Open year-round, Texas Tech's Therapeutic Riding Center serves up to 75 riders a week. A premier accredited center through Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, it provides services to child and adult riders who have a variety of disabilities and special needs using more than a dozen horses and certified therapeutic riding instructors.

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"We see anything from ADHD to muscular dystrophy to spina bifida," said Kelcee Lewis, the center's volunteer coordinator and office manager.

Program officials said the facility offers three types of horse-assisted therapy to people with disabilities across the South Plains, including hippotherapy, therapeutic riding and equine counseling and wellness.

"Volunteers are completely necessary for what we do out here," Lewis said. "If we didn't have them, we could not facilitate all the lessons that we do."

Hippotherapy sessions involve an occupational, physical or speech therapist who uses a horse to reach the therapy goals the therapists have for their rider, while therapeutic riding involves incorporating a rider's therapeutic goals with the skills needed to ride a horse. The center, located at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center, has partnerships with therapists from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Lubbock Early Childhood Intervention and private therapists.

Reporting/Production by Jeff Ramazani & Allison Hirth

CONTACT: Michael Orth, chairman, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-5653 or michael.orth@ttu.edu

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