Old Westbury boasts plenty of horse stables, but one stands out for its profound impact

in the community. HorseAbility, nestled on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury, provides equine

therapy to members of our village, as well as the greater Long Island community, for toddlers

through seniors. Volunteers are the backbone of HorseAbility, often outnumbering the clients and enabling the programs to run smoothly. Many serve as ‘leaders’ and ‘side-walkers,’ where they support horses and riders in lessons. Some lead the mini-horses on their visits, and others serve as counselors at Camp HorseAbility. In return, volunteers are invited to participate in various horsemanship and therapeutic education workshops, Goat Yoga classes, Pizza and Movie Nights, Fall Festivals, Volunteer of the Month competitions, and free raffles. The community fostered at HorseAbility, much like our own in Old Westbury, is extremely diverse yet unified. Volunteers and clients across all ages and abilities are connected through their love of horses (and other animals like goats, cows, and cats!) and dedication to service.

As a nonprofit organization, HorseAbility offers a broad range of programs to help both

adults and children with special needs. Adaptive riding lessons aid individuals with learning or

developmental disorders in improving self-esteem and confidence while fostering an

interpersonal relationship between horse and rider. Hippotherapy is offered by occupational,

physical, and speech-language therapists and uses the rhythmic movement of the horse’s gait to stimulate sensory, neuromotor and cognitive systems and improve motor skills. The Goal

Oriented Activities for Life Skill (G.O.A.L.S.) Development Program is offered from the ground to promote responsibility, communication, and teamwork skills in adults through barn care activities. For those intimidated by larger horses, HorseAbility’s Miniature Horse Companion Therapy Visitation Program brings mini horses to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc. to foster interpersonal connections and companionship. HorseAbility’s participants enjoy these activities, as well as themed events for holidays and competitive horse shows under the Long Island Horse Show Series for Riders with Disabilities, which was founded by HorseAbility. HorseAbility participants can even attend Camp HorseAbility for a week each summer, which features activities such as arts and crafts, sports, swimming, and other recreation in addition to equine therapy. HorseAbility also offers trips for groups such as corporate sponsored service opportunities, senior center outings, day camps, and Scout troops. Visit their website (www.HorseAbility.org) for ways to get involved!

I started volunteering at Camp HorseAbility in August of 2022. As an equestrian for

many years and ready to begin 10th grade, I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to engage in

service while working with the animals I loved. HorseAbility ended up being so much more to

me than that. I grew attached to certain horses, volunteers, and riders. Most of all, I enjoyed the

community and felt that I had found my place, so much so that I continue to volunteer year

round, even now as I am about to enter my senior year at Wheatley. I appreciate the flexibility in choosing when I volunteer and the kindness and gratitude I receive from clients and staff. As

volunteers, we are frequently treated to pizza, bagels, and free time to hang out with the various animals around the barn. I really enjoy meeting new volunteers and clients and learning about their experiences. My favorite rider, Joey, fills me in on his latest Lego project each week, and many of the older volunteers share advice about college and beyond with me. I also enjoy the seasonal horse shows and their lighthearted, uncompetitive nature. Everyone’s a winner, and I’ve never seen a bigger audience around a riding arena! I highly recommend HorseAbility as a volunteer opportunity, whether you are a teen or adult, and whether you are familiar with horses or not. If you are seeking service hours for school, an internship for college, a way to give back in retirement, or interested in becoming part of a supportive and caring community, HorseAbility is the place for you! It is truly the shared experience of coming together to support this one of a kind place that makes Old Westbury a very special community.

**SIDEBAR**

I saw first-hand the benefits of utilizing horses for therapy when I loaned my horse to a physical therapist who was working with a child with cerebral palsy. At the time, there weren’t any therapeutic riding programs on Long Island that provided therapeutic services for individuals with special needs. After seeing the benefits of this type of therapeutic support, I felt compelled to rise to the challenge and create an inclusive and safe environment for people of all abilities to be around horses and receive therapeutic benefits. I combined my love of horses and passion of children and education and created HorseAbility. 

I know what horses did for me on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level and I wanted to be a resource, a “team” of support for families.  Physical, emotional, educational and social support was clearly needed. That is why I was drawn to do this work and I truly believe it’s my calling.

We started our Hippotherapy program out of necessity to better serve the community.  We needed to offer opportunities for more medically-fragile clients that come to us. Hippotherapy is utilizing the horses movement as part of the treatment for physical therapy, occupational therapy and/or speech and language therapy sessions with one of our certified therapists. Instead of using a saddle for the rider, the horse wears a bareback pad that allows the rider to feel the movement of the horse better.  The horse's movement is what the therapist uses to engage the client during the treatment session.  A horse's movement is only a quarter of an inch different then a full grown adult.  For someone that is unable to walk, the horse's movement is moving them in the same three-dimensional movement that we have when we're walking.  Sitting on the horse  takes the stress and pressure off the unbalanced body. And if there is a neurological issue, the horse is manipulating and moving the body in such a way that the benefits become muscle memory. People have taken their first steps here, people have said their first words here. It's quite amazing what goes on.

One of the best things that I find with HorseAbility, is that it's such a safe environment for people to come and explore and learn about themselves, but also learn about new things that they didn't necessarily know might be of interest to them within an environment that is non-judgmental, encouraging, and supportive for everybody.  Whether you are a participant or a volunteer and/or even staff, this is a safe, trusted environment. We hear a lot about the importance of providing a safe trusted space and we really think that we're ahead of the curve on that one because we've always been a safe environment physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually. Everybody should feel safe and trust their community.

There really, truly is something here for everybody. Whether you're a volunteer that's outside with the horses like Adriana or inside helping in the office as a front-desk receptionist or as support to staff in other departments, you'll find an opportunity here. We have students pursuing studies in OT/PT, speech and language pathology who observe our therapists working with individuals with special needs. We also offer internships for individuals interested in education, special education, not-for-profit work or who want to gain experience in management, accounting or finance. As of recent, we’re looking to expand our social media outreach efforts so there are volunteer/intern opportunities there as well. We also participate in outreach events including volunteer fairs, high school and college fairs, community fairs, where volunteers speak on our behalf. Then there’s fundraising events such as our annual gala and golf outing where volunteers sell raffles, help with registration and support our staff with different tasks.

We also offer mobile therapeutic services that allow us to work with individuals of all ages in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. We do a lot of work with the dementia-care population, which is incredibly important, and we’ve seen a lot of success here. Just being around horses is calming; you begin to breathe slower to match their breath unconsciously, calming you from the inside out, ultimately lowering your blood pressure. Just being around horses allows this to occur because horses have such a wide energy field that they project to us. We don't have to be sitting on or touching a horse to experience the benefits of their energy, which helps relieve some of the agitation and irritability that can be common among individuals affected with Alzheimer's. We did a study years ago that showed that the patients that came to us from an assisted living facility had less of these negative symptoms days after visiting with our horses.

We love having corporate teams join us! We've had groups as small as 5 and as large as 150 come and work on projects for their day of service. There are also opportunities for corporate team building groups and workshops.  Different organizations come and work on activities and workshops with their team to learn how to communicate and work better together.

We also have different community groups, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, that come to do their leadership projects at HorseAbility. In the past, Scouts have built wheelchair-accessible picnic tables, a lending library that’s here on the property and tack boxes outside of the horse stalls to hold all of their equipment.

“There is not a population that we have seen that has not had results from being part of HorseAbility, whether it be as a volunteer or as a participant. There's something here for everyone.”

“Working with horses is quite amazing because horses mirror-image and mimic what we project and they project right back to us. So it's quite amazing to have the horse as a partner when we are doing therapy.”