Healing H’Arts Equestrian Center, Inc. is a 501c3 charitable organization that provides equine assisted activities and therapies to people of all abilities and socioeconomic statuses. 

Located in Union Springs, NY, HH’Arts addresses the need for diverse programming by using horses as a tool to serve people in Cayuga, Tompkins and Seneca Counties.  Local towns/cities include but are not limited to: Auburn, Ithaca, Seneca Falls, Union Springs, Aurora, King Ferry, Genoa, Moravia, Cato, Weedsport, Port Byron, Montezuma and Lansing.  HH’Arts is the only business in a 70 mile radius to offer the following (in one setting):

• Services in adaptive riding (formerly known as therapeutic riding)
• All-Inclusive riding lessons
• Occupational therapy using hippotherapy theory
• Educational opportunities for students entering the human services or health field
• Volunteer opportunities

Adaptive Riding: A service that teaches riding skills to individuals that may need additional support to remain safe on the horse.  This program is directed by a PATH Intl. certified therapeutic riding instructor who has completed specialized training in working with people with disabilities.  Goals and objectives are designed to meet each individual needs.

All-Inclusive riding lessons:  A service that teaches basic to intermediate horsemanship and riding skills to ages 3yrs and up.  English and Western disciplines are available.  Lessons are focused on building a relationship with the horse through natural horsemanship. This experience is not oriented to the show ring, however, an introduction to a horse show may be available.

Hippotherapy: A strategy used by licensed occupational, physical and speech/language therapists to treat neuromuscular and sensory impairments using horses as a tool for a variety of people ages 3yrs and up.  This program requires a physician’s script for service.  Goals and objectives reflect the skills a person needs for their daily life (such as brushing your teeth or walking).  Using horses as a tool to improve the daily life of people shows tremendous potential.  Hippotherapy, in particular, is the only treatment strategy that engages the entire brain at the same time and allows new pathways to be created.  The uniqueness of movement through space as well as the emotional connections people make with horses cannot be duplicated in a clinical setting.

Research shows using horses as a tool  satisfies a need in many communities across the country for comprehensive and diversified programs.  This methodology–often referred to as equine assisted activities–can reach multiple populations including children 2-21, veterans, adults with developmental disabilities, and the growing population of people on the autism spectrum.  Healing H’Arts Equestrian Center, Inc. (HH’Arts) is confident in the impact we can have in our surrounding communities.  Over the past years there has been a dramatic increase in the need for alternative services in our area for disabilities including autism, traumatic brain injury, and neuromuscular impairments.

More recently, Healing H’Arts has become a space for building resilience.  Horses are an asset to self-regulation by providing rhythmical movement through space. They can provide a warm, calming place where the worldview is changed from trauma to resilience.  As suggested by Dr. Perry in the book, What Happened to You? (Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD and Oprah Winfrey: first edition 2021), self-regulation through rhythmic movement “of the horse” help open pathways to resilience. It has been said that the horse is a mirror of our own thought, feelings and emotions.  This has been evident in the encounters here as well.

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