The first step to getting started is finding a good therapeutic riding program in your area. The best way to find a program is through PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship). Path’s tagline is “Ensuring excellence and changing lives through equine-assisted activities and therapies.” PATH develops standards for safety and quality that programs must follow in order to achieve a PATH accreditation. Path also offers training programs and resources to ensure that the instructors are well prepared to work with children with all kinds of special needs.

I know from working with an organization going through the PATH accreditation process that it is very strenuous and thorough. You can be assured that a program that has met these high standards is a well run organization. There are programs out there that are not affiliated with or accredited by PATH. I am sure some of them are good programs, however, if you have the choice I would choose an organization that has gone through the process of being evaluated and accredited by PATH.

PATH has a tool on their website that you can use to find an accredited center in your area. click this link to go to the PATH website.