Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy

SMART has now expanded it's Therapeutic Riding program to bring the benefits of horseback riding and equine assisted activities to our area military service members and their families. Our program is open to all veterans from all branches of the service and is designed to assist injured veterans and their families, veterans and their families in transition, and veterans and their families seeking personal enrichment, exercise and growth.

For those disabled veterans that are recovering from war related injuries, our goal is to provide physical and rehabilitative support-- as well as to help ease these soldiers and their families through transitions back into civilian and family life.

Through the Horses for Heroes program, all veterans and their families will have the opportunity to learn a variety of equestrian skills including grooming, tacking, mounting, riding, driving a horse and carriage and the daily care of horses. We offer basic, intermediate and advanced horsemanship skills levels and all classes are taught by our qualified NARHA Instructors and volunteer staff.

SMART's Horses for Heroes program is provided at no cost to veterans and their families. We invite all area veterans and their families to experience the joys of horseback riding and equine assisted activities.

Therapeutic Horseback Riding

Therapeutic riding is an excellent form of exercise in addition to being a fun, safe, challenging and social activity. Riding sessions are conducted according to each rider's needs, abilities, and rate of progress. Some of the benefits received from learning to ride a horse include improvements in core strength, increased muscular strength and flexibility, improved coordination, balance and stability, improved long term and short term memory, and restored self-confidence and independence.

Carriage Driving

Carriage driving sessions are provided for participants whose challenges may preclude riding safely, for participants who use a wheelchair, or for participants who are interested in learning a new equestrian skill. Carriage driving facilitates improvements in core/upper body strength and coordination, postural control, spatial awareness, verbal communication skills, short and long term memory, and ability to focus on the task at hand.