Agua Dulce was the place to be Saturday night as Carousel Ranch hosted its 19th annual Heart of the West fundraising dinner and auction in its newly covered arena.

The hundreds of supporters lucky enough to secure a ticket to the sold-out event – held on the organization’s own grounds for the first time – got a special treat in the form a demonstration showcasing the amazing work Carousel Ranch does to improve the lives of special-needs children and young adults through equestrian therapy.

http://www.carouselranch.org

Therapeutic riding is horseback riding for the disabled. It combines instruction in traditional horsemanship skills with concepts of physical therapy to improve the strength, balance, and self-esteem for physically and mentally disabled children and adults.

To an individual with a disability, horseback riding takes them into a new, unexplored world and provides a sense of independence and freedom that defies their disability. Therapeutic riding challenges our riders in ways that they have seldom been challenged before.

Therapeutic riding achieves improved coordination, muscle strength, joint mobility, perceptual skills and self-confidence. The opportunity to work with a horse, to groom and help saddle it are very real sources of excitement and pride. Moreover, each step a horse takes requires our riders to use their muscles to maintain balance and challenges their minds to work to guide the horse.

Almost every disabled person can benefit from therapeutic riding. We have seen major benefits for our riders who have come to us with disabilities that range from cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, brain injury, stroke, learning disorders, and emotional problems.