About Us
Prairie MeadowsTherapeutic
Riding Center
Hippotherapy
Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement as part of an integrated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes.Background
PMTRC is a non-profit Christian organization founded in 1989 in Coffeyville, KS by Jim Webb, a horse instructor, and daughters, Kristin Wertz and Kori Turney, both occupational therapists. PMTRC was created to enhance the lives of children with special needs by bringing horses and children together. The family owned and operated program continues today with the same passion now in two locations: Goddard, KS (west of Wichita) and Louisburg, KS (south of Kansas City).
Why The Horse?
Equine movement provides multidimensional movement, which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The horse provides a dynamic base of support, making it an excellent tool for increasing trunk strength and control balance, building overall postural strength and endurance, addressing weight bearing, and motor planning. Equine movement offers well-modulated sensory input to vestibular, perceptive, tactile and visual channels. During gait transitions of the horse, the rider must perform constant adjustments in the trunk to maintain a stable position. When a client is riding forward on the horse, the horse's walking gait imparts movement responds remarkably similar to normal human gait. The effects of equine movement on postural control, sensory systems, and motor planning can be used to facilitate coordination and timing, grading of responses, respiratory control, sensory integration skills and attention skills. Equine movement can be used to facilitate the neurophysiologic systems that support all of our functional daily living skills.Let us share how our equine therapy has helped just on eof the hundreds
Success Story
Let us share how our equine therapy has helped just one of the hundreds of children we have served over the last 25 years. Treyton started therapy with us just after his 2nd birthday and was not yet walking or talking. At the end of his 10th therapy session on the horse, he was walking into the barn and climbing up three steps to mount “his” horse! At the end of his 20th therapy session, he was no longer using signs to communicate for his horse to “go”. Instead, he was saying the three-word sentence “Walk-on Luke”! Treyton’s mother also reported better overall balance, improved social skills, ability to climb steps and starting to pedal a tricycle since starting his therapy at PMTRC!