SEBASTIAN RIDING ASSOCIATES INC

Therapeutic Driving offers many of the same benefits as therapeutic riding but due to weight, interest and disability, driving provides additional opportunities. Many people don’t realize that driving offers similar benefits to therapeutic riding in that to drive a horse correctly you must sit upright in the cart and not depend on the back of the cart for posture.

Hippotherapy is a treatment approach that uses the movement of the horse to achieve the physical goals of improved posture, balance, mobility and function in select clients who have possess movement dysfunctions. The word “hippotherapy” means “treatment with the help of the horse.” Hippotherapy provides a controlled environment and graded sensory input designed to elicit appropriate responses from the client. This treatment approach does not teach specific skills, but rather provides a foundation of improved neuromotor functioning and sensory processing that translates to daily activities. These sessions are conducted by a physical therapist (with the aid of a therapeutic riding instructor and volunteers) that will analyze the client’s response and direct the movement of the horse to achieve specific goals.

Riding Free began as a pilot study and is now available to individuals with a PTSD diagnosis. Sadly, PTSD has become a prevalent disorder in our youth today with very few programs established to address the needs of this group. Symptoms of PTSD reach into emotional, mental, social and physical aspects of life. We established a curriculum and received full IRB approval from Arcadia University. The goals of the program are 1) increased trust and relationship skills, 2) increase self confidence and 3) increase self-efficacy/autonomy. Every session has specific objectives in order to achieve these goals. The original study slated ten participants but due to receipt of a grant, we have begun working with our second group of ten. SRA is committed to documenting and proving the positive effects so that our equine partners can further help those in need.