Riders

Therapeutic Horseback Riding has been shown to be beneficial for many disabilities including those, which fall into the following categories:

Cerebral Palsy Down’s Syndrome Spina Bifida Polio Brain Trauma Autism Stroke Multiple Sclerosis Paraplegics Amputees Emotionally Disturbed Blindness Epilepsy Developmental Delay ADD

Riders frequently find elevated levels of self-esteem from Therapeutic Riding. Often, they experience sensations of freedom as they develop coordination, balance, strength and self-confidence while participating in Therapeutic Riding programs.

Typically, there are six groups of winners who participate in the H.A.L.T.E.R program:

1) The many persons of various handicaps who obviously benefit;
2) The parents of many special children, who, through the H.A.L.T.E.R. program, are able to witness and recount the therapeutic benefits their children receive from the program;
3) The volunteers, who work with the handicapped and find an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and sense of achievement as they work with these special children - some are prisoners of severe disabilities - just a smile or giggle from one of them rates a volunteer a great accomplishment on a Saturday morning;
4) The civic groups which participate - this is a project which tightly bonds members together;
5) The H.A.L.T.E.R. organization;
6) The animals (horses) who are the main feature of the program. These gentle, older equines may have been euthanized or neglected if not for an organization that needed them to bring a smile to a child’s face.