At LazyPaw Animal Hospitals, we love supporting fellow animal lovers in the community. That’s why we’re proud to support ManeGait Therapeutic Horsemanship in McKinney
ManeGait is a special place where children and adults with disabilities experience the healing power of horses and have fun while moving beyond their boundaries. Clients include people with physical, cognitive, developmental, sensory, and learning disabilities.
The nonprofit horsemanship center is located on a beautiful 14-acre farm in Collin County where those with disabilities find an immediate sense of belonging.
Run by founders Bill and Priscilla Darling, ManeGait is a warm, welcoming community where compassionate certified therapeutic riding instructors deliver incredible care to every client. Therapeutic riding lessons improve physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills and help each rider not only connect with the animals, but participate in pre-mounted and post-mounted horse care that builds confidence and strengthens bonds between riders and horses. Therapeutic riding can improve balance, muscle strength, endurance, circulation, and respiration. It can also increase motivation, social skills, responsiveness, and adaptability.
ManeGait offers a GaitWay to the Brain Program that takes riders through a series of activities to help them focus and find a deeper inner calm to so they can get the most out of their riding lesson. Activities that stimulate different areas of the brain and body can include music therapy, cross-body movements, hand-eye coordination building, and eye training. Riders and families are given extra activities to do at home to reinforce lessons learned at ManeGait.
The HART Program (Horses And Riders Together) lets riders get more involved with the barn and engage in further horse care. Members are given grooming and cleaning responsibilities that strengthen relationships with the horses and build independence.