Thanks to a generous donation from The Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Helath we will be purchasing a cart and expanding our equine programs to include driving. This program will focus on the work that goes into establishing a trusting relationship between our students and a mini horse, with the ultimate goal of the students being able to independently drive the Charlton mini horse.
Learning the skills necessary to drive an equine opens up a whole new arena within the equestrian world. It also incorporates the knowledge our students have gained in our proven therapeutic equine riding, horse care and ground work programs, thus providing a solid foundation upon which our students can begin this new venture.
Occasionally, students come to Charlton with physical problems that prohibit them from taking part in the riding aspect of our therapeutic equine program. By establishing a driving component, we have a vast area on which students in this population can focus.
There are not many facilities that offer therapeutic driving sessions so the ones that do are highly sought after. The addition of this program, and your help in making it possible by contributing the funds for the cart, enables us to reach even more students in novel and exciting ways.