I've always loved horses. I've been riding since I was five, I come from a horse family, says Patricia Labau of Gunnison, CO. Her life revolved around horses. She was competing, showing and jumping... Until one day when her life suddenly changed. <\/p>\n
I woke up one morning and couldn't walk, she says. <\/p>\n
She learned some news she never expected. <\/p>\n
They diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis, she explains. <\/p>\n
Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease. But Labau didnt let it keep her from the stables. <\/p>\n
Sometimes you can get sick and go, ugh, and I'm not one of those people. I went ok, how can we fix this? <\/p>\n
She used a form of riding called dressage as her therapy. <\/p>\n
Dressage is to riding as ballet is to dance. Its a classical, very logical systematic approach, says Alice West, announcer and trainer for Grand Valley Dressage Show. <\/p>\n
Dressage is a slower form of riding that takes incredible muscle control from the rider. <\/p>\n
It also involves very intense training on the part of the rider. The rider has to have a very supple and elastic seat so they don't interfere with the horses motion and yet still be able to influence the horse, West says. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Here is the original post: I've always loved horses. I've been riding since I was five, I come from a horse family, says Patricia Labau of Gunnison, CO. Her life revolved around horses. Continue reading
\nHorses as a Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"