Ride On LA

Adaptive riding lessons

Therapeutic riding program · Up to age 21 · For kids with special needs · $70/session

Adaptive riding lessons combine sport, recreation and education, taught by PATH International certified instructors who adapt horsemanship skills to each rider's ability. A typical lesson covers safety around horses, warm-up exercises, games and riding skills including equitation and obstacles. Riders use an ASTM-SEI approved helmet and standard English or western tack adapted to their needs, and wear long pants and closed-toe shoes or boots. Staff evaluate each student first, and goals and ability set lesson length. Lessons cost $70 for a half-hour private lesson or a one-hour group lesson of three or more riders. Regional center partnership has widened access. The adaptive riding waitlists are temporarily closed at all locations. Chatsworth serves the San Fernando Valley.

• Every school day,

• Half-hour private lesson or one-hour group lesson of 3 or more riders.

Registration closed

Hippotherapy: physical, occupational and speech therapy

Physical therapy · Up to age 21

Outpatient clinic offering physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language therapy to children and adults with special needs. Therapists work as a transdisciplinary team, evaluate each person and write an individualized plan of care. Hippotherapy, using the horse's movement and sensory input, is one tool among others; therapists decide whether it is safe and appropriate. The horse is used to work on balance, strength, coordination, motor control, sensory processing, and speech and communication. Clinic spaces have a suspended swing and a partial weight bearing treadmill system. The Chatsworth site serves the San Fernando Valley, and Ride On also has sites in Newbury Park and Pasadena. Regional center funding is noted for specialized recreational therapy through North Los Angeles County Regional Center.

• Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, Speech-language therapy and Hippotherapy
• Sunny Holmes, PT DPT, Karen Cruise, PT, Julia Lisle, OTR/L and Sara Macaluso, OTD OTR/L
• Open Weekdays 8am–4pm
• Insurance: Regional center funded: vendored with a California regional center
• Where care happens: At the clinic or office

• Activities: Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, Speech therapy and Therapeutic riding