Saddle Buddies Therapy

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Grooming the horse does more than just make us and them happy, it helps develop upper extremity coordination, visual motor skills, and intrinsic strength!

Our herd is all set for the solar spectacle with their trendy and functional shades!

We have a ‼️ NEW FRIEND ALERT ‼️

Everyone, help us give a warm welcome to Seven!!! Seven is an 18 year old, 14 hand, Tennessee Walking Horse cross. She came to join us all the way from Tallahassee, FL.

Seven has been a lesson horse and trail riding extraordinaire. She came here on a trial to see if she would like to add equine assisted therapies to her resume, and we are so thrilled to say she loves it! Seven has settled well into our program, and has already made many new friends! Her shorter size is beneficial for clients who need physical assistance, and her breed gives her a big, lateral walk that provides fantastic sensory input. She has a calm demeanor, and absolutely loves being with people.

Welcome to the team, Seven!

Help us all wish a HAPPY RETIREMENT to Amigo!!! Amigo, thank you for spending the last two years with us, and improving the lives of many, many people. Amigo is happily retired with Occupational Therapist Kellsey.

Who do we have to fill in Amigo's hoofprints? Stay tuned for a NEW FRIEND ALERT!

We have decided to transition out of equine assisted therapy, and instead move to chicken assisted therapy.

You will now find one chicken in each stall, instead of horses. We determined the therapeutic benefits of chickens outweigh the therapeutic benefits of horses. Now, clients will be able to catch a chicken, put a leash on it, and take it for a walk around our arena. This will help promote an increase in frustration tolerance, as well as address many fine and gross motor goals.

Barn manager Rachael will be working on training the chickens to do tricks, and will be training all therapists how to effectively catch the chickens while we prepare to move to this new and expiramental therapy.

We had so much fun with our friends at HCSD Virtual Program of Choice! Their student council leaders came out with their teacher to volunteer and learn all about hippotherapy. They learned horse care and grooming, how to sidewalk, and how to lead. They all got to sit on Toby, and learn a little about horses gait patterns with barn manager / Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor / Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning, Rachael!

Our new friend Charlie (Dusty) has settled in well with us! Rio, Toby, and Amigo gave him a warm welcome into our herd. His stocky build and smooth gaits have made him a lovely hippotherapy mount, and he has been enjoying the job! His patient and calm demeanor has lead to an easy transition to his latest job title. Way to go, Charlie!!!

We have a ‼️NEW FRIEND ALERT‼️

Everybody say hello and welcome to Dusty (aka Apricot)!!!! He is joining us on loan from our friends at Bearfoot Ranch!

Apricot is a palomino quarter horse in his teens. He is no stranger to equine assisted therapies, as he has been in therapeutic riding lessons and even competed at Special Olympics! He is now going to add hippotherapy to his resume.

Bullseye is settling in well at home, and enjoying all the luxuries of retirement!!

We will have a new herd member joining us this week, stay tuned for his introduction!

Y’all put on your party hats and help us wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kellsey!!

Kellsey has been an OT for two years, and been with us for the last year and a half! When asked why she chooses to incorporate hippotherapy into her treatment plans, she said “I love hippotherapy because it is such a unique approach to therapy and we get to work in partnership with a horse and use their movement to help promote increased coordination and sensory processing skills in clients.”

A fun fact about Kellsey- she was born in Florida and her favorite animal is the sea turtle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLSEY!! Here she is pictured with Amigo.

Equine assisted therapies have been around a long time, but just how long is that? Orbasis of ancient Lydia (present-day Turkey) documented the therapeutic benefits of riding in 600 BC, while other written records of Equine Therapy go back even farther!

Hippotherapy began in the 1960s, as an adjunct to traditional physical therapy in Germany, Austria, and Sweden.

Happy Holidays!!

Physical Therapist Brittany incorporated our ring tree into her treatment session as a fun challenge to work on core strength and stability, and lower limb strength!

We borrowed a few reindeer from Santa for the week! Who do y’all think wore the antlers best?

Help us wish the happiest of birthdays to one of our amazing Physical Therapists, LAUREN!! Bullseye is also excited that Lauren was kind enough to let him wear her birthday tiara.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!! 🥳

What’s so great about Bullseye? He’s out standing in his field!!!

Happy National Horse Day!

Amigo was a rescue, so not much is known about what previous jobs he has on his resume. He has been with us for the past year, and is absolutely loving his job! When he’s not working hard under saddle, he enjoys giving hugs to his friends. He is also trained to smile on command!

"One step for horses, one giant leap for our kids."

Did you know....
🐴The rhythmic motion of the horse at the walk can help overcome abnormal muscle tones and improved volitional movements.
🐴Positional changes (like sitting backwards and sideways) helps with vestibular processing.

Hello, friends! If you couldn’t tell by the picture, Amigo has something to say-

Do you love horses? Do you love helping others? Are you perhaps interested in or pursuing a career as an Occupational or Physical Therapist, or SLP? If you answered yes to any of those questions, we have a wonderful volunteer opportunity for you! We are in need of sidewalkers! Sidewalkers get to assist the client while they are on the horse by walking on the opposite side of the horse of the therapist to help ensure the clients safety during the treatment session. This is an exciting, rewarding, educational, and impactful volunteer opportunity!

For more information, or to set up an orientation, please reach out to Rachael at [email protected]. No prior experience is required.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are celebrating Halloween all week, and we would love to have you join us! We started out strong this week with some fun and creative costumes!

Picture 1- Our horses strapped on their helmets, and dressed up as jockeys!
Picture 2- SLP Molly dressed as Barbie (her shirt says “my job is Speech” !), PT Brittany dressed as a cute raccoon, and Barn Manager Rachael dressed up as Beetlejuice.
Picture 3- OT Kellsey, dressed as the Mouse from “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and Barn Manager Rachael pose with a sweet friend in a cool dinosaur costume.

Stay tuned to see what cool costumes we have in store for the rest of the week 👻🎃

Toby wants you all to know that we are back on Instagram!! Our brand new profile is saddlebuddiestherapy ,make sure you give us a follow so you can stay up to date on all that we have going on!

Did you know that polo wraps and ear bonnets that match the saddle pad do more than just make Rio look good? Tacking up the horse addresses several occupational therapy goals, including fine motor and visual motor skills, motor planning, coordination, and problem solving! Self care goals are also addressed during the grooming of the horse.

Meet our new therapy horse, Amigo! Amigo is 20 years old, naturally curious, and loves to be around people! We are thrilled to have him as part of our non-profit program where he will help provide equine assisted services and hippotherapy to our amazing clients!

Pictured is a client riding Amigo with our occupational therapist, Kellsey.

We would like to welcome our new Physical Therapist, Brittany. She is originally from the small town of Cuthbert in South Georgia. She graduated from Mercer University with a Bachelors in Psychology and received her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from the University of North Georgia in 2022. She loves the outdoors and art. Brittany has open availability, including after school openings!

Happy Birthday to our Occupational Therapist Anna and our New Patient Coordinator Celina!🎂🎉

Anna received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia. Since beginning to work for Walker Therapy in 2014, Anna has continued her studies in pediatrics, hippotherapy and aquatic therapy. In her free time, Anna enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 sons.

Celina is a native of Miami, Florida. She joined Walker Therapy Services in 2018 and works diligently with our families on the new patient process. She is bilingual and provides translating services for our therapists and parents. Celina enjoys spending time with her husband and four children. She also loves to cheer on the Braves!⚾️

Happy birthday to you both! We hope y’all have a great day!