Additional training to become a horse leader is available for our volunteers. No horse experience is required, but we do encourage new volunteers to first “get their feet wet” by volunteering at the barn before taking the class. Pre-requisites for this class include...
If you look in the horse stalls at The Shea Center, you may notice that each horse has its own unique bedding. This bedding provides more than just a comfortable place for our therapeutic horses to relax in between lessons. Two distinct types of bedding are used for...
Long before the first client rider of the day arrives at The Shea Center, our horses have been groomed, tacked, exercised, and prepped for their lessons. It takes a lot of man (and woman) hours to get our herd of 25 horses ready for the day. The staff at The Shea...
by Matt Mitchell, PT, DPT Therapy at The Shea Center is always goal driven. Our physical, occupational, and speech therapy professionals carefully select appropriate functional goals. We also regularly measure progress over time using a variety of methods. We take a...
by Matt Mitchell, PT, DPT Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the number one diagnosis of the clients at The Shea Center. Our team of therapists and adaptive riding instructors strongly believe in the effectiveness of using riding instruction and therapy using equine...
The Shea Center established the Advanced Volunteer Program to ensure that new volunteers have a streamlined first day. With this team of 23 volunteers, we are able to offer extra training to those who would like more one-on-one instruction before beginning to work...
“Safety first” is one of The Shea Center’s primary mottos. From the first day a horse arrives at the Center, it begins to learn “The Shea Way” of horse control methods. This creates a safe and consistent practice for the handling of the horses by our staff,...
Brynn W., age 8, has always been a healthy kid who loves to play soccer. Her parents, Jen and Jeremy, became concerned when after Brynn’s 7th birthday party she developed shortness of breath. Later that night, when Brynn woke with shallow, rapid breathing, they were...
Now that the holiday season at The Shea Center has come to a close, we are looking forward to some big things happening in the new year. One of these is our annual grassroots fundraising campaign, Drive to Ride. For those of you new to The Shea Center, this month-long...
Early in January, before the winter session begins, The Shea Center staff readies the facility for a day of fun. Back to Shea Day is an open house for our clients, their families, and the community. At the open house, horseback riding, horse interaction, a petting...