Guest Post: Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center

Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center, a non profit organization located in Brooksville, FL, was founded by Lisa Michelangelo, PT in the fall of 2014. Lisa recently took the time to tell us more about the work they do at Emerald M and the role the Equicizer plays in their program.

by Lisa Michelangelo

Emerald M began by offering hippotherapy and therapeutic riding services and most recently in the last 16 months has expanded to working with military veterans and their families. Emerald M's participants start as young as 2 years old with a variety of disabilities such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Down's syndrome, autism, PTSD, and a variety of other neurological and orthopedic issues. Often times, these children and adults are fearful or incapable of riding a real horse when they begin the program. 

I knew the value in the Equicizer as I was introduced to it at a therapeutic program where I used to work and desperately wanted it for Emerald M. By the generosity of many of my participants, an Equicizer "the Black Stallion", was donated to the program in 2017.

The Equicizer has been a huge asset to our therapeutic program. Because we live in Florida, our summers are extremely hot and rainy, and many of our participants can't tolerate the intense heat or their sessions get canceled due to rain. We have located our Equicizer in an air conditioned room allowing for these participants to still attend sessions at the farm and also preventing them from regression. 

Most recently we had a child that needed surgery on her ankle and was restricted in a cast for 6 weeks. She was unable to ride the real horse, but was able to still receive services by using the Equicizer. The Equicizer has also been a great benefit when introducing a new concept to a participant that they are having difficulty grasping. It is much easier to introduce it in a more controlled setting and then transfer it over to the real horse. 

Our Equicizer is so important to our program and we are so blessed to have it!

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Brianna is a very special part of Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Program. Below is her incredibly inspiring story of will and determination. 

If you'd like to learn more about the services that Emerald M provides and/or how you can support them, visit their website! You can also follow Emerald M on facebook.

www.equicizer.com