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Hearts & Horses show power of equine healing

Marty Metzger | For The Fence Post
Noah Peterson rides the horse, Watusi. Noah was born 14 weeks premature, which left him with severe physical, sensory and motor delays. At the age of seven, his occupational therapist recommended Hearts and Horses and close to five years later, Noah is thriving in the program.
Courtesy of Hearts and Horses |

Other therapeutic riding facilities in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska

Colorado

Boots and Saddles Therapeutic Riding Center

7193 S Hwy 83

Franktown, CO 80116-8316

(303) 688-1388

Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc.

11968 Mineral Rd

Longmont, CO 80504-8402

(303) 652-9131

Footprints Equestrian Center

970 O St.

Penrose, CO 81240

(719) 784-7722

Freedom Hooves Therapeutic Riding

PO Box 963

Craig, CO 81626

(970) 701-9085

Front Range Exceptional Equestrians

PO Box 272452

Fort Collins, CO 80527-2452

(970) 221-0646

Golden Eagles

3450 Hay Creek Rd

Colorado Springs, CO 80921-2368

(719) 481-3126

Hooves for the Heart, LLC

14503 Colo River Rd.

Gypsum, CO 81637

(970) 524-8724

Horsepower, Inc.

5027 Garton Rd

Castle Rock, CO 80104

(303) 260-9155

Medicine Horse Center

PO Box 1074

Mancos, CO 81328

(970) 533-7403

Mountain HOPE Foundation

86 Gold Hill Rd

Breckenridge, CO 80424

(970) 453-1137

Mule Creek Therapeutic Riding Center

43454 County Rd 10

Roggen, CO 80652

(303) 849-5357

Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center

13620 Halleluiah Trl

Elbert, CO 80106-9020

(719) 495-3908

Promise Ranch Therapeutic Riding

10272 Democrat Rd

Parker, CO 80134

(720) 236-5079

Reflections Therapeutic Riding

(970) 690-1049

Riding Institute for Disabled Equestrians

2804 County Rd 250

Silt, CO 81652-9522

(970) 876-2987

Rocky Mountain Riding Therapy

PO Box 909

Louisville, CO 80027-0909

(303) 494-1299

Sopris Therapy Services

PO Box 2080

Carbondale, CO 81623-5080

(970) 948-1002

Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports

2200 Village Inn Ct

Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

(970) 870-1950

The Right Step, Inc.

7990 S Santa Fe Drive

Littleton, CO 80120-4333

(303) 731-9057

Wyoming

Children, Horses & Adults in PartnerShip

PMB 201

Sheridan, WY 82801

(307) 673-6161

Horse Warriors/CIREQUUS

PO Box 602

Jackson, WY 83001-0602

(307) 733-7464

Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Association

Jackson Hole, WY

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PO Box 516

Pinedale, WY 82941

(307) 749-3979

One Step At A Time

117 Sunset Rim

Cody, WY 82414

(307) 899-0194

http://www.1stepatatime-cody.org

Reach 4A Star Riding Academy

4250 N 6 Mile Rd

Casper, WY 82604-1939

(307) 472-7827

Nebraska

Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy HETRA

10130 S. 222nd Street

Gretna, NE 68028

(402) 359-8830

Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy HETRA

10130 S. 222nd Street

Gretna, NE 68028

(402) 359-8830

Sunrise EquiTherapy, Inc.

2115 S 214Th St

Eagle, NE 68347-1993

(402) 430-0765

Victory Riding Academy

4534 Madison St

Omaha, NE 68117

(402) 201-1798

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Source: http://www.pathintl.org

•••

To volunteer

Hearts and Horses always needs volunteers and donations to make their valuable programs available to as many individuals as possible. To learn specifics, visit http://www.heartsandhorses.org, or call (970)663-4200.

Horses are proven healers and entirely honest in their acceptance of people regardless of a person’s physical, emotional or social abilities. They possess uncanny instinct and patience with troubled or disabled children. Social skills and emotional well-being improve when proper interaction occurs between human and horse; there’s no fear of judgmental dynamics often involved in human-on-human relationships.

Riders must continuously adjust posture to maintain balance. Muscle tone, range of motion and flexibility are enhanced. Mainstream horsemanship instruction is designed to generate equestrians, whereas equine assisted therapy’s primary goal is to improve the client’s quality of life through interaction with equines. People deemed by society or medical professionals as beyond help often exhibit marked improvement through equine-assisted therapy. This extensive evidence has resulted in numerous equine-assisted therapy programs throughout the U.S.

Hearts & Horses is a non-profit therapeutic riding facility located in Loveland, Colo. A group of volunteers organized the program that works with individuals with disabilities and at-risk youth. Classes began in August 1997 on leased facilities at Ellis Ranch, but a long-range plan to obtain capital for its own land and riding facility was soon implemented. On June 8, 1999, Hearts & Horses did indeed meet that goal when it moved to its present location at 163 North CR 29 in Loveland.



Volunteers from the community donated time to renovate the site. Classes resumed on Sept. 20, 1999. From 98 clients in 1999, numbers steadily increased. Presently, 180 riders participate in summer classes and 120-130 over winter, said Amy Tripson, office manager.

All instructors are trained and certified by PATH Intl., the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. Hearts & Horses is a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center, the highest level of accreditation possible, and is a highly regarded training facility for therapeutic riding instructors.



Program horses include leased or donated animals. Each undergoes a 90-day trial period during which trainers ascertain strengths, weaknesses and overall adaptability. Horses leery of wheelchairs or mounting ramps can still be used, for example, in “Changing Leads”.

Individuals with physical or learning disabilities advance in amazing ways during the course of their involvement with Hearts & Horses. Some who initially require side-walkers eventually ride unassisted. Those initially lacking confidence or social skills on their own two feet find them atop a horse.

Volunteers serving as leaders or side-walkers run the gamut of ages and equestrian experience. Depending on the program, clients as young as age two or as old as into their 80s take part in the fun-based, mounted learning. Likewise, session lengths hinge on varying factors within each particular curriculum. Not surprisingly, many Hearts & Horses “graduates” continue on with horses after their session concludes.

Tripson recalled one youngster’s victory over insecurity. Amy was one of the child’s side-walkers. The girl, age six or seven, wasn’t very verbal. She used the singular phrase “Uh, oh!” and a huge smile to request help in any and all situations. If the little girl’s foot slipped out of the stirrup, or her helmet strap came loose from fiddling with it, it was “Uh, oh!” with no effort on her part to make necessary adjustments. By the 8-week session’s conclusion, Tripson said, the child had learned to resolve these and other minor problems on her own. Although still quite needy in some ways, she’d become independent in others.

Another example of a rider making a long leap from down to up was a 10-year-old boy whose phraseology was a bit perplexing. At the end of one particular ride he proudly declared, “I over-feared!” Through a bit of clarification, Tripson happily learned he meant that he had overcome his fears.

“Changing Leads”, an equine-assisted learning program, has been added to Hearts & Horses’ lineup of classes to introduce at-risk youth to horses. Children learn socially appropriate behaviors and build confidence by conquering challenges. Tripson said the emotional and social skills program works with children ages seven through high school who have been referred by parents, schools or providers like Namaqua Center in Loveland, which works with children in foster care or living in tenuous family situations. Based on curriculum developed by a Hearts & Horses instructor, each “Changing Leads” 8-week session teaches children appropriate interaction with horses. This new way of dealing with challenges encourages youngsters to do likewise in interpersonal situations.

Tripson stressed that Hearts & Horses definitely changes lives.

“We strive to help as many people as we can through some facet of our programs that they can excel at and grow from,” she said.

Hearts & Horses’ funding depends on donations and fundraising events held throughout the year. The October Gala, the group’s primary annual revenue-generating activity, includes a live and silent auction, dinner, and a Casino Night, which involves no betting, but rather a collection of points through which players vie for prizes.

Another fun way the 501(c)3 non-profit generates funds is through its summer camps. These are open to able-bodied youth, including children and grandchildren of volunteers. The 7-week program runs Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., in week-long sessions. Although limited to 12-15 day campers per week, the horse-oriented activities are open to all qualifying children.


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