Free Rein Therapeutic Riding makes home at Spokane Equestrian Center

Amanda Hansen noticed a change right away when her disabled son Trevin Hansen began riding at Free Rein Therapeutic Riding.

“He said ‘hi’ to the horse without being prompted,” Hansen said. “That was huge because he otherwise doesn’t say much.”

Hansen describes Trevin as an active 14-year-old with a short attention span. However, when he sits on a horse he can’t squirm around or just move on to the next activity.

“He has to stay put. Riding has a calming influence on him,” Hansen said. “There’s not much else he does for a whole hour at a time.”

Free Rein Therapeutic Riding has a new home at the Spokane Equestrian Center, 2205 W. Gibbs Road. The nonprofit has access to its own outdoor arena and indoor tack area, and the ability to keep as many as 15 horses on site.

Ten horses give 75 one-hour rides to people with a variety of disabilities every week. About 160 volunteers help make it happen.

“Every rider needs three people: one to lead the horse, and one on each side of the horse,” said Haley Dixon, Free Rein’s executive director. “As the rider gets better, fewer helpers are needed.”

The horses are on loan from local owners, and they typically work at Free Rein for two years before going back home.

Bandit is a 23-year-old retired polo horse that’s embracing a second career as a therapy horse.

“He hated polo,” volunteer Cassie Russell said, “but he loves it here. He loves his job.”

The horses must be as close to bomb-proof as possible. They can’t startle and spook at sudden noises or a rider’s uncoordinated or jerky movements, so Free Rein screens, tests and desensitizes the horses carefully.

“After two years, they sort of burn out,” Russell said. “They get overstimulated because they are handled by so many different people with so many different riders.”

Dixon said the new location is a blessing because Free Rein now has space to grow.

“We ran out of space at our old location,” Dixon said. “It’s such a relief to have found this place.”

Tim Cobb recently purchased Spokane Equestrian Center and offered part of the facility for lease to Free Rein. Conventional trainers and boarders remain at the facility.

Volunteers redid the inside of two hay sheds on the property so Free Rein can have its own tack room and a place to get the horses ready.

During the cold months, Free Rein has access to the large indoor arena.

A large prefab home provides an office space, sitting area and a kitchen, and it has been fitted with ramps to make wheelchair access easy.

“It’s perfect,” Dixon said. “We want it to be like a sanctuary for the families when they come out here.”