Therapeion Therapeutic Riding Program
Two Great Organizations Come Together
"Therapeion" is a Greek word that means healing of body and spirit. Therapeion Therapeutic Riding Center was established as a 501c3 nonprofit in 2007, that provides equine assisted services for adults and children of all ability levels in White, Tippecanoe and the surrounding counties. The Therapeion program moved to Courage Rock Stable in 2023 as their new permanent home becoming one great entity.
LESSON STRUCTURE
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Each class runs for forty-five minutes and includes mounting, riding,
untacking as able, and grooming the horse.
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Riders are matched to horses based on their physical, emotional, and behavioral goals, as well as their weight and height. Our horses have different skills and strengths, and our certified instructors match the horse and rider for the welfare of both.
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Our sessions run 4-6 weeks depending on the time of year; students are typically enrolled in one class per week
BENEFITS
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Horseback activities can: encourage stretching and strengthening of underused or underdeveloped muscles; improve posture and coordination; help develop gross and fine motor skills; increase riders awareness of their body in space; and improve range of motion.
In addition, riders with disabilities increase their self esteem and self confidence, learn problem solving skills, and increase their ability to focus and stay on task. All of this while having fun!
REQUIREMENTS
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The minimum age to participate is four years old.
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Persons who weigh more than 180 pounds are not able to ride due to the weight restrictions of our horses. Please call us to discuss alternatives to riding.
All participants must be cleared by their physician to enroll.
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Participant applications must be completed annually
Therapeutic Riding
Therapeutic riding is a non-therapy service taught by a PATH Intl. CTRI (Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor) focused on mounted activities to develop horsemanship skills and provide the healthful benefits of interacting with horses. This program is offered to individuals or groups with various diagnosis and abilities from age 5 to 18. The six week sessions or private lessons are developed to learn horseback riding skills and incorporate therapeutic goals which are built on skills learned each week.
Benefits of Therapeutic Riding
Our riders participate in such equine activities as grooming and tacking their horse to their level of ability and learning basic riding skills. Horseback riding has many well documented benefits, including:
• Improving balance and coordination
• Improving posture
• Strengthening muscles
• Providing passive stretch for tight muscles
• Increasing awareness of one’s body in space
• Improving range of motion
• Replicating a muscle movement pattern of walking
• Stimulating the vestibular, nervous and circulatory systems
• Refining gross and fine motor skills
In addition to the above physical benefits, therapeutic riding activities offer emotional and cognitive benefits, such as:
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• Increasing the ability to focus and stay on task
• Reinforcing standards of behavior
• Teaching trust through the rider/horse and rider/volunteer bonds
• Teaching problem solving skills
• Promoting responsibility and cooperation
• Increasing self-confidence and self-discipline
• Increasing self-esteem and pride
