Rocky Mountain Riding Therapy offers both Therapeutic Riding and Hippotherapy. Sessions occur Monday through Saturday year-round, weather-permitting, with occasional week-long breaks to allow our horse partners intermittent much-deserved rest.
Hippotherapy is occupational, physical or speech therapy using the movement of the horse as a treatment strategy. During a hippotherapy session the movement of the horse is utilized the way a therapy ball or swing is used in traditional therapy. These sessions are conducted by a therapist who has had specialized training and is certified through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH Intl.) (formerly known as NARHA) and the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA). They are usually 1-to-1 (1 client, 1 therapist), which allows for direct hands-on intervention as needed throughout the whole session. A volunteer leads the horse. The goals for a client participating in hippotherapy are the same as those within a traditional therapy setting, such as improving postural control, balance, coordination, articulation, cognitive skills, fine or gross motor skills, etc. For more information on hippotherapy refer to www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org.
Therapeutic Riding involves teaching riding skills to riders with disabilities, with adaptations as needed. These sessions are led by a PATH Intl. certified therapeutic riding instructor, who has had specialized training in how to work with individuals with special needs. Therapeutic riding is usually done in groups of 3-4 riders (although private and semi-private lessons are available on a limited basis). The riding instructor will provide occasional hands-on assistance when needed, but generally teaches from the center of the riding arena. Volunteers assist riders who are unable to independently control their horses by leading the horse and/or by side-walking alongside those who are unable to stay safely mounted by themselves. The primary goal of therapeutic riding is to learn riding and horsemanship skills. However, as the movement of the horse is inherently therapeutic, riders frequently enjoy secondary benefits such as increased postural control, balance, strength, speech, etc. For more information on therapeutic riding refer to www.PATHIntl.org.
To inquire about our programs, please contact Rocky Mountain Riding Therapy at (303) 494-1299, or write to:
P.O. Box 909, Louisville CO 80027.
Unfortunately, Rocky Mountain Riding Therapy does not offer classes for able-bodied riders.
Unlike many other therapeutic riding centers, RMRT does not organize lessons into “sessions” of a given number of weeks. Each rider is able to continue to receive lessons/therapy for as long as the rider and his/her family wishes, and as long as the instructor agrees the riding is beneficial. Most of our riders pay at each session, but some choose to pay for a month in advance.
Please be aware that we often have a waitlist for services, especially hippotherapy. |
