EXCEPTIONAL EQUESTRIANS OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY INC

Our organization's goal is to provide low cost, life changing equine assisted activities to individuals with special needs, improving physical, cognitive and emotional health. Throught these services, we strive to help each client meet a specific goal and objectives.
We work to serve all individuals in our community that can benefit from our services, regardless of ability to pay.

In order to meet our goals, we offer three different programs- Therapeutic Riding, Licensed Therapy and Unmounted Equine Activities.
In our Therapeutic Riding sessions, clients learn basic riding skills at their ability level. Their sessions are targeted towards meeting goals and objectives that are set by their instructors and caretakers. For example, if a client is working on self-feeding, their riding goal may be to grasp the reins and move each hand independently.
We offer licensed occupational and physical therapy. These sessions are led by licensed therapist and focus on specific treatment plans to improve gross and fine motor skills. During these sessions, clients are not learning to ride the horse, but rather utlizing the horse's movement to improve muscle strength and coordination.
Unmounted equine activities are available for individuals who aren't physically or emotionally capable of riding the horse. These participants take part in activities that are appropriate to their ability level. Some walk and groom the horse to improve balance and decrease fall risk. Others learn basic equine care skills to improve mental health and focus.

Our organization has a unique set of capabilities for our very specific goals. We have a beautiful 31-acre farm that allows us to house our equines and make use of a rural setting for therapeutic purposes.
We have 15 specially selected and trained equines that are specifically prepared to work with individuals with special needs. These equines are a wide variety of shapes, sizes and movement types in order to work with a diverse population.
Our staff has more than 40 years combined experience in equine assisted activities and also have varied skill sets in important areas such as barn management, fundraising, development and administration. All are certified through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International.
We are led by a board of directors with varied backgrounds. All are community members with vested interest in our organization.
Finally, we have a diverse funding stream that allows us to provide our services to our clients at a low cost and offer additional financial assistance.

In the past 10 years, our organization has seen huge growth. We've purchased our own facility and rennovated to make it ideal for our clients. We've grown our staff and equine herd. We have seen steady growth in enrollment and client satifaction.
On average, 75% of our clients meet their goal each semester and 20% improve at least 1 step towards their goal.
Going foward, we're working to expand our services to add additional programming such as vaulting. We're also working to improve our services to individuals with mental health diagnosis.