Dream a Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship

Dream a Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship

By Robert Bell Friday, 19 June 2009

Brenda McCall needed to get back outdoors. She grew up on a farm and worked for many years with horses as a trainer and a rider. She taught people to ride, but also rode competitively.

After 27 years of competitive riding, McCall decided to leave the sport behind and pursue another path: working with children who have disabilities. She worked for a few years with Leander ISD, but the indoor environment was hard for her, and she missed being outside with her horses. She sometimes took her classes to a therapeutic riding center in Liberty Hill. The students loved being around horses, and McCall knew what she needed to do to get back outdoors while also helping students with disabilities.

McCall was already experienced in teaching horsemanship and had gentle horses that worked well with children. She earned instructor certification from the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association in October 2007, opened Dream a Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship one month later and was certified as a nonprofit in January 2009. The center offers therapeutic riding, hippotherapy and equine education.

The staff at Dream a Dream works with clients who have a variety of disabilities, ranging from autism to vision impairment. Some autistic students classified as “non-verbal” have even begun speaking after working with the horses, which is why McCall’s staff refer to these children as “pre-verbal,” she said.

Other clients who have motor disabilities such as cerebral palsy benefit from the motion of riding a horse, which is similar to the movement of a person walking, McCall said. The staff includes Trish Honda, a licensed physical therapist trained in hippotherapy. As a nonprofit, Dream a Dream can apply for grants and other types of funding to expand its operations.

Dream a Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship, 23650 Round Mountain Circle, Leander, 260-5957 • www.dadth.org