Program Services
Therapeutic Riding
Therapeutic Riding is conducted by a riding instructor in a one hour lesson with one or more riders similar in either age or ability that focuses on increasing individual riding skills while gaining a variety of therapeutic benefits.
Benefits include such things as increasing muscle tone and strength, regaining the use of muscles, improving hand/eye coordination and balance, improving peer interaction and communication, increasing self-esteem, and developing a sense of control.
Hippotherapy
An intensive one-on-one medical model where a physical therapist works with the rider using the movement of the horse as a treatment tool. The movement and stride of the horse are graded (sped up, slowed down) in order to provide just the right amount of stimulation level for the human nervous system to be able to learn new strategies and skills.
This stimulates trunk muscles, increases head control, mobilizes the pelvis, and stabilizes the body core. This pattern of movement cannot be duplicated in traditional clinical settings, and the results offer an improved potential for walking and normal hip development in individuals with disabilities.
Application Process
Before an applicant can be considered for the Pegasus Project, program forms must be completely filled out and returned to the Pegasus Project office. A copy of our rider application/assessment form can be downloaded here:
Application download (PDF 166k)
The application form requests information on participant's medical history, Physical/Occupational Therapy Assessment, and requires physician's authorization. Once all forms are received and are verified for completeness, if the applicant is an appropriate candidate for therapeutic riding according to the NARHA guidelines, the applicant will either be enrolled in the program or put on the waiting list if there is not an available riding lesson slot. We do our best to accommodate all applicants.
All scholarship applications for the upcoming riding season must be completed and turned into the Pegasus office for consideration by March 30th, 2008 for the spring session beginning in April.
After being accepted into the program, a riding contract will be issued to the rider to be completed and returned to the Pegasus Project with the session fee prior to session starting, unless other arrangements have been agreed to.
The cost of an eight week riding session is $200. We do offer tuition adjustments, based on financial need, as well as full scholarships. For additional information please call Mary Zylstra at 965-6990 or email pegasus@yakima.net.