“Kiwi is a one-in-a-million therapy horse. She’s a 20-year-old Haflinger that’s been with us for over 15 years. While she is fun-loving outside of lessons and asserts herself in the pasture when she feels it’s needed to maintain the proper level of respect among our other horses, Kiwi knows when it’s time to go to work—and then she is all business.
At our center [Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center], Kiwi is the go-to horse for hippotherapy, serving our most physically challenged and unbalanced riders because of her patience, steadiness, and reliability. When necessary, she will stand stock-still while a student is mounted from the ramp or lowered from the electric lift onto her back.
Often, it takes a bit of time to properly adjust the balance of these riders at the onset of their lesson. Kiwi waits patiently for the command to ‘walk on,’ never jumping the gun in anticipation of the command or fidgeting while waiting.
Kiwi is always the hungriest, most vocal and interactive horse at our center, she’s truly a character and horse you cannot forget.” –Rachel B.
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