Benefits of Therapeutic and Hippotherapy

  • Physical - The movement of the horse has a dynamic effect on the body of the rider. The horse stimulates the rider's pelvis and trunk in a manner which closely resembles the normal gait of a human. This movement can be used to produce specific physical changes in the rider including, normalization of muscle tone, postural stability, improvement in balance and strength.
  • Sensory - Therapeutic Riding can address a variety of sensory integration issues. A smooth-gaited horse with a consistent pace provides establishment of rhythm. A faster paced horse provides increased stimulation to proprioceptive and vestibular receptors in the body, assisting with overall organization.
  • Emotional - Successfully overcoming fear and anxiety increases a rider's self esteem. A bond develops between the rider, volunteers, horse and staff and is an integral component of a positive emotional experience.
  • Cognitive - The horse provides riders with motivation to incorporate many new educational goals into their riding activities such as letter recognition and sequencing of tasks.
  • Social - Therapeutic Riding encourages individuals to interact with peers in a fun and challenging group activity.

Volunteer

"Many thanks to the wonderful staff and volunteers at Whispering Horse."
~ C. Davis "My Daughter Alicia has been riding at Whispering Horse for 6 1/2 years. After four 45 min sessions she learned how to ride her bike without training wheels..."
Read More >> "Our son Alex has been going to Whispering Horse for a few years now. During this time, Alex, has loved every moment. He welcomes the therapy involved and could stay there all day if he could..."
Read More >> "When we moved to East Longmeadow almost two years ago, finding a facility for hippotherapy for our then 3 year old son Tristan was on our list of things to do. We had seen nice gains with his overall gross motor skills since he started hippotherapy..."
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