The Abilities Ranch provides equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) to a variety of populations and in a variety of therapeutic settings. EAP utilizes horses to assist with counseling for individuals of all ages and is used in partnership with more traditional treatment. EAP has become a successful method at reaching children and adults with autism, down syndrome, and other neurodiverse abilities by providing an outdoor experience to use all senses while learning and processing through emotional challenges. Classes include weekday hourly sessions, group sessions, camps, and independent living dorms. Abilities Ranch networks new and existing equine therapy providers within Texas for extended services.
In 2022 according to the World Health Organization 1 in 8 people live with a mental disorder and about 1 in 44 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States according to the CDC. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000 and although these numbers are great, there are still limited resources for such individuals and is why the Abilities Ranch is needed.
Today there is a crisis, an overwhelming increase of children and adults with autism and other neurodiverse disorders that leave individuals stranded and their families feeling hopeless. Help Abilities Ranch provide LifeTrack courses for measurable individual growth, reflected in small steps of abilities, over a lifelong journey of new abilities. Your help will allow Abilities Ranch to network existing equine therapy providers for a collective strength in providing assistance to individuals in their geographic area and provide the much needed next step in a variety of levels of independent living for an ongoing aging autistic population.
When participating in the Life Track courses each individual becomes a student and graduates through distinct stages of equine therapy levels. Phase I offerings include:
First Steps
First Steps is a program that reaches out to each community with an open invitation to families with autistic and other neurodiverse disorder children. It allows for an initial visit for the child or adult, family overview, and moral support. This program helps caregivers try the therapy and see examples of others in similar circumstances.
The Stand
The Stand is an entry level equine therapy that introduces students and families to the mindset of the therapy and allows safe baby steps with horse touching, petting, and care. This introduction is the first step at engaging activity outside their immediate safe zone circle. For caregivers, this session is to help identify the need for the appropriate Abilities LifeTrack.
Walk 1
Also known as Hippotherapy, uses the dynamic motion of the horse to impact neurologic and sensory systems for therapeutic goals with licensed therapists. Serving ages 2 - 99+
Walk 2
The Walk II stage is where the guided rides begin. A plan is developed for each individual. Each student will have their own individual abilities and strengths, so everyone will have unique needs during this process. As the rides begin a foundation is established to improve neurological function and sensory processing, which can be generalized to a wide range of daily activities. The parents or guardians along with the therapist continue to explore the talents or abilities of each student then begin to find ways to further develop those skills.
Gallop
As the equine therapy continues and the plan for developing abilities is implemented the student begins to gain confidence and direction. The directions and abilities are further sharpened by focusing on what everyone excels at.
Run
Those individuals that qualify for the Run step are invited to participate in the South 40 program which is a full-time live-in life skills training program. Those chosen to participate in this program will be taught life skills such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, budgeting, and communication. They will also learn individual job skills based on their abilities and talents such as animal care, horticulture, ranch work, grocery store work, computer skills, ect... In addition to those skills, they will be taught to work with people and potentially even work equine therapy sessions with younger students that come to the ranch. The goal for the South 40 program is to give as many individuals as possible the ability to potentially live on their own.
Camps
Round Up – end of therapy year recognition three-day week camp
Rodeo – summer 4-day camps
Cattle Drive – introduction to other animals and petting zoo
South 40 – Adult dorms for independent living
Other Supported Therapies:
Physical Therapy
Licensed & PATH Registered Physical Therapists use the dynamic motion of the horse with positioning and exercises to achieve specific patient treatment goals. This dynamic activity facilitates improved balance, posture, range of motion, mobility, and gross motor skills.
Occupational Therapy"
Licensed & PATH Registered Occupational Therapists use the dynamic motion of the horse with positioning and exercises to achieve specific patient treatment goals. This dynamic activity facilitates improved sensory processing, posture, coordination and fine motor skills.
Speech- Language Therapy
Licensed & PATH Registered Speech-Language Pathologists use the dynamic motion of the horse to engage and promote communication to achieve specific patient treatment goals.
Therapeutic Riding Lessons
PATH Certified Instructors provide quality individual riding lessons for all ages and all abilities in our wonderful arena and on our beautiful trails. Lessons can include horse care, tacking and riding. Individual horseback riding lessons are tailored to each rider with the goal of progressing each to be as independent as possible. Serving ages 5 and up.
Additional Activities:
Sidling Riding Lessons
As part of our family support programs, beginner riding lessons for the siblings of our participants are also available.
Corporate Team Building
Our corporate team building events are hugely successful. The benefits of getting out of the office and having co-workers interact in a non-threatening environment are palpable and the positive impact can be felt immediately within your organization.
Help builds trust. Team building activities are designed to help develop trust among team members. Trust is the most critical element to any organization, especially when teamwork is needed on a daily basis. Trust can make or break a team, and without teams, the business will not survive for long. Team building activities often foster mutual trust hence allowing team members to be more dependent on one another and be more efficient and productive as well. Working with our horses as a team enables co-workers to experience the same benefits as the rest of our clients, realizing how much their behaviors are influencing their teammates.
Builds confidence and a positive attitude at work. One obstacle to maximum performance among employees is stress and depression. There are team building activities specifically geared towards helping make employees less depressed and brighten their moods. Stress is relieved and it reflects on their work. Finger-pointing quickly becomes collaboration when the onus is taken off of themselves and put on the task of working with the horses. Positivity may result and the workplace environment benefits. Confidence will creep in and team members will be able to express themselves much more freely. The word “boss” will no longer have a negative connotation.
Increases collaboration and eases conflicts. Team building activities are supposed to establish very strong bonds among co-workers. Blame games when problems arise, and unnecessary conflicts and disputes must be eliminated. Employees have to be able to work closely with one another and become accustomed to each other’s personalities. According to Inc. Magazine, an effective team is the one with “a penchant for collaboration and a keen awareness of interdependency.” Working with our horses forces this type of collaboration on a team in a non-threatening way.
