,” Henderson says. “But he has a progressive disease, and our goal is to improve his core strength, upper body strength and keep his body flexible.

“When you’re sitting astride a horse, the warmth of the horse massages your thighs. And the way a horse moves is very similar to the walking gait of a person. So it helps stimulate those muscles that haven’t been moving normally in a while.”

After 10 lessons with Henderson at his side and a volunteer slowly leading Drew around an arena, Wade says, “I can tell it’s helped my trunk and hips … I always look forward to riding Drew. And my goal is to be able to walk again.”

The 90-degree heat has forced Wade’s once-a-week workout to move from late afternoon to early morning.

“Since it’s been so hot, we’ve seen a slight regression in Mr. Wade,” Henderson says. “But that’s consistent with multiple sclerosis patients. They have a hard time dealing with extreme temperatures. Sometimes he can ride for 45 minutes, sometimes for only 15.

“But I do believe it’s helping him with his posture and balance. I tease him a little. He was in the military, so if I see him slumping I’ll say ‘Sit up, Marine!’ He gets a kick out of that.”

Wade learned about horse riding therapy through Michelle Daniel, administrator and CEO at Community Place.

“My 5-year-old nephew (David Lockwood) in Texas has seizure disorders, and he’s been doing horse therapy for the past two years,” Daniel says. “David can’t walk. But we have noticed that he has much more trunk control, so he’s able to sit up better. He’s not consciously doing that. It’s happened through muscle memory and riding three times a week.”

While visiting with Davis one day, Wade mentioned that he used to ride horses.

“I started talking to him about horse riding therapy, and he was all for it,” she says. “He loves it, and I can definitely tell a difference. What we’re hoping is that the riding slows the progression of the disease and provides him a longer quality of life.”

Lessons at RideAbility are usually $25. Wade’s are paid for through a grant Daniel helped him acquire through the Mississippi Health Care Foundation.

Henderson was chief nursing officer at Rankin Medical Center in 2004 when she and her husband, Harold, vacationed at a ranch in Colorado. “We spent almost the entire week on horseback, and I absolutely fell in love with it,” she recalls. “I came back and took riding lessons. I came across something about NARHA, and I could see myself doing that one day. So when I retired in 2006, I started working on getting our nonprofit status.”

RideAbility opened in 2007. Henderson works with about 15 riders.

“The most prevalent diagnosis of my riders is autism,” she says. “A lot of those kids are socially isolated and have communication issues. Just sitting astride that animal can be very beneficial in improving their communication skills. I’ve heard stories where children have not spoken, and the first word out of their mouth is the name of the horse they’ve been riding.”

According to NARHA, Mississippi has four therapeutic riding centers in addition to Henderson’s. They are in Caledonia, Kiln, Starkville and Senatobia. Complete information is available on the Web at www.narha.org.

To comment on this story, call Billy Watkins at (601) 961-7282.