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Healing Reins provides a memorable healing experience to children and adults with disabilities through physical, social and emotional interaction with horses and volunteers at a professionally staffed equestrian center. Healing Reins’ riders experience enhanced physical function, improved self esteem and reduced stress through the joy filled therapy of natural movement with horses and the lives of all involved in making this possible are enriched.
Healing Reins has partnered with Healing Bridge Physical Therapy to offer a hippotherapy program. Hippotherapy is a treatment approach that uses the movement of the horse to enhance neuromotor function and sensory processing. The physical therapist directs the movement of the horse; analyzes the client’s response; and adjusts the treatment accordingly. The goals of classic hippotherapy are to improve the client’s posture, balance, mobility, and function. Disabilities that may benefit from hippotherapy include cerebral palsy, cerebral vascular accident, traumatic brain injury, functional spinal curvatures and sensory integrative dysfunction. Clinical problems that can be effectively treated by hippotherapy include abnormal muscle tone, abnormal reflexes, flexible postural asymmetries, impaired postural control, impaired balance responses, impaired coordination, and decreased mobility.
Clients as young as 2 years of age are eligible for the hippotherapy program, which is usually covered by medical insurance as physical therapy.
