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Our July Volunteer of the Month is:
Mark Schwab!
Contact us to volunteer!
Miles of Smiles at a Glance
Miles of Smiles Therapeutic Horsemanship is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that offers children and adults with physical, mental, emotional and social disabilities the benefit of therapeutic horseback riding.
Why the Horse?
Making A Difference
A horse’s walk is rhythmic and repetitive, encouraging movement responses in riders that are similar to human movement patterns of the pelvis while walking. Because of the interaction with a horse, riding may establish a bond that is motivating to riders. For some individuals, riding a horse gives them a chance to have mastery over something significant when they often have little opportunity for control in their lives.
We seek to offer children and adults with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities or injuries the benefits of therapeutic riding. We provide a safe, rewarding and comprehensive approach to meet the multi-dimensional needs of its participants. We offer group lessons (not to exceed 4 riders) for 60 minutes and private lessons. We have six week seasonal lessons available for Spring, Summer, and Fall/Winter programs.
Therapy Education Program – TEP
We offer a School Partnership Program to benefit special individuals from area elementary and middle school systems. Students participate in grooming and educational classes once a week over the school session. We look forward to expanding this program so that we can continue to enhance the life skills and development of these students.
Smiles of Strength
Smiles of Strength is a proposed program to help individuals whose lives have been transformed by post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This “therapeutic” setting will provide equine assisted activities (EAA) to help clients attain skills that help deal with the stresses caused by PTSD.
The main goal of this program is to assist persons with PTSD by creating an emotional bond with another living creature, a horse.
A person with PTSD is likely to experience many of the challenges faced by a person with a disability. For example: feelings of social anxiety due to physical differences, physical challenges, in-ability to interact at work or in recreational settings for a “normal” length of time, feeling emotional distance between family and friends, increased fears of death, increased worries about financial situations.
Contact Miles of Smiles
Get in touch with Miles of Smiles to learn more about our work and how you can get involved.
