Programs
Our programs are designed to help children and adults heal and learn through their interaction with horses in mounted and/or unmounted activities.
Evergreen Farm, LLC, is a privately owned farm and residence. If you have an interest in volunteering or registering a student, please contact us through the website, call 540-533-2777 or email at brcthinc@hotmail.com. Please do NOT go on farm property unless you have an appointment for a specific day and time. Thank you for your cooperation.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
Recently, Almeda Farm, where we have been operating for 6 years, was sold. We are actively searching for a suitable facility within our service area. Due to the nature of our work, our needs are extensive and specific. The horses are safely stabled while we look for a site.
The Volunteer Orientation which was scheduled for March 5th has been canceled. If you are interested in becoming a lesson volunteer or serving in another capacity, please contact us. We are maintaining a list of those interested and will be sending out updates via email.
Spring Session is scheduled to start on March 31st and will most likely need to be postponed. If you have an interest in registering a student/client, please contact us via email or by phone. We can answer your questions, do an intake, and send registration materials.
Please follow us on Facebook.com/brcth where we will be posting updates. And thank you for your patience while we work towards restarting our operations.
In 2025 and beyond, BRCTH will be looking into expanding our services to include school and group home programs, community service and vocational opportunities for adults with developmental delay, more programming for seniors in our community and piloting an EAL program for persons with brain injury, while continuing to increase the numbers of students who are individually referred for services. Please contact us, or pass along our contact information, if you know of an aforementioned entity that could benefit from our services.
Therapeutic Riding
Therapeutic Riding uses riding instruction to address individual student’s strengths and deficit areas. BRCTH offers fall and spring 10-week riding sessions with weekly lessons of approximately 50 minutes. Our spring session will begin on March 31st and the fall session, on August 25th.
Students are taught individually or when appropriate, in semi-private lessons or in small groups of no more than three students. Lessons include, when appropriate, grooming, and basic horse care in addition to riding skills. Lesson plans are individualized for each student; instruction is sequential and often presented in game format.
Attempts are made to integrate Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and other education/health goals and objectives into goal setting and lesson planning. Our certified instructors consult and collaborate with education and health care professionals whenever possible. Instructors complete progress reports at the end of each session which are then shared with guardians and parents.
We also utilize the 3-level TRAV Rider Achievement Certificate Program which documents student progress towards mastery of lesson-related tasks and serves as a tool for monitoring and communicating student progress.
Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL)
EAL emphasizes psycho-social learning through the observation of and interaction with horses in un-mounted groundwork. EAL services are offered year-round. Trust, relationship-building, self-image, and emotional regulation are examples of issues that can be addressed in EAL sessions. Activities can be designed to support individuals or small groups. Examples of clients include at-risk youth, children in foster care or group home situations, children and families experiencing homelessness, youth in juvenile diversion programs, and adults seeking support in their personal development work. Consultation and/or collaboration with a mental health professional, if one is treating the client, can occur.
Equines Serving Elders Program (ESEP)
This spring, we will begin our fourth year of providing EAL services to residents living with dementia from Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury, a senior lifecare community. During this 8-week program, residents are transported to the barn to interact with our horses in a safe and controlled environment. Our skilled volunteers help facilitate these interactions, and dare say, benefit themselves as well! The horses engage with our elderly guests, eliciting joy, curiosity and often memories of past experiences with horses. In 2025, we hope to expand this program to at least one other senior lifecare community.
Fun with Horses Day Camp
This adaptive, recreational day camp is offered for children with mild disabling conditions from the ages of 7 through 12. This year, it is scheduled for the weeks of of June 23rd and July 7th from 9:00 to 12:30 each day. The format includes therapeutic riding instruction, horsemanship skills and knowledge, mounted and unmounted games, and art and crafts. The staff includes PATH-certified instructors and an art instructor experienced with teaching children with special needs. The staff to camper ratio is 2:1. Each day will end with lunch brought from home. Scholarships and grant opportunities are available. Enrollment is contingent upon instructor evaluation.