LoveWay, Inc. is a volunteer driven therapeutic riding facility in Elkhart County, Indiana. The mission statement is “Transforming the lives of individuals with special needs through compassionate therapeutic equestrian experiences.” LoveWay has been serving the needs of individuals with special needs for over 49 years. Therapeutic riding classes are provided to local area school-age students and a small number of adults with special needs. The riders at LoveWay all have a diagnosed physical, cognitive, or emotional disability. The program goals of the therapeutic riding program are to: increase attention span and memory, improve balance and coordination, enhance social interaction skills, strengthen muscle tone, advance speech and communication skills, and to develop fine and gross motor skills. The objectives are met through the various learning activities, such as counting the number of brush strokes, memory recall of the various steps and the sequence in the grooming procedure. While mounted, riders play learning games that develop skills that can be carried over into daily living.
Participation in the programs at LoveWay improves quality of life, teaches transferable life skills, and imparts confidence for student riders. Relationships are formed with the horses, staff, and volunteers which improves social skills. Therapeutic equestrian activities use horses as a learning tool to stimulate parts of the brain and body that are not reached by other methods.
