WHAT TO EXPECT
With the help of skilled horses, a team of certified instructors,
and volunteers, students are taught horsemanship skills appropriate
for their age and level of ability. In addition, students are taught
the foundations of equine behavior and proper equine care.
Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists are invited to work
with our certified instructors and primary caregivers to develop
individualized riding plans with educational, recreational and physical
goals.
This therapeutic riding program can provide BENEFITS to individuals
challenged with:
- Amputation
- Autism
- Behavioral Disability
- Brain Injury
- Cerebral Palsy
- Developmental Delay
- Down's Syndrome
- Emotional Disability
- Hearing Impairment
- Learning Disability
- Mental Retardation
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Seizure Disorder
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Stroke
- Visual Impairment
The horse and human bond has been known since antiquity for its
healing qualities. With a horse's non-judgmental acceptance and
tolerance, students are highly motivated to learn and to grow into
their full potential.
- For individuals with physical disabilities, the rhythmical
walking motion of the horse closely simulates a person's walking
gait, and students experience improvements in muscle strength,
flexibility, balance, and coordination. With greater freedom of
movement comes an increase in self-esteem, confidence, personal
mobility and independence.
- For individuals with cognitive disabilities, horseback riding
offers a motivational opportunity to improve their concentration,
attention span, memory, and language skill development.
- For individuals with behavioral and emotional challenges, the
positive horse and human interaction experienced through horseback
riding can result in a greater sense of teamwork, responsibility
and communication. As the bond develops, so does the student's
ability to take risks and deal with both success and failure.
The special connection between a horse and its rider increases
one's outlook and provides a positive approach to life and future
endeavors.
Perhaps the most rewarding of all the activities, and certainly
what makes this program unique, is the time spent with the horses.
The students learn basic riding skills in the arena and on the trails,
as well as equine first aid and proper feeding and bedding techniques.
They also learn the hierarchy of pasture mates and discuss how a
horse's behavior might mirror human behavior.
One of the primary tenets of riding is that the horse and human
relationship can act as a metaphor for the human-to-human relationship.
The emotional bond created between horse and rider is invaluable,
in that participants may, for the first time in their lives, experience
safe and nonjudgmental love and friendship. The hope is that this
experience will be translated into positive human relationships
in their everyday lives.
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