Our Facility and Services
HUNTINGTON RIDGE STABLES IS THE DEDICATED FACILITY FOR HORSE THERAPY, INC., PROVIDING HIPPOTHERAPY TO INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES. THIS BEAUTIFUL FACILITY RESTS ON 54 ACRES OF FARMLAND ON WEST ROSE CENTER RD., IN HOLLY, MI.
The facility offers:
- Climate-controlled observation room, tack room, offices, meeting room and accessible restrooms
- 59 stalls with heated automatic waterers
- Outdoor and 2 indoor arenas
- Dry lots
- 12 acres of fenced pastures
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
— Christopher Reeve
EQUINE ADAPTIVE RIDING
Horse Therapy, Inc provides occupational therapy, physical therapy and mental health services. Our clinicians are specially trained and certified to incorporate the horse into their overall plan of care to help build skills for better daily living. Horse and clinician are joined by a skilled horse handler to create safe and effective sessions. The horse and the opportunity to be in the natural environment create opportunities that cannot be replicated in the clinic or classroom setting.
Clients participating in hippotherapy have demonstrated the following outcomes:
- Increased respiration and vocalization to interact with others
- Sensory modulation for calm and focused behaviors
- Proximal strength and stability at the shoulders to enhance reaching and grasp for daily tasks
- Greater stability and strength to move around and explore the environment
- Increased stability in sitting to enjoy a place at the family dinner table
EQUINE ASSISTED ACTIVITIES
Equine Assisted Activities (EAA) are any activities within an equine environment, mounted or non-mounted, where the goal is skill attainment, education, recreation, and/or leisure.
Therapeutic/Adaptive Riding
Taught by specially trained instructors, therapeutic/adaptive riding lessons develop horseback riding skills in individuals with disabilities. The goal of adaptive riding lessons is for each client to reach his/her highest level of independence in mounted and non-mounted equine activities.
Why Use a Horse for Therapy?
Horses used in Equine Assisted Activities (EAA) setting have received substantial specialized training in order to optimize the movement quality transmitted to the client. The movement of the horse is multi-dimensional and provides simulation of what a normal walking pattern should feel like. It is rhythmic, consistent, and predictable, like human walking. The repetitive movement allows the rider many opportunities to practice and refine balance responses, leading to improvements in core stabilization and postural control. The movement of the horse cannot be duplicated by any piece of equipment. The dynamic movement of the horse, combined with the dynamic environment, lead to functional change.
Who Can Benefit from Adaptive Riding as a Treatment Strategy?
By presentation: Impaired strength, range of motion, postural alignment, static and dynamic postural control, communication, sensorimotor function, mobility, coordination, or cognitive function.
By diagnosis: Developmental delay, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, brain injury, sensory processing disorders, functional curvature of the spine, neuromuscular dysfunction, genetic syndromes, dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder.
These lists are a sample of impairments/diagnoses which may benefit, and are not all-inclusive. American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) Inc., © 2016.
A PLACE FOR PEACE
Huntington Ridge Stables is a peaceful setting that is dedicated to healing services.