Riverdale program pairs horses with therapy to help participants build strength and confidence

At Riverdale Stables, located at 6100 Mosholu Ave., a unique program is taking shape, using the companionship of horses to support those with disabilities and severe illnesses, as well as veterans facing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Through Stable Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning, participants engage with the animals through activities designed to improve physical, emotional and cognitive development. Some sessions take place on horseback, while others involve grooming, artwork and exercises conducted on the ground.

The program, led by Heather Meyer, combines hippotherapy, a clinical rehabilitation approach incorporating horses’ movements, with equine-assisted learning. Unlike therapeutic or adaptive riding, which focuses on recreational riding and horsemanship, hippotherapy uses a horse’s movement as part of physical, occupational or speech therapy.

During mounted sessions, the rhythmic movement of a walking horse helps participants develop balance, coordination and core strength as their bodies continuously adjust to remain upright. On the ground, participants learn to recognize horses’ behavior and nonverbal cues through activities designed to strengthen communication, trust and emotional awareness.

Meyer, whose background is in occupational therapy, works alongside Caroline Smith, a fellow certified equine specialist in mental health and learning. Their programs also offer equine-assisted psychotherapy with a mental health professional.

Its participants range from those with developmental disabilities to adults recovering from medical challenges, veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and people undergoing cancer treatment.

The program has undergone a transformation in recent years.

Meyer recalled beginning operations about four years ago with supplies stored in her car trunk. She later moved into a small stall at Riverdale Stables, which she and her colleagues decorated.

When renovations required them to vacate, the stable’s owner offered them a former shed on the property. The team painted its interior and exterior, installed wallpaper and brought in furniture, transforming the structure into a dedicated classroom that opened in spring 2026.

As demand grew, Meyer recognized that the cost of services could prevent some families from participating, prompting the creation of the Open Stable Foundation, which raises money for scholarships and subsidized services.

Its first fundraiser, held last fall, raised nearly $7,000, Meyer recalled. According to the foundation’s September newsletter, it supported 36 participants through 65 sessions that month, including six scholarships totaling $3,000 in funded care.

The foundation also supports free services for people undergoing cancer treatment through an endowment left by former participant Megan Coatesy.

For 6-year-old Raz Ginsburg, who began attending sessions in August, the program offers an opportunity to develop physical strength while connecting with the animals.

Raz was born with hereditary spastic paraplegia, a rare genetic neurological disorder affecting movement and muscle control, particularly in the legs. The condition, which can produce symptoms resembling cerebral palsy, has left him reliant on a wheelchair for mobility.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, Raz worked on an art project, choosing paint colors representing how he felt at the barn. Blue and green, his favorites, were natural choices. He also selected teal, which he associated with happiness.

Meyer guided him through shaking paint bottles, opening their caps and squeezing colors onto a canvas — movements designed to strengthen his hands and develop fine motor skills.

The afternoon also included reading “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” to Priscilla, Raz’s favorite pony. But Priscilla appeared more interested in eating hay than listening, prompting the group to move to another stall, where Angus peeked his head out and seemed more receptive. As the story continued, Angus watched, occasionally lifting his ears.

These activities are part of a flexible curriculum tailored to each participant. Grooming, for example, can help children become comfortable with unfamiliar sensory experiences or develop communication skills by recognizing a horse’s nonverbal cues.

Participants may also work in pairs, with one guiding the other through an activity while blindfolded, encouraging cooperation and spatial awareness.

For Raz, who has difficulty walking independently, the mounted portion presents another challenge. According to Meyer, remaining upright on a moving horse requires continuous physical adjustments that engage muscles involved in balance, posture and coordination.

Rather than a traditional saddle, the program uses a thin bareback pad, allowing more of the horse’s movement to transfer through the participant’s pelvis.

“What you saw out there is incredibly difficult for him,” Meyer said. “Just staying up on the horse. That was the workout for him.”

Meyer said the exercise engages Raz’s core, neck and postural muscles as he works to remain upright.

Raz’s mother, Eliana Kissner, said the experience represents something she had spent years trying to find.

During the family’s three years in New Jersey, one of Raz’s doctors recommended hippotherapy. But the nearest programs were roughly 35 to 40 minutes away, making regular sessions difficult to fit around school and work.

Kissner moved to Riverdale after discovering the program minutes from their now home.

“It’s connective, not corrective,” Kissner said. “He has the opportunity to connect with this beautiful animal. He has the opportunity to connect with his own body and to engage in a physical activity that is like safe and strenuous.”

The benefits are still unfolding for Raz.

Meyer recalled that during his earliest mounted sessions, he held tightly to the support around him, afraid of losing his balance. More recently, he managed to lift his hands while riding.

“He’s getting a little braver, and I think a little stronger in his seat,” Meyer said.

Still, Kissner is careful not to measure her son’s progress solely through physical milestones.

Raz, she said, has always possessed a vibrant spirit. He loves animals so much that he carries a Ziploc bag of dog biscuits through the neighborhood, ready to offer one whenever he encounters a dog.

His life, she said, is not defined by his wheelchair or the limitations others might perceive.

“I think a lot of times people perceive if someone uses a wheelchair that it’s like some sort of, like, physical ‘game over,’” Kissner said. “But there’s actually, like, lots of ways for people to move their bodies, engage in movement and like really joyfully engage with their bodies.”