Who am I and what am I doing?
I am a graduated physiotherapist and have been passionate about horses since my childhood. I wanted to combine these two things so I studied to become a hippotherapist. I have been working for 4 years as hippotherapist with mentally disabled and physically challenged children. In the spring of 2015 I decided to make my own social venture on a small inherited field. My project is about to develop the infrastructure of this site for the benefit of the children attending to therapies..
What is hippotherapy, what is it good for and how common is it?
- Hippotherapy is a form of physiotherapy by which a therapist uses the characteristic movements of a horse to provide graded motor and sensory input to persons with physical or mental challenges.
- Hippotherapy decreases the disadvantages of persons with physical or mental challenges and thus improves their living quality.
- Currently, I am the only one hippotherapist providing this therapy method in the surrounding. There are approx. 600 potentially targeted people in the catchment area.
What is my venture, where is it located?
- Own business started in spring of 2015 as private entrepreneur
- Location: agricultural outskirt of Győr, Hungary, Eastern Europe; GPS: 47.613896, 17.588220
What does the current infrastructure include?
- 2 horses incl. 1 pony
- 3 acres of land with wooden fence
- 4 stables, a mobile house, a hay and manure storage, a drilled well
- Lighting powered by a generator running on fuel.
What is the current social impact?
- 14 children (5-14 years old) + 1 adult (33 years old)
- 15 therapies a week
Case Study 1: Laura, 8 years old, diagnosis: speech disorder. At the age of 5 her vocabulary consisted of approx. 10 words and had uncoordinated moves paired with lack of attention.
Development: After 3 years of therapy (1 time a week) her vocabulary has multiplied and her moves got more coordinated.
Case Study 2: Kende, 6 years old, diagnosis: lack of oxygen at birth, he had to be revived. He had week muscles and needed his parents help to move. His breathing was arrhythmical.
Development: After 2 years of horsetherapy he walks alone and breathes normally while speaking.
How will the social impact change for the community when reaching donation target?
- 8-12 additional therapies a week, which equals to reaching additional 8-12 mentally or physically challenged children or adults, i.e. 50-60% more people in need are reached
- More convenience for the children and family members attending to therapies and security for expensive therapy equipment
- Indirect social impact: in case the therapy capacity was increased by 50%, I could employ a person part-time, who helps me running the site
Please support my social project to become true with your pledges. Thank you!
