Our Programs

What is Equine-Assisted Therapy?

Promise Ranch proudly provides Equine-Assisted Services for children and adults with developmental, physical, social or emotional healing needs.

Our instructors and therapists work directly with our riders and their families to design goal-oriented lesson plans and plans of care. We are also happy to work with outside therapists, teachers, and counselors so that we can ensure consistency and goal-alignment for each and every rider.

Equine-Assisted Services (EAS)– a term that refers to any and all therapeutic or educational activities that are facilitated by a professional and assisted equines. This term encompasses a variety of disciplines, including Adaptive Riding, Horse-Mounted Therapies/Hippotherapy, Equine-Assisted Therapies, and Horsemanship for Veterans.

Our equine-Assisted Programs

Adaptive Riding

Adaptive Riding (AR), is a branch of Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) in which participants learn a “whole horse” approach to horsemanship and horseback riding skills. A disability does not have to limit a person from riding horses, and experiencing the motion of a horse can be very therapeutic.
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Hippotherapy

Hippotherapy, or horse-mounted therapy is a form of occupational, physical, and speech/language therapy in which a therapist uses the characteristic movements of a horse to provide carefully graded motor and sensory input.

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Horsemanship for Veterans

Horsemanship for Veterans, Active Duty Service Members and First Responders! Through meaningful individual and group interactions with our horses, participants will learn how to create safe, fair, and effective horse-human relationships, and may develop or improve important life skills such as self-awareness, self-confidence, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and emotional regulation.
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Mental Health Therapies

Therapy on a ranch can be more engaging for youth than treatment in a traditional office setting. At Promise Ranch, we offer Mental Health Counseling to children and teens within Castle Rock and our surrounding communities. We also offer counseling for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Promise Ranch provides a safe environment for exploration and healing.

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Music Therapy

Have you ever sung a lullaby to a donkey? Or played guitar for a pony? Music Therapy is a therapeutic, goal-orientated approach provided by a credentialed professional. Music Therapists use music to help individuals achieve non-musical goals. At Promise Ranch, Music Therapists incorporate numerous interventions to work on goals that can include: motor/physical, sensory, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioral, and can even include relaxation and mindfulness.
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Supported Employment

Promise Ranch’s Employment Services and Community Connection Program offers services that are tailored to fit individual employment and community inclusion goals of adults with developmental and other disabilities. Work programs focus on skill acquisition, job search and retention. The focus of community participation is volunteer work and involvement in other aspects of community that make a person’s life more meaningful!
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Benefits of Equine-Assisted Services

EAS is generally divided into four categories – therapy, recreation/leisure, sport, and education. Individuals who participate in EAS benefit socially, physically, emotionally, and cognitively.

Physical Benefits of EAS

The movement of the horse at a walk simulates the human gait. A horse’s movement is 3-dimensional, rhythmical, symmetrical and repetitive and has the following effects on the rider:

  • Improves posture and balance
  • Increases or reduces muscle tone
  • Strengthens and stretches muscles
  • Improves coordination and gross/fine motor planning and skills
  • Increases joint range of motion (ROM)
  • Provides opportunities for sensory integration
  • Improves proprioceptive and vestibular awareness
  • Promotes low impact exercise
  • Improves respiration, circulation, appetite and digestion

Emotional and Cognitive Benefits of EAS

When working with or riding horses, an individual can experience many emotional and cognitive benefits such as:
  • Improved self-image and self-esteem
  • Increased attention span and problem-solving skills
  • Increased self-discipline, patience, and emotional control
  • Increased motivation

Social Benefits of EAS

Horseback riding promotes independence as well as a general sense of well-being and normality by providing the participant with the opportunity to:
  • Be mobile and active
  • Take interest in one’s own life and the outside world
  • Improve self-confidence and risk-taking abilities
  • Bond, and form a respectful, trusting relationship with a non-judgmental horse
  • Develop friendships and communication skills
  • Enjoy a recreational or even competitive, sport activity

Special Programs

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