Horses give courage and joie de vivre

It smells of hay and fresh manure. A fine dust is in the air and tickles your nose. Horses snort, hooves clatter and a tomcat struts through the stables of the therapeutic riding centre in Bethel. People with disabilities, young people with psychosomatic illnesses and girls and boys from the Bethel children's and youth hospice come for therapy. Just like Jonas. The eleven-year-old, who normally sits in a wheelchair, leans on his father and trots around the hall on Paul's back. Paul is a well-trained horse. Nothing upsets him. And this calm is good for Jonas.

Jonas has only just overcome a life-threatening crisis. "We came straight from hospital to the children's hospice," says Moritz Thevissen. He has known the Bethel facility for many years. Families with terminally ill children can come to rest for a few weeks in the centre, which is financed by donations. The children receive medical care, nursing and educational support. Their parents can hand over responsibility for once, sleep in or do something. Otherwise, every day is a challenge for the families. It's not just the care, which they often take on themselves, that frays their nerves. It's also the anxiety.

Jonas was barely a year old when the symptoms of his illness became apparent. Within a few weeks, he was barely able to move, eat or drink. He had to be tube-fed. When the cause was finally found, the devastating diagnosis was Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. An extremely rare hereditary disease. "At the time, the doctors estimated Jonas' life expectancy at a maximum of four years," recalls Moritz Thevissen. But the father never lost heart. "There is a chance of a future for us," he thought, and he was right.

His child grew up to be a courageous boy with bright, alert eyes. A boy who easily outpaces all pedestrians in his electric wheelchair. He loves to eat, even though he also has to be fed via a tube. He laughs cheerfully and has a very dry sense of humour. When he rants, Jonas is easy to understand. Otherwise he types on his Talker, a device that translates symbols into speech.

No words are needed to find out how Jonas is doing on Paul's back. His facial features change with every lap around the riding arena. Scepticism turns to joy. His eyes light up and he waves happily from his horse. "First and foremost, it's about the children having fun," says Bethel employee Marco Vohmann, who specialises in curative education with horses. But riding is also good for self-confidence. "Many of the children sit in wheelchairs and only ever look up from below. Anyone who sits on a horse experiences a huge change of perspective. It also makes you bigger and braver on the inside." And Jonas and his parents certainly need courage.

Text: Heike Lepkojis | Photo: Christian Weische