Hands On Therapeutic Riding Program

Hands On Therapeutic Riding Program Therapeutic horseback riding is a unique form of therapy utilizing horses. Persons benefiting from therapeutic riding range in age from toddlers to the elderly.

The Hands On Therapeutic Program specializes in riding for children and adults who have physical, mental or emotional disabilities. Some of the benefits of therapeutic riding are:

* Relaxation of tight or spastic muscles
* Improved balance and coordination
* Enhanced self-awareness
* Increased independence
* Increased self-confidence
* Increased attention span

The movement of a walking horse so

closely approximates the movement of walking for people, that a physically challenged person can actually experience the feel of walking while riding a horse. Riders have a wide range of physical or mental disabilities including but not limited to; cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, autism, blindness, spina bifida, developmental disabilities and multiple sclerosis. Hands On Therapeutic Riding Program is recognized as having a Pennsylvania Qualified Instructor by the Pennsylvania Council on Therapeutic Horsemanship. (PACTH)

It is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH International, formally (NARHA)

Hands On is a 501c3 all volunteer non-profit. We are able to offer at cost services because of generous donations from local businesses and individuals like you.

We are so grateful for everyone’s support during Centre Gives! Because of your generosity we can continue to provide equ...
05/16/2025

We are so grateful for everyone’s support during Centre Gives! Because of your generosity we can continue to provide equine therapy to the children and adults in our community. We appreciate each and every donation! Thank you ❤️

There are a little less than 3 hours left of Centre Gives! Your support is greatly appreciated!!
05/15/2025

There are a little less than 3 hours left of Centre Gives! Your support is greatly appreciated!!

Today is the last day to donate for Centre Gives! This 36 hour fundraiser ends at 8 p.m. tonight. The funds are used to ...
05/15/2025

Today is the last day to donate for Centre Gives! This 36 hour fundraiser ends at 8 p.m. tonight. The funds are used to feed and care for our therapy horses. We appreciate your support!

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to feed a horse or a herd of horses? We knew how much it was for a year but we ...
05/14/2025

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to feed a horse or a herd of horses? We knew how much it was for a year but we were curious to see what that looked liked over a 25 year period. While it isn’t an exact number because cost and the number of horses each year might have gone up or down, it is interesting to see. Right now we have 10 horses, we go through approximately184 bags of grain and 654 bales of hay each year. The cost for last year to feed the horses was $7,000. So over 25 years just to feed the horses the cost would be around $175,000!
This why Centre Gives is so important for our nonprofit! Your donation helps us buy food for our therapy horses. Click on the link below to donate.

Hands On Therapeutic Riding is an all volunteer program. We use the healing power of horses to provide equine-facilitated therapy to children and adults with...

Did you know that HOTR has been in business for over 25 years? Our nonprofit has provided services  to over 800 children...
05/14/2025

Did you know that HOTR has been in business for over 25 years? Our nonprofit has provided services to over 800 children and adults in Centre and surrounding counties during that time. Your donation during Centre Gives helps us to continue our mission to provide equine therapy to the community. Click below to donate today.

Hands On Therapeutic Riding is an all volunteer program. We use the healing power of horses to provide equine-facilitated therapy to children and adults with...

At HOTR equine therapy is used to promote emotional and mental health. This is for both children and adults. It can invo...
05/14/2025

At HOTR equine therapy is used to promote emotional and mental health. This is for both children and adults. It can involve dealing with the struggles of divorce, abuse, diagnosis’ like ADD and ADHD, PTSD, and many others. it does not always mean getting on a horse and riding. It can be brushing the horse, learning about the horse, and just being around the horse. As Isabella McDaniel said “This sense of connection with another living being helps to ward off the loneliness of depression, isolation, and virtual reality of today’s world.”

Hands On Therapeutic Riding is an all volunteer program. We use the healing power of horses to provide equine-facilitated therapy to children and adults with...

Centre Gives starts tomorrow, Wednesday May 14 and runs through Thursday May 15th.  HOTR needs your support to continue ...
05/13/2025

Centre Gives starts tomorrow, Wednesday May 14 and runs through Thursday May 15th. HOTR needs your support to continue providing services to the children and adults of Centre County. We love what we do and couldn’t keep it up without you!

05/13/2025

Koda is rolling around in his excitement for Centre Gives. Ok so maybe it’s just flies or he is itchy but we are certainly excited!

The 36 hour fundraiser starts on Wednesday at 8 a.m. go to Centregives.org and donate to your favorite nonprofit!

We found out a couple of weeks ago how our horses act during terrible storms. It was not how we expected. Everyone had n...
05/12/2025

We found out a couple of weeks ago how our horses act during terrible storms. It was not how we expected. Everyone had nice warm, dry stalls to hunker down in during the storm but that is not where anyone was at. All the horses went outside and put their butts to the wind and stood like that for the duration of the storm. It was amazing to see. We were very fortunate and only had one tree come down in the back yard and while we lost power like many did, the horses and people were safe.

Happy Mother’s Day!
05/12/2025

Happy Mother’s Day!

Address

880 Smith Road
Port Matilda, PA
16870

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