SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS

The mission of Special equestrians is to improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals with disabilities through the equine experience.

Special Equestrians has been providing therapeutic riding and hippotherapy to people with disabilities for over 26 years. We serve people living in the greater Philadelphia region, including, but not limited to; Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. Our clients have more than 60 different physical and cognitive challenges including Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our riders represent diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. 80% of our riders are children. We teach horsemanship skills including structured stretching, independent riding, and exercises tailored to each student’s specific needs in our Therapeutic Riding Program,, which provides the following benefits: the three dimensional rhythmic gait of a horse advances physical improvements by strengthening the abdominal, arm and leg muscles which enhances gross and fine motor skills, posture, circulation and balance. Our Hippotherapy program serves our most fragile students in half-hour private sessions. The focus is not on horsemanship; instead our occupational therapist modifies the rider’s position to establish a foundation, which improves core muscle strength, neurological function and sensory processing, while on the back of our gentle patient therapy horses. Our Youth Connections Program for At-Risk Youth serves riders from local youth shelters and alternative schools, providing marketable job skills and therapeutic riding lessons at the same time. Our Silver Saddle Program aims to improve overall strength, endurance, and flexibility. Lessons are focused on partnership with the horse through the use of classical dressage principles, as well as tacking and grooming the horse, all of which increase the student's range of motion, endurance, and core strength. Our new R.E.I.N.S. Program, for children diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, has been a very well received new addition to the specialized services we provide. Developed in response to the increase in riders with Autism Spectrum Disorders, our outcome measurements are promising. Additionally, we offer Summer Camp for two weeks in August. This allows our riders an opportunity to meet other students, learn additional un-mounted skills, and to learn more advanced riding techniques, all while enjoying a beautiful summer camp atmosphere. Special Equestrians’ Nationally Certified Instructors provided over 3,200 riding lessons last year. Our volunteers contributed over 8,000 hours of their time to our programs, assisting with lessons, caring for our wonderful horses, and working in and outside of our barn.

Save the Date!!!

We will once again be holding our annual Casino Night, this year the event will be held on November 13, 2009, at Commonwealth National Golf Course Manor House.

This year we are excited to be featuring a week in Maui as one of our Silient Auction Prizes!

Tickets for this exciting and popular evening are $85 per person, and $150 a pair, and can be purchased by emailing us at specialeques@verizon.net or calling our office at 215-918-1001.