Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs
Horses Help, 6525 E Dixileta Dr, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
About
Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs offers therapeutic and recreational horsemanship opportunities that include adaptive riding, adaptive horsemanship, and recreational riding for individuals with disabilities. Participants take part in equine-assisted services and Equine Assisted Learning, including ground-based horse interactions and experiential learning activities using guided interactions with horses, such as grooming horses. The program also involves a Tacks Fifth Avenue store where people can shop a wide selection of tack and supplies that support the programs, and volunteers may assist with programs, marketing, veterinary assistance, and help in the store, with a tour of the facilities and introductions to the herd as part of volunteer orientation.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs operates as a premier accredited therapeutic riding center in Arizona with PATH International certification and PATH-certified instructors. The organization describes its mission as creating a vibrant, inclusive community where people of all abilities are empowered to grow, connect, and heal through the transformative power of horses. Programs are supported by 18 specially trained therapy horses, an animal team that includes horses, goats, and a desert tortoise named Tortilla, and more than 200 dedicated weekly volunteers. Tortilla the desert tortoise and Belle the quarter horse are noted as the longest-serving animal team members, and three horses from the herd competed in the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles in 2015, where one program participant medaled. Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs serves individuals with special needs, at-risk youth, and members of the military community, and offers Equine Assisted Learning programs focused on emotional intelligence, communication, leadership, and teamwork, as well as program options listed as Operation Unbridled and the H.E.R.D. Program. The organization has been operating since 1987, notes “38 Years of Healing Connections,” and has a history that includes gaining 501(c)3 nonprofit status within one year of founding, achieving PATH International certification in 2000, launching the Horses Help Golf Classic in 1991 and the Barn Bash fundraising event in 2004, and serving as the starting point for the Phoenix JC Comancheros Pony Express in 2010. A participant described arriving with anxiety and depression after a car accident, initially not wanting to attend, then meeting a horse named Durango during horse therapy and stating that “the moment I stepped into his stall, everything changed,” and expressing thanks to the women on the team and an intention to return.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs operates as a premier accredited therapeutic riding center in Arizona with PATH International certification and PATH-certified instructors. The organization describes its mission as creating a vibrant, inclusive community where people of all abilities are empowered to grow, connect, and heal through the transformative power of horses. Programs are supported by 18 specially trained therapy horses, an animal team that includes horses, goats, and a desert tortoise named Tortilla, and more than 200 dedicated weekly volunteers. Tortilla the desert tortoise and Belle the quarter horse are noted as the longest-serving animal team members, and three horses from the herd competed in the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles in 2015, where one program participant medaled. Horses Help Equine-Assisted Programs serves individuals with special needs, at-risk youth, and members of the military community, and offers Equine Assisted Learning programs focused on emotional intelligence, communication, leadership, and teamwork, as well as program options listed as Operation Unbridled and the H.E.R.D. Program. The organization has been operating since 1987, notes “38 Years of Healing Connections,” and has a history that includes gaining 501(c)3 nonprofit status within one year of founding, achieving PATH International certification in 2000, launching the Horses Help Golf Classic in 1991 and the Barn Bash fundraising event in 2004, and serving as the starting point for the Phoenix JC Comancheros Pony Express in 2010. A participant described arriving with anxiety and depression after a car accident, initially not wanting to attend, then meeting a horse named Durango during horse therapy and stating that “the moment I stepped into his stall, everything changed,” and expressing thanks to the women on the team and an intention to return.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
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