Horses can have a profound impact for people looking to recover from injury or illness.
Equine rehabilitation as it is known can help improve a patients mobility, alleviate signs of illness, improve their strength and most importantly bring fun and happiness to a patient’s life.
However getting an adult with motion issues onto a horse can be a struggle.
Liz Morrison is launching the Happiness Horsebox to make sure those with life-changing disabilities don’t miss out on these benefits.
The idea behind the community interest company (CIC) is to make horse riding much more accessible, with the group’s main attraction being the launch of its horsebox which provides all the necessary facilities to do this.
It features a hydraulic lifting platform to make it wheelchair accessible and allows a person to easily mount the animal, while also providing the other necessary bathroom facilities.
Liz has been helping those with disabilities feel the rewards of horse riding for a number of years now and has seen first hand the impact it can have.
She recalls one incident of a stroke patient feeling these benefits.
“I have seen the unconscious power of a horse,” Liz told NR Times. “We worked with someone who had a stroke and they hadn’t been able to unclench their hand.
“For the first time they reached out and they touched the horse with an outstretched hand.
“For people who know and love horses, this is a way of connecting with them as it’s a very powerful way of getting people back to their original experiences.”
Liz first took an interest in helping people with disabilities when she was 17 after volunteering at a geriatric ward for her Duke of Edinburgh award.
In her three years there she met a number of dementia patients who would often go weeks without any visitors, something she struggled to come to terms with.
“I couldn’t understand why no one was coming to see them,” Liz said. “It all started with visiting those dementia wards and I realised that these people just deserve better.”
“Whatever we can do to keep that interest in life going when they’ve had such amazing lives. That’s exactly the same for someone with a head or spinal injury, to see the real person is something I’m really passionate about.”
She shares a similar passion for horses and the combination of the two has sparked the creation of the Happiness Horsebox – a first-of-its-kind wheelchair friendly wagon that allows those with disabilities to easily mount a horse.
While training as a coach for the Riding for the Diabled Association (RDA), Liz noticed a lack of adults with physical impairments engaging with horse riding.
“Because they couldn’t get disabled adults onto horses, they didn’t really handle cases for them anymore.
“I was quite shocked to realise that most of the RDAs work is with children with learning disabilities on ponies.
“I saw a platform lift being used at one centre and I thought we could put that on the back of a horsebox.”
The power of these animals when it comes to connecting with a human was something Liz really emphasised when speaking to NR Times.
Not only are the animals so overwhelming, but riding one in the countryside can often be liberating for a lot of people.
This is a feeling which does not come around too often for those bound to a wheelchair, with Liz saying the impact can often be a lasting one.
“When you’re up on a horse and you’ve got the right sort of people with you, then the freedom it gives is incredible and I think that stays with people for a long time.
“If we can give someone a lift just for a minute, so their friends and carers can see a glimpse of their old self coming to life with a horse again, that is really important.
“It’s that little bit of hope and belief in the person that comes when you see them, and a horse just takes people there because of that unconscious connection.”
As well as this horse riding can bring a sense of normality for those with certain conditions.
This is particularly the case for those who were engaged with the sport prior to their disablement.
“It’s the one thing that helps them realise that they can recover,” Liz said. “Because for that one hour or two hours when they’re on a horse, they say ‘oh I can be normal again.’
Liz Morrioson – Happiness Horsebox founder
“I think that normality is massive. Forget the stress of not being able to coordinate your hands or the right words don’t come out your mouth, it doesn’t matter, the horse doesn’t care.”
This is not the first piece of work Liz has done when it comes to disability horse riding. She also helped found the Positive Riding for the Disabled Association which also seeks to fill the void of adults being unable to access horses.
Spinal and brain injury patients will be a key part of the Happiness Horsebox’s work, with the physical benefits also able to help accelerate recovery in some cases.
“If someone has got the ability to get that core strength back, riding is a tremendous therapy because the legs can just hang and you can get the core muscles working again.”
All of these positives will be felt by those who use the facilities, which is gaining approval from a number of high profile bodies in the sport.
The CIC has already won the Sport England Innovation Award for 2020-21 as well as receiving funding from the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust and Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity.
This publicity has made people take note with a number of groups already asking when they can use it, despite the fact it is not expected to launch until July.
Once it is fully operational the horsebox will be featured in events and competitions across the country, with talks already underway to produce another three vehicles.
A big reason why Happiness Horsebox has gained such endorsement is because it has been produced with the help of professional therapists.
This is crucial because it allows the group to properly help its patients in their rehab, something Liz was keen to point out.
“It was so important to me that we work with physiotherapists and professionals about what someone could and couldn’t do.”
“We could help set get someone on a horse and cheer them up massively, but that therapeutic intervention needs a professional.
Although horses have already shown their power in rehab, one thing that goes along with this that has not been able to help those with life-change disabilities is the countryside.
The reason for this is simply because it is not attainable enough.
The rough terrain is certainly not wheelchair friendly, but things like the lack of toilet facilities also play a huge part.
Because of its portability, the Happiness Horsebox can help with this.
It is equipped with the appropriate bathroom furnishings to help with a range of conditions and the ability to get someone off a chair and onto a horse opens up a new world of possibilities for them.
“Parents of kids that are disabled are just heartbroken about how much the countryside is inaccessible to a child in a wheelchair, let alone an adult.
“For me the countryside can give so much and we just need to make this available and encourage people that little bit, knowing that it’s going to be safe.”
Opening these new avenues for people with physical impairments is something Liz takes great pride in and something she said she wants to be remembered for.
“I see this as my legacy. I haven’t got kids and I have seen my friends have terrible changes in their lives.
“I just want to make sure that horses and nature can be part of peoples recovery or at least part of their solace.”
