Therapeutic Driving

Therapeutic Driving is a fast-growing sport and it is becoming recognized for its unique therapeutic value. Using a horse and carriage gives participants an alternative to riding, opening the world of horses to those who may be unable to ride due to weight, balance, physical limitations and many other issues. Therapeutic Driving is about learning the knowledge of safety, horses, harnessing and driving skills and provides the student with a range of movements and a lot of sensorimotor experiences. It takes 3-5 volunteers to make one driving team to assist in our driving classes.

Special Equestrians has the good fortune of having a volunteer, Mike Freeman, who had a great deal of driving experience. He was very interested in pursuing the goal of becoming a PATH Intl. Certified Driving Instructor, which he accomplished in 2016. Mike began determining what equipment and vehicle would be needed. Because of a generous donation, SE was able to purchase a cart built for therapeutic driving. Mike began recruiting and training his driving team volunteers in 2016. In 2017, the program had their first driving students. The carriage driving season is offered at Special Equestrians from late October through April as we use our 14.5-acre property for our driving arena and driving trails.