Therapeutic riding nature trail re-opened

Winter has turned into Spring, and with the on-going dry weather, we've been able to re-open our nature trail! This is a trail which leads horse and rider outside the fenced-in arena, across fields, down a  sheltered track, along ponds and hedgerows. Going on this trail offers great opportunities to the rider for improving posture and balance, and the environment is rich with sounds, smells and sights to enhance the rider's sensory processing. This is the term used for the neurological process which enables people to make sense of all external and internal sensations which we experience all the time. Some people find this difficult, they hav sensory integration diffiulties. For these people, going on the nature trail with their therapeutic riding coach, is ideal - the coach helps them to filter and make sense of the sensations, thus promoting their sensory processing, which leads to improved self-regulation, movement, self-concept and interaction with others. But even for the rider who has not such diffiuclties, the expereince of goping on the trail is enriching and calming and helps strengthen the bond between rider and horse.
We hope that this summer, we can step up our nature trail to a 'Sensory Trail' which will not only give access to the beauties of our natural environment, but will also contain 'stations' - boxes or boards with therapeutic tools - which focus on a particular sense, such as smell, or sound.
This site here demonstrates the idea of a 'Sensory Trail' well - it is an inspiration to me, and hopefully, we will add to our trail bit by bit:
http://www.pegasustr.org/trail