
A bond with a horse is powerful—helping to build trust, respect, empathy, self-regulation, confidence, and more.
Equine-assisted services include adaptive or therapeutic horseback riding, groundwork, and other horsemanship activities. Programs are led by certified instructors and tailored to each participant's needs.
A horse’s rhythmic, multi-directional movement requires riders to continually adjust their posture and core stability—helping to build balance, coordination, motor control, physical strength, mobility, and body awareness.
In the saddle and on the ground, horses respond in real time to a participant's movement, body language, and cues—creating meaningful opportunities to build verbal & non-verbal communication skills, self-awareness, problem-solving & decision-making abilities, and sensory engagement.

Building a toolkit to navigate challenges, cope with stress, adapt to change, and develop mental strength.

Fostering emotional healing through self-awareness, reflection, regulation, & increased mindfulness.

Supporting cognitive development, motor coordination, emotional intelligence, & physical abilities.

Building confidence, independence, problem-solving, communication & interpersonal skills.
This 2015 study concluded that “equine-assisted activities and therapies are an effective means of improving many measures of physical health”. Specifically, the study concluded that improvements in gross motor function, spasticity, muscle symmetry, posture, balance and gait have been realized by individuals with varying disabilities.
This 2018 research paper strived to measure the effectiveness of equine assisted therapy as an intervention to reduce symptoms that include anxiety, flashbacks and emotional numbing, and increase coping capacity for U.S. military veterans that were diagnosed with PTSD. The study found that participants had significantly decreased PTSD scores after three weeks of Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THR) and concluded that THR may be a clinically effective treatment for alleviating PTSD symptoms.
Explore equine-assisted programs offered at Prairie Sky
Prairie Sky Equine Assisted Therapy
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