Freedom Reins Therapeutic Riding Center's

Freedom Reins Therapeutic Riding Center's mission is to improve the bodies, minds and spirits of children and adults with disabilities through the use of equine assisted therapy. Our focus is on the ability of each rider, not his or her disability. The horse provides the challenged rider with a feeling of freedom and independence that might be limited in their everyday life. Equine program activities are used as a form of therapy to achieve physical, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and communication goals. We offer services weekly to those with disabilities beginning March 5th and ending November 21, 2024.

Freedom Reins is currently seeking volunteers who would like to be involved over the next few weeks working with our horses with a focus on keeping them moving and enjoying special attention while they wait for their riders to return in March. The Winter Volunteer Program is a great opportunity to enjoy spending relaxed time with the horses and each other while doing grooming, horseplay, groundwork, and basic arena patterns. Horse experience is not required.

Anyone wanting to learn more about horses and how they make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities is encouraged to join! We’ll wrap-up end of February with specialized training focused on improving our riders' experience and better ensuring their comfort and safety, including in-depth horse leader and side walker training and learning more about working with riders with disabilities.

The first session of the Winter Volunteer Program was on Saturday, January 20th from 10:00 - 11:30 at the Freedom Reins facility at 1077 N. Meridian Road in Jasper. We'll meet each Saturday thru February 17.  To enable everyone to have their own horse, we're asking you schedule for each weekend you'd like to attend. Feel free to sign up for only one session or several!

Please consider joining us Saturday mornings from 10:00 - 11:30 beginning January 20th thru February 17. You don’t need to be a horse leader to participate - or have any experience with horses.  New volunteers are always welcome.

Side walkers wanting to learn to be horse leaders or just wanting more hands-on with the horses are encouraged to join!

Please contact Kim Dietz by email ([email protected]) or call or text (812-631-6379) to schedule or for any questions.

Depending on the level of interest we will also consider offering a weekday evening session.

Volunteers are the backbone of our therapeutic riding program and support all areas of our program including:

• Horse Leaders and Side Walkers

• Assistant Instructors

• Horse Care

• Barn and Facilities Maintenance

• Volunteer Outreach and Coordination

• Social Media and Marketing

• Landscaping Maintenance