The Equestrian Center offers adaptive riding lessons, horsemanship, and hippotherapy services to the greater community. Equine-assisted services help people of all ages, with all types of disabilities, as well as the military and veteran community.
Weekly Riding & Horsemanship
ESMA provides adaptive lessons to teach riding and horsemanship skills while fostering the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development of each participant. Equine-assisted activities improve a participant’s balance, coordination, strength, and executive functions.
The equines in the program are valuable motivators and partners. They live in the present and accept individuals exactly as they are. In turn, they appreciate kindness, patience, and flexibility. Through mounted and unmounted activities with equines, participants can improve their ability to adapt, communicate, initiate, self-regulate, and trust.
Lessons are conducted year-round in a spacious indoor arena, a lighted outdoor arena, and an outdoor obstacle square. Participants and horses also use an outdoor track and multiple interactive exploration paths around the grounds.
Private Lesson Fees
- Weekday lessons held 12 times. Total cost $840 (45 minutes) or $1,080 (60 minutes).
- Weekend lessons held 11 times. Total cost $770 (45 minutes) or $990 (60 minutes).
- No lessons held on the following dates: Saturday & Sunday, April 8-9, or Monday through Sunday, April 17-23
- Weekday lessons held 8 times. Total cost $560 (45 minutes) or $720 (60 minutes).
- Weekend lessons held 9 times. Total cost $630 (45 minutes) or $810 (60 minutes).
All participants benefit from direct horsemanship skill instruction. All mounted lesson fees include unmounted time for grooming and tacking or untacking the equine.
Physical Therapy Using Equines
Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech and Language Pathologists integrate equine movement into a participant’s treatment plan to achieve functional goals in a process known as Hippotherapy. The rhythmic, multi-dimensional movement of the equines provides continuous motor and sensory input. Therapists customize every session to the unique needs of each participant to help achieve treatment goals within the specialized plan of care. Sessions may incorporate work in the barn, the indoor arena, the outdoor arena, and the interactive exploration paths.
Hippotherapy Fees
- 45-minute Initial Intake Evaluation: $150. The Physical Therapist (PT) will assess the participant’s functional abilities in conjunction with a caregiver interview and baseline mounted assessment. Short- and long-term goals and a treatment plan will be determined and discussed with the parent/ guardian.
- 30-minute Session: $95. The PT will address treatment plan goals on a weekly basis through participation in mounted and unmounted activities. A trained side walker and a horse leader will assist in the session so that the PT can dedicate full attention to the participant’s movement and clinical objectives.
Hippotherapy programming is scheduled to begin in late June 2023. Please email equestriancenter@eastersealsma.org to join our waitlist.
Easterseals Massachusetts does not bill insurance companies directly. You may request an itemized receipt for your session to submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement.
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Gear Swap Shop
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The Equestrian Center is happy to provide a “give-one, take one” equestrian apparel exchange. Please consider donating your participant's gently used, untorn items to our Swap Shop in the Observation Room for the benefit of another participant. Due to safety precautions, the program does not accept used riding helmets. |
