Fredericton Therapeutic Riding Association needs hands to hold the reins

The Fredericton Therapeutic Riding Association (FTRA) is hoping to recruit more volunteers in an effort to save their program.

"Horse experience isn't necessary,” said Meghan Gamble, FTRA President. “But certainly, being comfortable around horses is required. You're walking directly beside them if you're a side walker, so you need to be able to be comfortable around horses.”

The therapy program is for youth and adults with physical or cognitive disabilities.

Emilie Akerley has been attending the program for most of her life. She's very advanced in the program and can't imagine what it would mean if the FTRA shut down due to a lack of volunteers.

"I've been coming here since I was five, so for 16 years now,” said Akerley. “I like to come and see all the horses and see all the people like Kim, especially Kim.”

Kim Taylor owns Silverwood Arabians and is an equine facilitator.

There are only two certified horse therapy programs in the province.

"We want to be able to maintain that and provide service in our community and open the doors to that,” Taylor said.

Taylor hopes to branch out their services to work with mental health and people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The FTRA already offers three programs at varying levels.

"We've had in the past a young boy who came, he was non-verbal autistic,” Taylor said. “He walked over to one of the minis and he started holding her face and he started talking and he hadn't spoke.”

Volunteering can even be therapeutic.

"When I originally got involved, I was going through some things personally and I really wanted a place where I could be very mindful,” Gamble said. “And certainly, in a barn with horses, you need to be very mindful and present, and giving back to others really helped me put my focus elsewhere.”

Each participant needs three volunteers per session and consistency is key for their environment.