TOWN OF CHENANGO, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – Owner of Stable Movements Theresa Pedroso says, “Putting my passion of horses and people together is not a real job for me, it’s just what I love to do.”

Theresa Pedroso owns Stable Movements, a Hippotherapy facility in the Town of Chenango. Hippotherapy basically means horse assisted therapy.

She says, “I went to physical therapy school here at BCC, and one of our sessions was about Hippotherapy, and when I realized that that was an opportunity for me to move my therapy profession into using horses, it was a no brainer for me.”

The Physical Therapist at Stable Movements, Beth Parks says that a majority of the clients have tried more contemporary forms of therapy and are bored of it.

But getting out in the barn and interacting with the horses brings out a new side of them. “I’ve seen kids that were not able to sit, that once we started the hippotherapy, they started sitting within a couple of weeks. Children that couldn’t walk or were told that they never would walk have come, and after riding for a period of time, they do start walking.”

Theresa Pedroso says, “The freedom that it brings people, the control, special needs individuals often have everybody telling them what to do, where to do, how to do it. When they get up on a horse, they have to be in control, they’re the ones in charge.”

Pedroso’s organization has only continued to grow over the past decade. Now, she brings her mini ponies to nursing homes, birthday parties and special events throughout the community with her Ponies 2 Go program.

“We mainly focused on hippotherapy at the beginning because that’s where we came from, and then we opened it up to therapeutic riding and adaptive riding, and now we have special Olympics and Soldiers in Saddles program.”

She says interacting and caring for the horses is just as important as the riding itself. At each session, clients groom the horses, feed them snacks, and help out around the barn. “The horses are just so trusting, and kids with autism love these horses cause they’re so aphasic, they don’t give them questions and answers, they just look at them and they’re like okay that’s what I need.”

What started off as pony rides in her backyard, Pedroso has developed into a life-changing, unique experience for all to enjoy, and she only plans on adding and offering more.