243 Appaloosa Way Guyton, GA 31312
243 Appaloosa Way Guyton, GA 31312
To improve the quality of life for individuals with special needs and disabilities through the healing power of the horse.
Faith Equestrian is a non-profit 501(c)3 PATH International Premier Accredited therapeutic/adaptive equestrian center located just outside of Savannah, GA. We are dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with special needs and disabilities through the healing power of the horse. One rider says their first words on horseback, another has significant increases in core strength and another is given the confidence to stand up to being bullied at school. God makes it possible for us to do what we do, horses are our partners and we are supported by an amazing team of staff, volunteers, and donors. We offer a variety of programs, including an Equine-Assisted Learning Program (EAL) in partnership with local schools referred to as HorsePowered Reading, an Adaptive/Therapeutic Riding Program, Equine-Assisted Activities & Therapies (EAAT) to military veterans, able-bodied riding lessons, and numerous all-inclusive summer camp options for both special needs and able bodied participants.
Our sponsors help us to keep these wonderful working horses in top health for the individuals they serve. Please consider sponsoring one of our horses which will allow us to serve even more children!
Help improve the quality of life for a child.
You can support the efforts at a fundraiser this week in downtown Savannah.
Two ponies tie the knot on Valentine's Day.
Volunteers are vital to our program and we could not operate without our fabulous team!
"Thank you so much for all the hard work you did to make this camp possible. Your facility is amazing with all your farm animals, covered arena and CLEAN barn. Having been a past hunter/jumper, I know what it takes to keep a barn looking clean and well maintained. Your camp was so organized...all your volunteers were...(hard to find the words)...a God send. All of them were so friendly and I could tell enjoyed the kids tremendously."
"A thorough love of horses and a thorough love for people, especially those with disabilities makes this place a blessing. Camp was a great experience for a young man needing some outlet for his energy and for a mama that needed to know something valuable was being learned and experienced!!"
"Our daughter just started horseback riding lessons last fall, and we are very pleased to say that we have been seeing the benefits as she has been developing a stronger core that helps her to maintain a better posture and in consequence a better balance and stability in her jaw and head. This contributes in a significant way to improve her speech and therefore her communication skills and her social inclusion as well. On the other hand, she loves riding Royal and looks forward to her lessons to have fun, feel the friendship and support and rise to the challenges every time!".
"In March of 2018, Kyia was diagnosed with Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (JPA) after losing all function from the waist down. JPA is a rare Brain Tumor that is usually found on the brain stem, Kyia is one of the few 0.01% of children who have the tumor on their Thoracic Spine. Kyia has gone through two very intensive spinal surgeries to debulk the spinal tumor, a spinal fusion, and most recently, a year of Chemotherapy. We found Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center in the Summer of 2021 and Kyia instantly fell in love! She attended a special needs summer camp in July of 2021 and expressed interest in continuing therapy sessions and riding lessons. Since riding at Faith, we have seen a huge difference in Kyia. Her posture has improved, and her back muscles have strengthened tremendously, her gait is stronger and more stable, and her hip abduction has greatly improved. The weekly therapy sessions that Kyia has with Shadow have also helped pull Kyia out of a deep depression, deal with the trauma she experienced from going from a normal 13-year-old girl to an acute paraplegic overnight, as well as brought her self-esteem so much higher than we've seen it in almost four years. Our family is forever grateful for Faith Equestrian and what their therapy sessions have done for our daughter."
"My name is Jessica Greene and my son is Jaxon Greene. He is a 6 six year old boy diagnosed with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. He started riding Shadow at Faith Equestrian at the beginning of 2022. Jaxon has benefited greatly from equine therapy. He has had improvement in his core strength, balance, and overall confidence in life. He attends physical therapy twice a week and his physical therapist has even made comments about his improvement in his overall abilities since the beginning of this year. Once I informed her that he was participating in equine therapy at Faith Equestrian every Saturday, she was overjoyed and very excited for him. She stated to me to definitely keep him in equine therapy because it is making a difference for him."
"My name is Taylor and my 4-year-old son, Garrett, participates in riding therapy at Faith Equestrian. Garrett has autism and is currently still mostly non-speaking. When Garrett was three, we took him to a petting zoo that gave horseback rides. The joy he got from being around a horse was indescribable and the emotion that came from getting off that horse triggered a meltdown like we had never seen. That is when we knew we had to find a place for him to ride. Our biggest problem was that no stables in the area accepted kids under the age of 5 and especially not with special needs. After some research, we found our way to Faith Equestrian in January of 2023. At this time, Garrett communicated mostly through sign language and we struggled to even get him to attempt to speak. Our first visit to Faith Equestrian Garrett did nothing but jump, flap his hands, and squeal. He was in love and honestly, we were too. We knew we had found a place that brought Garrett joy and that understood him for who he was. Eight months later, we have seen incredible growth in Garrett. When he's on his horse you can just about get Garrett to say anything. We love hearing his little voice communicate with his horse and now, it's giving him the confidence to try and say more and more even when he isn't in the ring. He's learning to follow verbal directions and loves playing the games that require him to listen, speak, recognize colors, shapes, letters, and numbers, all while following directions horseback. Garrett gets to practice caring for another living being, as well as, practice his waiting skills. One of my favorite things about Garrett's time at Faith Equestrian is watching how much it calms him- to feel the steady rocking of his horse beneath him. No matter how hard clinical therapy has been or how stressful school was, Garrett is always regulated, happy, and content when riding at Faith Equestrian. We will forever be grateful for a place that 'gets' Garrett and is always looking for ways to help him grow."