THERAPEUTIC/Adaptive Horsemanship
Therapeutic Horseback Riding Programs for Children & Adults with Disabilities
As defined on www.pathinl.org, therapeutic riding provides benefits in the areas of health, education, sport and recreation & leisure. It is an equine-assisted activity for the purpose of contributing positively to the physical, cognitive, emotional and social well-being of individuals with special needs.
Due to the rhythmic and three-dimensional gait of the horse, which mimics a human gait, riders with physical disabilities often show improvement in flexibility, balance and muscle strength due to experiencing the horse’s motion.
In addition to the therapeutic benefits, horseback riding also provides recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the outdoors.
PFEC’s Therapeutic Riding Instructors design individualized plans to meet the goals of each student.
Goals encourage students to not only learn riding skills, but foster the many benefits of therapeutic riding such as:
- Balance
- Behavior Control
- Concentration
- Coordination
- Flexibility
- Muscle Strength and Relaxation
- Posture
- Proprioception (where your body is in space)
- Self-Confidence
- Social Well-being
- Spatial Awareness
- Word Finding/Recall
Guidelines
Animal Assisted Activities/Horsemanship or Therapeutic Horseback Riding
Prior to a lesson, a prospective participant must complete an application. Once the application is completed/returned to us, we then perform a parent/guardian interview and assess eligibility. Once the applicant is accepted into the program, goals and a plan of action is determined to meet the individual needs of the student.