Giving Alternative Learners Uplifting Opportunities Inc

GallopNYC uses therapeutic horsemanship to  help riders walk, talk, connect, focus, behave and learn, inspiring each one to live life as fully, productively and independently as possible. GallopNYC serves 230 riders every week at three NYC locations.  

GallopNYC works with children, youth, and adults who face developmental, emotional, social and physical challenges. Our riders have a wide range of disabilities including learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and developmental, speech and language delays. We also work with at-risk teens and children exposed to domestic violence. 

Rider Kevin can explain it best, from a Scholastic Article:

 “Kevin’s...three years of riding Daisy have helped him feel calmer. His muscle strength...has improved. Caring for Daisy has encouraged him to reach out in other ways. ‘Now, sometimes at school, after class, I offer to help my teacher clean up,’ Kevin says. ‘I like feeling that I can be helpful.’

‘Daisy is my friend and my companion,’ he says. ‘It makes me feel good inside, knowing that she’s happy to see me. We understand each other. She’s always there for me.’”

We could not do our work without our wonderful horses and ponies.   Our mission is to care for our horses with good horsemanship.  We work with older horses, giving them a gentle occupation late in life that keeps them fit and engaged.  Two of our horses are rescues who had uncertain futures before we adopted them.  Our horses need a great deal of vet care, special feeds and love.  And when it's time for a rest, we will help to keep them in safe and caring retirement homes.  

This year,  the stables we work with lost two of our favorite therapy Horses, Spin Dr. and Flash.  Both horses were beloved by many riders, and they passed away after stellar careers as therapeutic horses.  To commemorate them, we have set up THE NEIGH FUND to benefit our growing herd at GallopNYC.

GallopNYC knows from experience that therapeutic riding is a uniquely effective and engaging form of therapy for people dealing with various disabilities, and growing research is providing evidence to back this up, with two clear themes emerging: 

1) The combination of effective physical and cognitive tasking in a motivating context enables people with disabilities to more rapidly attain needed skills. 
2) A bonding relationship with a horse opens individuals to better acceptance of counseling, therapy, or training. 

Therapeutic riding provides concrete benefits, as demonstrated in a recent study that found “that children with autism between the ages of 7 and 12 showed improved cognition, communication, and motivation after participating in specific equine assisted activities (EAA). The research shows that riding, grooming, and interacting with horses had a noticeable, positive effect on study participants."