Eleni Boulukos, 16, of Carbondale, trots with the help of barn manager Santiago Thomas, of Cherán, Mexico, and volunteers Andrea Clark, of Murphysboro, and Mike Ruhland, of Carbondale, during her therapeutic horse riding lesson Saturday at Giant City Stables. “The horse has a three-dimensional gait,” said Patricia Nardini, president of Specialized Equine Services and Therapeutic Riding. “Up and down and back and forth. So for kids with cerebral palsy, it creates muscle memory in their legs, which they can build on. … The mere fact of sitting on the horse also improves your balance, improves your posture and gives you more range of motion. So there’s a lot of things that are happening and the kids don’t even know they’re working so hard because they’re having such a great time.” — May 21, 2016, Makanda, Ill.