A non-profit therapeutic riding facility called Hearts & Horses serves people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in their program called "Riding in the Moment." Seniors, as well as adults, who are experiencing the challenges of aging, memory loss, and age or injury-related cognitive impairments, could find joy in equine-related activities like the Riding in the Moment facility. The facility has been changing lives since 1997. It is located at of Northern Colorado.
The program has established a partnership with Brookdale Senior Living in 2011 and is expanding its class offerings to those who are coping with dementia, Parkinson's, and traumatic brain injuries.
Horses help the elderly with a chance to re-experience memories from their past. Ray, a former cowboy and rancher with impaired vision, was given the chance to go back to his past by riding the horse making him say, "Hi ho, Silver!"
Another senior named Marti, who had Alzheimer's disease, was ecstatic when she met her horse Sugar, moving her to sing a song. "That was her way of communicating to us that she was happy," the instructor said, according to Little Things.
Hearts & Horses instructors are rigorously trained and certified by PATH Intl., the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, receiving the highest level of accreditation and is a highly regarded training facility for therapeutic riding instructors.
