Horses and children form therapeutic bonds.

Ellie Glore was uneasy. Not frightened, exactly, but clearly awed by the bay mare called Susie that loomed above Ellie's 3-foot height. A few minutes later, perched in the saddle atop Susie, Ellie's entire manner had changed. She waved her arms and called gleefully to her mother, who was standing on the sidelines.

"A 1,000-pound horse can be intimidating to a child," said Sue Webb, equine instructor and equestrian team coach at Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU), Springfield, Mo. "Some kids are scared at first; some cry. But after they have ridden for a while, they are more likely to cry when it's time to stop riding."

For six Saturdays in spring and again for 6 weeks in early fall, Webb and dozens of other volunteers conduct "Therapeutic Riding of the Ozarks," a program in which disabled children ride horses for a few hours. SMSU provides the horses and a riding arena at the Darr Agricultural Center. Julie Guillebeau, chief operating officer of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks, lines up the young riders. And helpers from SMSU service groups, Missouri Boys and Girls Town, local horse groups and breed associations are on hand to make the rides a success.

"All of the children suffer some kind of physical or mental disability," said Guillebeau, who has coordinated therapeutic horseback riding programs for the past 9 years. "Some are able to do more than others, and we give each student a set of goals to accomplish, depending on his or her ability."

The riding sessions are designed to challenge children both mentally and physically, she added, and pointed out that even the most severely disabled youngsters forge bonds with the horses.

"It gives the kids good physical exercise, too," said Guillebeau. "Gripping the horse with the knees and pushing down on the stirrups uses muscles that otherwise might not get much exercise."

Besides, riding is a lot more fun than a workout session with a physical therapist.

"We only use gentle, calm horses," said Sue Webb. "Safety is a paramount concern. You never know when a kid will go up and try to hug a horse around the knees. We haven't had any wrecks, and we don't want any."

As further insurance that horses will behave, Webb and her crew gather them for a long workout on the day before the children show up to ride.

"We groom the horses, work them on lunge lines and ride them awhile," she said. "Early on Saturday morning, we check the horses over and saddle them to get them ready for their performance with the children."

An hour or two before the riding starts, volunteers begin showing up. A mainstay cadre of helpers are young men and women from Missouri Boys and Girls Town.

"We've worked with this program for the past several years," said Roy Pischer, Boys and Girls Town director of social services. "It's hard work on a weekend--for both kids and horses--but it gives our youngsters a chance to be around horses and work with them.

"Most Boys and Girls Town kids have had some hard knocks themselves; it's good for them to work with children who really need help," Pischer added. "And it gives them a chance to give back to the community. SMSU is also a place where Boys and Girls Town members can do some riding themselves. At the end of each Therapeutic Riding of the Ozarks session, we stage a little competition with our members on horses. Some of the kids are pretty good riders."

As for Ellie Glore and the other 18 or so therapeutic riding students, they're already looking forward to next Saturday.