We invite you grab life by the reins and become one of the many participants who prosper at CTRC. So if you think you, or someone you know, could benefit from any of our equine assisted activities or therapies services, follow the Participant Intake process outlined below to get the process started.

*Please note that a participant must be at least four years of age to enroll in any equine assisted activities aside from Equine Assisted Therapy. There is no maximum age for participation.

PARTICIPANT INTAKE PROCESS

CONTACT US  Please fill out the online Participant Application. Once you complete this form, you will automatically be placed on our waitlist and a member of our program will contact you as soon as space opens up!.

SUBMIT PAPERWORK  Once you are on the waitlist for programs you will be contacted when space is available and a Participant Enrollment Packet will be sent to you. This will include a medical form that must be filled out by the participant’s doctor.

EVALUATION  When CTRC has received the completed Participant Enrollment Packet including the medical form, we will contact you to schedule a New Participant Evaluation.  An evaluation helps us ensure that we can safely accommodate you in our program, recommend the proper class, develop goals and create good rider/volunteer/horse teams.  Not everyone can be accepted into the program due to safety or physical/medical contraindications or exceeding our weight limit of 200 lbs. Cost of an evaluation is $50.

REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE  Upon completion of an evaluation and determination by CTRC that we are able to safely accommodate you or your family member, the participant is able to register for services.  A participant’s individual needs and abilities determine which services they are best suited for and which class is most appropriate.

“Riding is a partnership. Together you can achieve a richness that neither alone can.” – Lucy Rees

Therapeutic Horsemanship

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Success at CTRC isn’t measured by scoring a goal or getting straight A’s, but rather by attaining personal goals – the confidence to get on a horse, or the ability to navigate around a barrel, or trotting once around the ring. Therapeutic Horsemanship involves a PATH Int’l Certified Instructor, with trained volunteers, assisting participants to achieve therapeutic and other life goals, acquire horsemanship skills, and establish a special bond with their horse. It is the horse’s three-dimensional stride which makes Therapeutic Riding such an effective therapeutic tool. The horse’s movement simulates a normal human gait. This in turn stimulates the rider physically and cognitively toward reaching therapeutic goals. This gentle rhythmic movement helps improve balance, muscle control and tone, motor development and coordination, posture, strength and overall body awareness. And riders, many for the first time in their lives, can experience the freedom and joy of independent movement.

The relationship that can occur between a rider and their horse can help a rider overcome debilitating fears. As a rider learns that they can have control of a horse, they can begin to learn that they can take control of themselves as well. Trust, impulse control, self-confidence, relationship building and natural consequences are all among the lessons learned. Further, the opportunity to give verbal commands to the horse has allowed many of our riders to greatly improve their verbal skills, and has even led to some of our riders speaking for the first time.

CTRC offers riding sessions throughout the year. Each session is oriented towards the participant’s identified horsemanship and therapeutic goals. With the combination of safety and therapy as priority, CTRC’s PATH Intl. Certified Instructors, specially trained horses, and caring volunteers provide a team second to none in assisting riders to experience accomplishments, interact socially, and learn new skills in an enriching environment.

NEED TO KNOW FACTS ON THERAPEUTIC SERVICES

  • Group classes (3 to 6 participants) are 1 hour/week for length of session and lead by a PATH Int’l Certified Instructor. Group classes are organized according to age, type of disability, and level of riding skill.

  • Classes of 2 participants are 45 mins/week for length of session lead by a PATH Int’l Certified Instructor.

  • Single participant classes are 30 mins/week for length of session lead by a PATH Int’l Certified Instructor. Certain stipulations must be met for single participant classes.

  • Services are offered year round operating on a session-to-session basis (generally four sessions of services a year). Sessions can vary in length from 5 to 14 weeks, depending on the time of year. Classes are held Monday – Friday with varying times. Participants register to receive services for length of session.

  • Cost of session varies depending on length of session. Per class costs can be found here.

  • CTRC does not work with any health care provider for billing. We will, if asked, provide clients with paperwork/receipts when seeking their own reimbursement.
  • Check out the FAQ page for answers to common questions about CTRC’s services.

Community Groups

Community Groups

CTRC is a strong supporter of our surrounding communities, therefore, we invite schools, recreation, therapy or other groups to get involved in our therapeutic riding services. Beyond riding, community groups may incorporate unmounted activities, such as grooming, tacking, equine education, and team-building. Group therapists / educators / providers are encouraged to be involved.

Ground Lessons

Ground Lessons

Participants, who may be over our weight limit or otherwise not able to be safely mounted are able to experience therapeutic horse-related activities by taking Ground Lessons. Participants can benefit physically and/or emotionally from being on the ground with the horse through walking, fine motor coordination, confidence building, etc., and may engage in tacking, grooming, leading and/or take part in other ground based experiences while developing a bond with their horse.

Special Opps

Special Opportunities

Therapeutic “as available” offerings to explore trail riding, family riding or focused skill development.

CTRC is home to pioneering efforts in research on therapeutic riding.

Therapeutic Riding Research Overview

From 2007-2009 Children’s Hospital and the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center (CTRC) conducted a pilot project that studied the effects of therapeutic horseback riding on 41 children ages 6-16 years. The results of the pilot study showed that, compared to when the study started, the children showed significant improvements in levels of irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior and hyperactivity as well as improvements in expressive language, motor coordination and motor planning, on well-regarded measures. Read about the study here, in a poster presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research!

In order to build upon the positive results of this pilot project, a grant funded through the National Institutes of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health (NINR/NIH) was awarded in 2010. This ground-breaking four-year collaborative project between the Children’s Hospital, Denver and the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center continued to study the effects of therapeutic horseback riding on school age children with autism spectrum disorders with the addition of an active control group on site at CTRC. In addition, the study will track the long-term effects of therapeutic riding. This research has the potential to benefit the lives of many children and to shape the future programs of the more than 800 therapeutic horseback riding centers across the United States.

The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry interviews Dr. Gabriels on Therapeutic Riding research in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Listen here…

The Spring 2011 issue of PATH’s STRIDES Magazine was the first ever focused on research and CTRC’s research project was the feature article!