Livestock, Therapy, Equine Therapy Program available at Helen Woodward Animal Shelter

We’ve moved on to greener pastures….and our therapy horses love it!

On December 6, 1980 Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Therapeutic Riding program opened right outside our main building The arena was new, the dirt was flat and smooth, and the therapy horses were fresh. It was exciting!

Fast-forward to 2006 when Therapeutic Riding Manager Alicia Roe and her staff were told they had to pack up… lock, stock, and barrel… and move to a new location! Alicia told her staff... Edgar, Sierra, and Katie…and they began making plans to move into the future of Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Therapeutic Riding program.

As the program’s volunteers, riders, and their families were told that there was a move on the horizon, Alicia heard the same questions. Where? When? And, most important, Why?

Helen Woodward Animal Center has embarked on a capital campaign to upgrade our facility and allow us to continue to meet the needs of the community that has grown up around us. When Helen bought this 12 acres covered with soybeans and tomato plants some 35 years ago, the property was isolated! Today we are surrounded by schools, churches, businesses, and homes. We must make better use of our space and upgrade our facilities if we are to continue to serve animals and people in-need.

Jay and Marcia Weinberg heard about our need and stepped forward. To make a long story short….Jay and Marcia invited us to be their house guests (or, in this case, barn guests) for the next 3 to 5 years, allowing us to continue to provide safe, quiet therapy lessons for the riders and families we serve.

Looking back Alicia recalls, “After the third session of 2006 we stopped the program and began the move to 3015 El Camino Del Norte in Encinitas…just a few miles away. Jay and Marcia could not have been more gracious as hosts and friends.”

The move went quite smoothly and the only surprises were pleasant surprises! “We began to see new life in our therapy horses,” says Alicia. “Each day they had pasture space to run around and just be themselves! We found that they worked off their energy by running and grazing. As a result they were even better behaved than usual during the lessons. They began each lesson fully focused and ready to go to work. It was amazing!”

In October 2006 the program began Session Five. The entire transition had taken just 8 weeks!

Our thanks to Jay and Marcia for their generosity!

Our thanks to the riders and their families for their cooperation during this change.

And our thanks to you for your support that allows us to carry out Helen’s dreams.

Today, as in December 1980, Helen Woodward Animal Center remains a place where “people help animals and animals help people”.

For more information about the Therapeutic Riding

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