Hi My name is Terry Landers.
We are licensed by the SpiritHorse Therapeutic Center at SpiritHorse International in Corinth, Texas, which currently serves more children than any center in the world. SpiritHorse International is unique in that SpiritHorse is the only large center in America that provides all private therapeutic horseback riding services free of charge in six programs: Disabilities, Children who are Victims of Abuse/Violence, At-Risk Youth, Battered Women, and Youth After-Drug Rehab. The SpiritHorse mission is, "To Assist Each Child with Special Needs in Reaching Their Full Potential through Interaction with Horses."
More than 750 centers in the United States provide recreational therapy, typically in group lessons. A much smaller number provide hippotherapy which is provided by occupational or physical therapists using the horse as a modality. A small number provide equine facilitated mental health, using the horse to foster relationship building and problem solving.
SpiritHorse International has developed a research-based program of equine-assisted healthcare, which has a different goal than that of recreational therapy. It includes, for example, 78 specific steps provided in a one-on-one (private) setting for intervening with its over 200 children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. SpiritHorse International has developed an instructor as our autism specialist, following the lead of the mainstream medical community, who substantially advanced the state-of-the-art in medicine when they developed pediatricians, oncologists, orthopedists, neurologists, and other specialists. Our ultimate goal is to have our riders only taught by a specialist in their disability.
SpiritHorse International receives referrals from Scottish Rites Hospital of Dallas, Children's Medical Center of Dallas, Cook's Children's Hospital Ft. Worth, other North Texas hospitals, pediatricians, neurologists, physical, occupational, behavioral and speech therapists, Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, educators, Early Childhood Intervention administrators, and children's advocates groups. SpiritHorse International also receives referrals from parents who have seen the benefits of our programs and are eager to share this resource with other parents.
SpiritHorse International provides the only child development services some of these children will ever receive. SpiritHorse teaches many things taught in the school systems to typical kids. For example, SpiritHorse teaches those diagnosed with autism how to focus and stay on a specific task through having leading, grooming, and tacking up as part of the lesson. The SpiritHorse programs have seen miraculous breakthroughs with children when they start performing these tasks.
SpiritHorse International has also reached an agreement with the University of North Texas and The Autism Treatment Center to study the results of biofeedback therapy coupled with our equine assisted healthcare for children with autism. Through brain imaging, the university will be able to provide more insight into the effectiveness of our methods and will allow us to refine them and develop new ones. A major SpiritHorse goal is to advance knowledge and develop more effective equine-assisted therapy methods for all types of disabilities, and share these methods worldwide.
Championing the use of retired show horses and ponies is also a major goal at SpiritHorse. These horses are ideal for this type of work because they have had years of professional training and show experience. These schoolmasters are the safest mounts for children with disabilities. Since most of the work is walking and our children cannot ride for very long, it's not really much more work than walking around the pastures where they live 24/7. Our horses and ponies love their work.
We believe horses and ponies have the most accessible spirit of almost any creature and the vast majority have very beautiful spirits. They have one advantage over humans in that they do not have an ego to get in the way of their relationships. We also believe that children with disabilities have very accessible and beautiful spirits. We believe that this spiritual connection is what makes this intervention work. Our horses and ponies always greet the children who lead them from wheelchairs, walkers, and canes. They are so happy to see their riders.
Our facility is in the very first stages and we need all the help we can get. If you can find it in your hearts to help we need you. We do not have any thing but the land at this time. We do have a 501c3 so any help you give can be used as a tax deduction. We ned fencing. stables, english saddles, Rainbow rains, saddle pads ect....... People have already offered to donate horses but at this time I have no place to house them.
If you can help please contact me at 817-237-8199 or 682 -365-3661 Thanks
