Horses provide therapy at San Juan Capistrano’s Shea Center

At the Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding in San Juan Capistrano there is a row in the stables that Sarah Booth, communications director at the center, likes to refer to as the produce aisle.

Blueberry, Huckleberry and Razzberry are all horses who live side by side at the state-of-the-art riding facility.

“You can totally pet them,” Booth said on a recent tour.

The three horses named for sweet berries are part of the herd of 28 specially trained horses and ponies at the Shea Center.

Founded in 1978, the center offers a variety of equine-assisted services like adaptive riding, mental health care, team building, speech therapies and physical and occupational therapy.

“When you are sitting on a horse, you are getting about 3,000 reps within half an hour, and kids don’t notice it because it’s fun,” said Booth. “There is a lot of muscular activity that needs to happen in order for you to stay seated upright on a horse.”

Booth said using horses for therapy offers certain advantages that a machine can’t replicate, and this year alone the Shea Center has treated 87 different diagnoses, like cerebral palsy and autism. Services for a combination of physical, mental and emotional engagement are provided for clients from ages 2 and up, led by American Hippotherapy Certification Board specialists and PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. The facility is accredited by the Professional Assn. of Therapeutic Horsemanship International at the highest level and serves more than 1,400 participants each year with the help of a small staff and hundreds of volunteers.

A miniature horse at the Shea Center in San Juan Capistrano.

(Sarah Mosqueda)

The Shea Center teaches and instructs in the foundational principles of dressage, a military form of riding. Two large covered arenas are available for use, blanketed with premium footing made from a blend of sand and composites that make it more comfortable and safe for the horses and trainers to walk on. Special ramps are connected to the arenas allowing clients with disabilities to mount horses safely, and rainbow reins, coded in primary colors, are used to make it easier for trainers to direct participants.

“When you are riding on horses you have to move your hands in different positions depending on different gaits you are doing, so we can say ‘Move your hands to red, move your hands to blue,’” said Booth.

The open stall barn where Blueberry, Huckleberry and Razzberry hang out isn’t traditional. Rather than being made of wood with walls that separate them, the Shea Center barn is more modern and open.

“This barn was chosen because it has pipe stalls, so the horses can see each other because horses are herding animals. They like safety in numbers, and here they can see each other and they are social,” said Booth.

The center has 12 different breeds of horses, all of them friendly. Most of them come from backgrounds in trail riding or competition, and they all undergo a trial phase to make sure they are a good fit for therapeutic use.

The horses interact with each other in their stalls, sometimes nipping at each other playfully or nuzzling. Besides spending time doing therapy work, they also get their own workouts in a euro walker, like a treadmill for horses, and spend time in “Sunshine Stalls” to get vitamin D.

Blueberry is a Percheron Brabant cross breed while Huckleberry is an American Gypsy Horse Draft cross and Razzberry is an American Quarter horse. They beg for treats, not unlike dogs and in another area of the barn, a miniature horse named Mac’n-Cheese bounces a treat ball around, working his lips to get a nugget out of the purple toy. Nearby is Dante, a black Percheron horse and the largest and second tallest at the center.

Dante is the largest horse at the Shea Center San Juan Capistrano. He is also very friendly.

(Sarah Mosqueda)

Horses of all sizes are open for sponsorship, like Tucker and JJ, two chestnut brown Quarter horses at the center who currently don’t have sponsors. Sponsorship is available at three donation levels — silver, gold and platinum.

“It cost about $15,000 per year to have each horse, and that is barring any injury or anything like that,” said Booth. “People can donate horses too if they fit to our program and there is a need we have.”

The funds donated for horse sponsorship are 100% tax deductible and restricted to use on horse care, like feed, bedding, farrier services and vet care. Individuals can also donate time as a volunteer. No horse experience is required, and volunteers will spend time with instructors, therapists and staff members providing help before, during and after a rider’s lesson.

“It takes a village to support a horse,” said Booth.

Visit sheacenter.org for information on horse sponsorship or volunteer opportunities.