Does anyone know of some where in the Fort Worth area that offers horse riding therapy (hippotherapy)....or just regular riding for kids? I have a son with autism and he loves horses, we took him to the stock yards and let him ride a pony there and he loved it. But, it is expensive obviously so I was trying to find somewhere else. =)
Thanks!
-L. Mosely
Look up wingsofhopehorses.org. I believe it is in Alvarado, which is just south of Fort Worth. I've never been, but my aunt and her husband work there.
Check out All Star Equistrian (sp ?) in Mansfield. Actually they are just outside Mansfield. They do horse therapy for disabled kids. I have heard great things about them.
Hi L.,
All Star Equestrian in Mansfield has a great program for therapeutic horseback riding. the number is ###-###-####. I know several people who have had their children use this program with great results. Also if you search NARHA.org, it lists all the therapeutic horse programs.
You may already have this in mind, but do some research about the billing of insurance when you look into these places. If it is true hippotherapy (not just therapeutic riding), then there will be a licensed therapist on hand; often, the therapist can bill insurance for the therapy time and you would pay whatever the co-pay or deductible for therapy services is through your insurance provider. I'm sure it's still expensive, but insurance should defray the cost some. I'm a pediatric therapist and when I was doing my pedi rotation in school, I did some hippotherapy in Lubbock; we billed insurance the same as if we did a regular clinic visit and were able to serve many families this way. I'm not familiar with the programs in this area, but the names mentioned already (Rocky Top and All Star Equestrian) are ones that I've heard other therapists talk about. Good luck, I know that it's very difficult to get the needed services for an autistic child, and I know that hippotherapy programs offer great benefits!
Happy Horses in Fort worth does lessons, pony rides etc. The website is texhorselady. com
Rocky Top Ranch in Keller. Heard good things about it, good luck!!
Rocky Top Therapy Center is a non-profit in Keller (I think) that does this. here's their website. I saw a feature on them on the local news:
I went to Rocky Top in Keller. I suffered a closed head injury and suffer from constant vertigo and I was told that horse therapy would be beneficial for me but I plateaued and so I just kept going because I enjoyed it. They are wonderful there and they have a lot of kids with different things going on and most of them have been going there for a very long time. I highly recommend them.
S.
In Keller, there is a horse therapy riding club, right across from the Lonesome Dove Baptist Church, but I can't remember the name of the place. They've been there for abo9ut 15 or more years, and have a very good reputation. I'm sure you can google it and discover the name.
