Healing with Horses Ranch is a 501(c)(3) equine-assisted service center that promotes resilience, independence, and healing through the power of the horse. By creating space for healthy relationships between horses & humans, we empower individuals to develop life skills in a safe, inclusive environment. We want to change lives, not just touch lives.
OUR MISSION
Located just 17 miles east of downtown Austin, Texas, Healing with Horses Ranch provides multiple equine-assisted services for people experiencing learning, behavioral, mental, emotional, and physical challenges in the greater Austin area. We serve Travis, Bastrop, Williamson counties & surrounding areas.
We serve three core populations through a combination of adaptive riding, equine-assisted learning, and equine-assisted psychotherapy services.
Resilience
Interactions with horses provide a non-competitive, non-judgmental setting to build emotional and social capacity, while providing individuals with relationships that are both caring & consistent.
We focus on building self-awareness, enabling the individual to work through unexpressed emotional pain and learn how to recognize, verbalize and regulate their feelings.
Transition
Many veterans return from active duty with physical and/or emotional wounds. Horses assist these individuals through the challenges of transitioning back to civilian life.
Together, the horse and veteran work on relaxation, memory skills, patience, confidence, physical wellness, and focus that translates to life beyond the Ranch.
Independence
Because horseback riding rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait, riders with physical disabilities often improve in flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and range of motion. In addition, due to the non-verbal communication between a horse & human, individuals practice communication in their own way.
Our program improves physical & cognitive skills that spark new independence within the rider that they can then carry over into everyday life.
Egg Hunt & Spring Market
April 19th, 2025 at Healing with Horses Ranch
Our annual event around the Easter holiday where we open the Ranch to the public for fun family-friendly activities, mingling with our therapy herd, shopping local vendors, and more. RSVP is required.
Height Fight
April 12th, 2025 at Austin Bouldering Project Westgate
Join us for a fun rock climbing competition benefitting the Ranch & two other local nonprofits.
Includes yearly events.
Healing with Horses Ranch is a vibrant community that is welcoming to all. There are many ways to get involved, from joining a committee, to becoming a regular on our feed team, to volunteering in lessons. No matter your time or talents, we can’t wait to welcome you to the Ranch.
As a volunteer at Healing with Horses Ranch, you become a part of our herd and a vital piece toward increasing independence & resilience for at-risk youth, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Volunteering as a group is a great way to bond as a team, build positive communication, and give back to the community! Group volunteering experiences are a single commitment of two hours for groups of five or more people.
Throughout the year, we host & attend events around the greater Austin area. We want to share our wonderful space with the community around us and raise funds to continue our mission of offering safe, affordable equine-assisted activities.
We are committed to making our services affordable & accessible to all. Donations from community members like you help to sustain our herd and ensure equine-assisted services can continue year-round.
Healing with Horses Ranch is a PATH International Premier Riding Center. Our instructors & equine specialists, all of whom are PATH certified, believe deeply in the transformative power of the horse-human connection, and the ability for individuals from all backgrounds to improve their emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities.
A central part of our team is, of course, the horses – our true teachers. We partner with a variety of breeds, shapes, and personalities of horses to meet the needs of our riders.
Healing with Horses Ranch is a PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) International center that provides evidence-based, trauma-informed services led by certified professionals. PATH certifies and accredits centers, instructors, and equine specialists based on field-tested standards to ensure safety, ethics, and effectiveness in the equine-assisted services industry. To become certified, instructors must complete workshops, fulfill student teaching requirements, and pass both written and practical exams.
Founded in 2011 as a PATH-compliant center, we underwent a voluntary peer review in 2018 and successfully met the accreditation requirements to become a PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Center. This designation allows us to be recognized in the community for upholding PATH’s highest standards and enables us to train other centers.