BALANCE Saddles supporting therapy horses at the Luci Center.
The Luci Center is a non-profit, 501c3 organization located in Shelbyville, Kentucky providing therapeutic riding and hippotherapy for individuals with disabilities. The mission of The Luci Center is to enrich the minds, bodies and spirits of individuals through horse-related activities.
Founded in 1997 by Paula Nieto, the current Executive Director, an enriched therapeutic environment is offered to clients.
Housed on a 26-acre farm, The Luci Center offers volunteers and participants a beautiful, peaceful environment where the unique experience of interaction and learning about horses takes place. The Luci Center recognizes that all this would not be possible without the horses. We are home to a wide variety of horses that assist in the therapeutic process. We are committed to providing the best care possible and treating each horse with dignity and respect throughout all phases of life.
Therapeutic riding uses all that the horse encompasses – riding, care, interaction – to assist the disabled individual in developing skills, both physical and emotional. At The Luci Center the focus is on ability. The combination of riders, horses, instructors and volunteers creates a team that works in a positive manner toward success. We strive to give each student the opportunity to have a complete understanding of horsemanship. The ability to ride and care for the horse and equipment builds self-esteem, confidence, patience, and discipline as well as body strength, balance and coordination.
Hippotherapy uses the movement of the horse as a treatment tool under the guidance of a licensed therapist (physical, occupational, or speech therapist). In hippotherapy, the horse’s walk provides sensory input through movement which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The resultant movement responses in the rider are similar to the human movement patterns of the pelvis while walking. The variability of the horse’s gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of sensory input to the rider and then use this movement in combination with other therapeutic strategies to achieve results.
Therapy horses have one of the toughest jobs there is. They are asked to carry individuals that are often physically compromised and unbalanced while dealing with stimuli that would be overwhelming to the average horse. However, we believe that our horses understand the importance of their role in the lives of their special riders.
Furthering this commitment to the horse, The Luci Center heard about and became interested in the BALANCE Saddling System. The BALANCE saddles will provide our horses with the ability to use their bodies to support and assist their rider without compromise from an ill-fitting saddle. This is turn, will allow the riders to experience a higher range of motion, more sensory input and receive more feedback from the horse.
The Luci Center has recently received a grant from the American Quarter Horse Association to purchase two BALANCE saddles and is also selling handmade horse hair bracelets to raise funds to purchase additional saddles. For more information on The Luci Center, please use the link to their website on the See the ling on the BALANCE website Links page.
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