"Dustin's Place" is named after my son with Down Syndrome whom has always had an interest in horses, but had finally found his true love and guardian angel in a little old Grey Shetland, named Nemo.
Brecht Stables & Dustin's Place is now located in Alpharetta, GA. in north Fulton county.

Therapeutic Riding

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Dustin’s Place is currently held in Alpharetta, GA  within a boarding facility where I board my sons pony and my own Quarter Horse. I am working towards obtaining my Therapeutic Riding Instructors license through NARHA.

In 2009 I started a very small Therapeutic Riding Program using my sons pony, Nemo. I had four children taking lessons with me and it is just amazing to watch their faces when they ride Nemo.

Since then I have had to put Nemo down due to extreme founder and old age. It was a very hard decision, but one that I had to make and one that was only fair to Nemo. He went with dignity and knowing the love of all of the children that he had helped in his last year of life.

In the fall of 2009, I bought a Haflinger cross to add to the program and named him “Tony”. Tony is still with us and has proved to be a wonderful addition to the family- although a bit stubborn as most ponies are.

My goal is to move into my own facility soon, to be able to buy  more horses and make a full time business out of my program. I hope to some day be one of North West Georgia’s biggest Therapeutic Riding and Hippotherapy Facility that can help both children and adults with any physical or mental handicap.

Therapeutic horse riding, also known as an Equine Assisted Activity, or ” Adaptive Riding” is for individuals with a range of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social disabilities. There are several different kinds of programs that utilize horses and horse riding for recreational benefits. Equine Assisted Activities are especially targeted for persons with disabilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Therapeutic Riding gives the rider a different, some times more enjoyable outlet to therapy then the normal Physical and Occupational therapy that most children and adults go through.

Therapeutic Riding benefit children and adults with disabilities such as-

Down Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Autism
Tremors
Seizures
Spina Bifida
Multiple Sclerosis
Developmental and speech delays

Learning on horse back is fun! Most of the time, children do not even realize that they are learning something other then how to ride the horse.  The rhythmic, repetitive movement of the horse mimics the natural movement that people use as they walk. Using this movement on top of a horse naturally turns a persons hips and pelvis to sit up straight and move in a rolling motion as if they were walking on the ground them selves.  Using horses in therapy can help improve more then just mobility and balance, it can help-

Recognizing one’s center of gravity
Following directions
Staying focused for longer periods of time
Improves coordination
Improves crossing over the mid line
Stimulates the brain and the connection between moving limbs to brain responses
Teaches respect and patience
Teaches trust and develops a bond between rider and a living being
Increases self confidence and self worth

I offer half or full hour sessions where the student will help brush and interact with the horse as well as help tack the horse up. If the rider would rather just ride, I can have the saddle on and the horse waiting for the child’s lesson to start.

Together, we can come up with an appropriate lesson structure to follow what will best enhance the rider’s abilities using the parents input as well as ideas from the child’s school IEP. During lessons, we will also work on balance and self confidence. To see photographs from some of the lessons, please click on the “Photography” page.img_0200

To learn more about Therapeutic Riding and Hippotherapy, please visit the website for “North American Riding for the Handicapped” or NARHA   www.NARHA.org