How horseback riding helps this 3-year-old deal with a rare genetic disorder

Three-year-old Aria Bruce began therapeutic horseback riding lessons at Wynbrook Equestrian Centre in Vars last summer and has made incredible progress since.

Aria was born with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes hypotonia — weakness in the muscles.

Her parents, Janelle and Matt Bruce, decided to try horseback riding therapy for their daughter after physiotherapy proved unsuccessful.

"Aria was uncooperative. You know, you have an hour with the physiotherapist, you have to perform in this hour, and Aria doesn't do well with performing on command," Janelle said.

"We were informed that the closer [she] got to the age of three, the likelihood of her walking was diminishing."

As an equestrian herself, Janelle knows that riding helps build core and muscle strength. The family decided to give it a try.

"We wanted to give her all odds on her side," she said.

While Aria's initial lessons last summer proved challenging, Janelle said it's gotten much easier since.

"Her first lessons, it was a lot of crying and screaming and not really wanting to participate, so now seeing her singing songs, playing games and being very interactive with the coach and her environment is very nice to see," she said.

Lise Sarault, a volunteer with the therapeutic riding program at Wynbrook, has been working with Aria from the start.

"It was very hard for her at first to even just hold her body up, let alone her head. Honestly, we could tell she was always working really hard as she would sweat so much, even during wintertime," Sarault said.

Sarault and Janelle had to help hold Aria upright when she started the lessons.

Now, Aria can sit in the saddle unaided, and can handle turns and uneven terrain. Her strength has improved and in April, the little girl took her first steps — a moment that brought her parents to tears.

"We cried. We were in the kitchen ... and we were with her and kind of encouraging her to go between mom and dad. And she just let go of the counter and took her first steps, and right away now we're calling all family members and friends," Janelle recalled.