Lovelane Special Needs Horseback Riding Program Inc.

Our goal is to provide the highest quality, safest, one-on-one therapeutic lessons to each of our students. At the same time, we aim to improve each individual student’s quality of life by incorporating the joy of riding, the emotional impact of working with animals, the freedom of movement that is inherent in this activity and the well-documented physical/cognitive and emotional clinical success of therapeutic activities on horseback. Physical goals for our students include improved muscle tone and strength, increased balance, range of motion and mobility and sensory integration. Cognitive and emotional developmental goals include improved focus and concentration, improved speech and language skills, independence, confidence, social and emotional development. Lovelane has a waitlist of 295 students (December 2020), demonstrating both the need for this unique therapeutic approach and the value parents and physicians place in its outcomes. Once in our program, families re-enroll every semester, for an average of 10 years, allowing us to invest in the child’s growth, development, life interests and pursuits. Beyond the physical and cognitive advancements, Lovelane children experience a sense of accomplishment. Our students have siblings and friends who participate in dance, soccer or other community activities. At Lovelane, our students ride horses! In a world where they are often told they cannot, at Lovelane, they learn they can! Lovelane is committed to individual sessions for each child so that specific therapies can be analyzed and applied for progressive results. These therapies are altered as the children grow and goals change. Lovelane's therapeutic program currently includes sessions with children whose primary diagnoses include autism spectrum disorders (27%), genetic disorders (20%), cerebral palsy (16%), learning and developmental delays (15%), down syndrome (8%), neurological and seizure disorders (7%) rare or undiagnosed disabilities (6%) and hearing and vision impairments (1%). Most of our students spend months or years in clinical OT or PT settings before being introduced to Lovelane. Imagine the difference between asking an eight-year-old to do sit-ups on a mat in a clinic or instead, setting that child on a moving horse and even going to ride on a trail in the woods. The results of increased core strength, strength in hip flexors and legs and aerobic stamina for example, may be the same—but the path to success is most often happier and quicker on a horse. The rigor and discipline, required for progress, is replaced with fun in a unique and special environment. There is an emotional toll on families whose children do not want to go or who do not thrive in clinical settings. At Lovelane these families witness their children enjoying therapy sessions, while making huge therapeutic gains. These gains inspire more gains. Enjoyment is a powerful incentive.

Good Health and Well Being: Lovelane believes that therapeutic riding can have a dramatic impact on the physical and cognitive development of children with special needs through its holistic approach and unique supportive environment. Lovelane has had a successful and safe track record for over 30 years. Hiring exceptional instructors is key to carrying out well-planned, diagnosis-appropriate and safe lessons. Fully providing those instructors with a variety of well-trained horses, a top-notch, well maintained facility, access to therapeutic tools and games and opportunities for continuing education are top priorities to providing high quality lessons.

Reduced Inequalities: Many of our families are also facing the economic toll of the pandemic and have expressed a greater need for subsidy. Families of children with special needs typically face extreme financial pressures to provide all the tools and therapy needed to support their children’s well-being. According to the US Department of Agriculture, it costs about $240,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, add special needs into the equation and the amount quadruples. It is imperative to raise funds to provide tuition assistance, in order to ensure services for all families who need financial help.

Weekly therapeutic sessions cost Lovelane $138 and are offered to families at a subsidized price of $104. In order to ensure equal provision of services to all families, Lovelane established a Tuition Assistance Program to provide financial assistance beyond the subsidized lesson price. Lovelane accepts children off our waitlist based on next availability no matter the family’s financial circumstance. Last year, prior to the pandemic, 42% percent of Lovelane families received at total of $65,000 in additional assistance. This fiscal year, (July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021) we expect to see a 7% - 12% increase in the need for financial assistance from our families.

But of growing concern is access to our program. Are families from disadvantaged communities being referred to us at the same rate as families from wealthier communities. Are families from minority communities aware of our program? Are these families aware of the benefits therapeutic riding can provide? How can we supply this information and how?

In the category of Good Health and Well Being, Lovelane certainly has developed effective programming and has a successful track-record of providing high quality therapeutic riding lessons. This is Lovelane's mission and we try not to pursue programming that does not support our mission and distract us from excellence.

In the category of Reduced Inequalities, Lovelane has always provided an inclusive environment for staff, board and in welcoming families and providing tuition assistance to those families in need. Energy will go beyond this in the coming years to elucidate if our services are accessible to those from minority and economically disadvantaged communities; find out at what rate our program is being recommended and to whom, specifically; find out what barriers exist for families receiving our services. And finally, as an organization accredited by the Professional Association of Horsemanship International, we have a duty to recruit members to our field from a variety of skills, backgrounds, cultures and identities. With this agency, Lovelane will participate to unlock the doors of access to the therapeutic horseback riding and equine assisted service industry. These are top priorites for management as our Executive Director believes in transparency across hiring practices, donations and financial management, registering children for our programs and in paying vendors for services and for creating an inclusive environment in the therapeutic riding field that accurately represents the community with which we live and serve.

In 1992, Lovelane Special Needs Horseback Riding Program was incorporated as a not-for-profit by an occupational therapist and is now an accredited member of the Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH, Intl.). Lovelane is recognized and regularly recommended by the Boston pediatric medical community for therapy for a wide variety of special needs diagnosis. A successful capital campaign in 2004 enabled the program to move into a permanent home designed specifically for the special needs population. The facility includes indoor and outdoor riding arenas, a family viewing room, a therapy consultation room, 12 horse stalls and access to multi-sensory-constructed, outdoor trails. The program more than tripled in sized with the new facility’s opening. Currently, Lovelane is open seven days a week providing 4500 therapeutic sessions a year with the help of 197 volunteers.

In 2016, Lovelane met its $5million goal with its Stanley Sabin Sustainability fund from which interest, if needed, can be used to offset program expenses. Additional funds have also been invested for the long-term to provide another resource for capital improvements and for the purchase of horses for the program. Additionally, a fund in honor of former student Susan McDaniel has been created to support tuition assistance. Currently tuition assistance is funded out of operating. Now Lovelane has the opportunity to use interest from the Susan McDaniel fund to not only take the pressure off of operating but will allow Lovelane to maintain or increase funding for families if needed during economic downturns. These efforts have all been a part of a long-term succession plan developed by the Executive Director and the Board of Directors to insure that Lovelane can still thrive thirty years from now.

Next steps include succession planning for members of the board. This is being done through the work of an active governance committee and a well-documented referral process, committee assignments and then on-boarding process for board member candidates.