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Therapy Farm

shootingstars's picture
Posted June 3rd, 2008 by shootingstars

On Disney they feature kids who are doing something cool. I saw one about a girl who works at a therapy farm with special needs children. We all know I want a horse farm someday, and how I really want animals for therapy for Michael. I had this wild day dream about maybe opening up a therapy type thing. I would need a very calm horse and some special saddles. It is something really worth looking into. Not only would I get my farm, my horses, but I could be helping out other children like Michael. There are bound to be some grants and funding programs out there to help. Of course this would not be a free program I would be offering, this would be my career, but helping children like Michael would be a wonderful experience. I am sure I would require some special training, but hey it would be a  good experience, and benefits Michael.

http://www.americanhippothera

WyattsMom's picture
On June 3rd, 2008 WyattsMom says:

http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/

Lotta good websites out there about horse therapy. 

Ugg it sounds like I would

shootingstars's picture
On June 3rd, 2008 shootingstars says:

Ugg it sounds like I would need to go to school and get a degree in therapy to ever get something like that started. I guess maybe as a private practice, more of an activity type place for special needs children. Maybe it would qualify in a way for funding by the state as a respite service or something... I would of course have liability insurance, but also require the child to have medical insurance. I would request the parent or responsble adult be present at all times. I would make it mandatory to bring a helmit, but probably provde elbow and knee pads-less chances of lice transfer on those. Animals are so good for kids. Michael loves dogs and horses. I read about the amazing powers and bonds that are created with kids with Autism and Down Syndrome. Plus it is something to be proud of. How many places like riding schools take on special needs children?  I guess I like to dream big. I suppose this is another dream I am not capable of bringing to life, but at least I am wishing for something that would help people rather than myself....

I think it would also be a

WyattsMom's picture
On June 3rd, 2008 WyattsMom says:

I think it would also be a great idea as a camp.  That way, you could hire one horse therapist to train equestrian aides and/or parents and volunteers.  You could find an existing camp(s)and ship the horses in to augment other activities like swimming, hiking, music, arts & crafts.  Or, it could just be a horse camp.  Anyway, you could put your own spin on how you wanted your horse program to be.  I mean, you could have a dream spread where you board horses, raise horses, train horses, breed horses, and incidentally offer the rental use of your horses for therapy.  Perhaps parents/ASD kids might want to rent horses for a few hours as "practice" without a trained therapist.  Maybe not every equestrian center would be open to renting to special needs kids because of that liability issue.  I think it is a beautiful addition to the farmhouse dream, at any rate.

Okay this is what you

Cindy's picture
On June 4th, 2008 Cindy says:

Okay this is what you do...... put your plan on paper.

Make it detailed, do a story board type thing and then

you approach somebody who has money...., somebody

like Oprah or Ellen. Youd start out small, with just a

couple of horses, a couple of saddles, etc. Only the

liability insurance would be through the roof.

I am fairly certain that the

shootingstars's picture
On June 4th, 2008 shootingstars says:

I am fairly certain that the insurance would be required by law to be an official business or practice. When dealing with special needs children, there are alot of considerations, and farms can be dangerous for guests sometimes.

The horse market is really good for buyers in Minnesota. They bought a horse at auction for 80 bucks last summer... And David wants a horse farm. His best friend is great with horses and kids.  If I do not move all the way up there, I would probably still choose southern Minnesota rather than staying around here. Perhaps outside a largedown to draw more people. This will take alot of thought and research...