About : Horses Touching Hearts Therapeutic Riding Association was founded in August 2018 with a focus on delivering
health and education services to local children and adults with a wide range of physical, intellectual and learning
disabilities. Starting with two instructors, two horses and ten volunteers, including an active and committed
board, we are growing into a community-recognized organization.
Goals
* Provide high quality horse-assisted therapy for children, youth and adults with a wide range of physical, intellectual and learning disabilities.
* Provide programs that fill service needs within our community, continually seeking input from our clients and
their families, service professionals and organizations.
* Continue outreach and collaboration with organizations, agencies, schools and others serving this often
marginalized population, ensuring that needs are met and lives are enriched.
Key Achievements
* Successfully offering therapeutic horseback riding services and continually improving.
* Ongoing establishment and maintenance of collaborative relationships with local area school districts, public
and private agencies and medical practices.
* Staff recruitment, retention and training focused on compassion for our riders and knowledge of their needs
and abilities.
* Ongoing care and feeding of carefully-selected, well-trained equines.
Distinctiveness
Horses Touching Hearts is a unique therapeutic riding center because:
* Our rider-focused approach uses therapy plans that are customized for each individual, assessing his or her unique
needs and working toward individualized goals. The nurturing environment we provide allows riders to relax and
focus on tasks to be accomplished at each lesson and work toward positive outcomes over the course of weeks,
month or years as they build confidence, strength and skills.
* Our small program size gives riders more one-on-one time with their instructors and volunteers, enhancing the
the therapeutic experience. Students also work on their social skills as they are given time in the lessons to work
together with other students in certain activities.