Healing through horses From the cover
What you need to know
Ruby’s Home For Good* • Opened: 2017 • Horses: 4 • Clients: Around 200-300 clients served since opening • www.rubyshomeforgood.org High Strides Speech Therapy* • Opened: 2019 • Horses: 3 • Clients: Around 10-15 clients at a time • www.highstridestherapy.com 4 Lone Star Behavioral Health • Opened: 2011 • Horses: 5 • Clients: Between 9-50 potential participants per day • www.lonestarbehavioralhealth.com 1 JoyRide Center • Opened: 2009 • Horses: 11 • Clients: 135 clients served in 2024 Businesses, nonprofits offering equine-assisted services in Tomball, Magnolia 2 Inspiration Ranch • Opened: 2008 • Horses: 25 • Clients: Around 135 current clients • www.inspirationranch.org 3 Silver Lining Training • Opened: 2012 • Horses: 7 • Clients: Around 80 clients served in 2024 • www.silverliningtraining.com across its four programs • www.joyridecenter.org
1488
249
Equine-assisted services fall into three categories—therapy, learning and horsemanship, according to the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH International is an organization focused on advancing the equine-assisted services industry, Communications and Marketing Coordinator Sara Conant said. Providers can vary in their services and client bases. High Strides Speech Therapy works with children ages 2-12, while Ruby’s Home for Good’s program is dual-missioned—the nonprofit helps horses in need while also working with primarily veterans and kids experiencing trauma. “It’s not, ‘Hey, we use horses to meet people[‘s] goals,’” said Erin Malia, program director at Ruby’s Home for Good. “It’s very horse-centered, where people come to learn about the horses and their needs, and there’s a lot of therapeutic benefit to that.” JoyRide Center and Inspiration Ranch also offer therapeutic riding for clients with physical or cognitive disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy or ADHD. Meanwhile, Lone Star Behavioral Health’s equine-assisted psychotherapy program is groundwork—meaning there is no riding component—and treats clients over 18 years old. “I’ve seen clients who are normally withdrawn or unmotivated transform in the presence of a horse,” said Amber Baynes, director of equine- assisted psychotherapy at LSBH. Clients also do not need any prior horse experience, officials said. “Some [clients] are so excited, and then others are really hesitant,” said Lisa Skinner, owner of High Strides Speech Therapy. “They’ll get on the first time and then go, ‘Mom, hold my hand, hold my hand.’ But then once they get moving, then it just fades away.”
1
TUDOR WAY
Magnolia
WRIGHT RD.
S T A G E C O
2
3
D.
4
Hufsmith
249
2920
Tomball
99
99
N
Equine-assisted services This refers to multiple services in which horses benefit people.
Therapy Counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychotherapy, speech-language pathology Learning
54%
of 58 treatment- seeking veterans with PTSD showed clinically significant change following an 8-session equine-assisted group therapy for PTSD, per a 2021 study by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Equine-assisted learning in education, organizations or personal development Horsemanship
Adaptive equestrian sports, adaptive riding or therapeutic riding, driving, interactive vaulting
NOTE: THIS MAP IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE. *RUBY’S HOME FOR GOOD AND HIGH STRIDES SPEECH THERAPY OPERATE OUT OF PRIVATE FACILITIES. SOURCES: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY, LOCAL NONPROFITS AND BUSINESSES, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP INTERNATIONAL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The impact
choice when they come to Ruby’s Home for Good. “We say here, ‘OK, we’ll go in and we’ll groom [Ruby], … but if she wants to leave, she can walk away,’” Malia said. “And there’s a lot of power in that to say, ‘She has choice. She has agency. So do you by the way.’ … In here, they’re learning that ‘This horse has a choice; she gets to choose what’s comfortable for her. Maybe I have some agency in that too.’ It’s really powerful.”
building confidence, lowering anxiety, promoting focus and building strength. “The muscles that get engaged when you’re rid- ing a horse, it’s … engaging the same muscles that you use when you’re walking,” Pakstas-Smith said. “So for somebody who’s wheelchair-bound, riding for 30 minutes is the same as walking on a treadmill … for 30 minutes.” Malia said clients also learn about agency and
Local officials said they believe emotional regulation is one of the benefits of equine-assisted services. “It’s just peaceful and calming and nice to be with [the horses],” Silver Lining Training owner Amy Jacobs said. “So you’re having a rough day, you’re having anxiety or whatever—they tend to just help us relax and feel comfortable.” Providers said they believe other benefits include
24
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook