Legacy Therapeutic Riding Center, a 501(c)3 organization, strives to enrich the lives of children and adults with physical, mental, and emotional challenges through the healing effects and relaxed environment of horseback riding and care.
The ultimate goal of our programs is to improve mobility, build confidence, and encourage personal growth through horse interaction.
Equestrian healing (also known as equine therapy or equine-assisted healing) is a form of holistic approaches that utilizes horses to help promote emotional growth. This type of program is particularly applied to patients with ADD, anxiety, autism, dementia, delay in mental development, down syndrome and other genetic syndromes, depression, trauma and brain injuries, behavior and abuse issues and other mental health issues or disabilities.
Riders with disabilities have proven their remarkable equestrian skills in various national and international competitions, which is why equestrian healing programs have been recognized and identified as an important area in the medical field.
Equestrian or equine healing is also an effective technique many professionals use to teach troubled youth and their parents/guardians on how they learn, react and follow instructions. The students were asked to get the horse to move outside of a circle, without even touching it. Students tried to clap, yell and whistle but the horse didn’t heed the signal. In the same manner, parents, friends and others who are part of a troubled youth’s support program learn that these same actions would not be the best way to make the person listen and comply.
Horses are the most popularly used animal for to provide therapy benefits, because horses have the ability to mirror the rider’s emotion, and they respond immediately and give instant feedback.
Since horses behave similarly as human beings do in their social and responsive behavior; it is always easy for patients to establish a connection with the horse.
People with cognitive, psycho-motor and behavioral disabilities have shown positive results when equestrian or equine healing is demonstrated properly by certified equine healing professionals. Just like other rehabilitation services–such as physical, occupational and speech-language–people with disabilities are being assisted by certified professionals to help cope, without the patients or students feeling that they are actually under-going a rigid program.
Equestrian or equine healing and remedies help its patients or students to:
Ancient Greek literature mentioned the use of horse-back riding as healing. In 600 BC, Orbasis documented the therapeutic benefit of horse riding.
The founding of the Community Association of Riding of the Disabled (CARD) started therapeutic benefits of riding in the USA and Canada in 1960. It has become a recreation and a motivational activity for people with disabilities, while also recognizing it as a relaxing remedy for them. The oldest-known center for people with disabilities in the US was established in 1969 in Michigan at the Cheff Therapeutic Riding center for the Handicapped.
Office Phone: 716.276.8947 | Barn Phone: 716.741.3244
Address: 5940 Newhouse Road, East Amherst, NY 14051
