Maria Krampitz of Rochester Hills (left) watches her 8-year-old son, Adam, during his equine therapy session. -The Daily Oakland Press / GARY MALERBA

Linn started Equine Assisted Counseling two years ago at her Rochester home and works with children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For a starting fee of $25, the lifelong horseback rider puts children on horses for an hour at a time and teaches them how to deal with the problems they face in life and school.

"Most of the kids aren't that comfortable in an office with a counselor," Linn says. "But in the arena, their attention is held."

After school, Linn brings students with ADHD out to the soft dirt of the arena obstacle course and teaches them how to ride one of her three Arabian horses. The children learn to control, walk and trot the horses. It's fun, but Linn's young clients are learning how to concentrate, follow directions and solve problems, too.

The children Linn work with have difficulty paying close attention to their schoolwork and play activities. Sometimes they can seem like they're not listening when directly spoken to, and often become distracted in their daily activities.

Saddle up For more information, call Gail Linn at Equine Assisted Counseling: (248) 652-3286.

Many children with ADHD fidget and squirm in their seats and have problems with hyperactivity. It's also common for them to talk excessively, interrupt others or intrude on play activities. Riding a horse forces a child to find ways of dealing with these problems on their own.

"They really have to maneuver the horse in and out," Linn says, walking around her obstacle course. "It takes a lot of skill, a lot of concentration and it's teaching them to multitask."

Most of the kids pick up horseback riding quickly, Linn says, but usually they haven't ridden a horse before coming to Equine Assisted Counseling.

"If they don't pay attention to what they're doing, the horse is going to be out of control," Linn says. "They're learning these things without realizing they're learning."

Gail Linn (right) started Equine Assisted Counseling two years ago at her Rochester home. "In the arena their attention is held," she says. -The Daily Oakland Press / GARY MALERBA

Once they have mastered the basics, the children move up to the obstacle course. The children are given their instructions only once, so they need to pay close attention.

Linn has students weave in and out of poles and ride circles around barrels. Rings and wiffle balls become tools for counseling as they slide over or balance on pieces of PVC pipe that Linn also uses to design mazes. Another obstacle has the children park a horse like a car and back it out again.

Adam, an 8-year-old third-grader dealing with ADHD, holds the record for weaving through the arena's closely spaced poles.

His mother, Maria Krampitz, 44, of Rochester Hills, has taken him to Equine Assisted Counseling once or twice a week for about a year.

"It was a great thing for Adam," says Krampitz. "We've seen a lot of changes. It's given him a lot of self-confidence."

Adam doesn't liked unfamiliar situations and has problems with communication, Krampitz says, but he's learning to communicate with the horses and Linn.

"She doesn't treat the kids like they're just another number," Krampitz says. "It's a totally different, magical sort of thing. She gives 200 percent to the kids and the horse."

Krampitz says she plans on keeping Adam on horseback. Besides all the benefits, it gives him something to look forward to and be excited about.

Adam is learning how to deal with ADHD, but for him, horseback riding is just fun