If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit PALS as a donor, volunteer, or client, we invite you to join us on this virtual tour of our facilities for equine-assisted services. At PALS, we believe in fostering growth and individual achievement for all participants. We aim to create a nurturing environment where individuals of all abilities can thrive. We’re excited to take you behind the scenes with a series of images showcasing how our facilities play a key role in fulfilling this part of our mission.
Tacking & Grooming Aisle
When you first enter our barn, you’ll find the tacking and grooming aisle. In our equine-assisted services, spending time with our horses and preparing them is a vital part of the experience. Here, clients learn the important skills of tacking and grooming. Tacking, which involves saddling and bridling, is specific to riding lessons, while grooming—such as brushing, cleaning hooves, and detangling manes—is essential for both riding and ground lessons. All program participants, including those in ground lessons, have the opportunity to learn grooming as they lead and care for their horses.
Mounting Area
After your horse is all brushed, saddled, and ready to go, it’s time to hop on! Of course, our clients participating in ground lessons will skip this station and go straight to the arena. Thanks to our donors, we have a designated area for mounting our horses that includes both traditional stair mounting and platform lifts designed to be accessible for riders with differing levels of mobility.
Indoor & Outdoor Arena
Once ground clients have entered the arena and adaptive riders have mounted, it’s time to start the main portion of the lesson! Our arenas are where clients spend most of their time during their equine-assisted services at our facilities. This is where we conduct adaptive riding and ground lessons. We have both an indoor arena and an outdoor arena, and our clients love spending time in each of them!
Sensory Trail
Right between our barn and the outdoor arena is the beginning of one of our favorite parts of the PALS facilities: the Sensory Trail. The Sensory Trail is an interactive experience designed for our clients to participate in activities that engage their five senses. It is a beautiful path that stretches from the barn all the way around the outdoor arena and pastures, past the other PALS barn, and back to our current barn.
The Other Barn
We can’t give a tour of PALS facilities for equine-assisted services without stopping to look at the other barn. Due to generous donations of both time and money, this barn is currently undergoing a renovation that we are excited to share more about in the future!
Pastures & Stables
We are so grateful for our wonderful horses that work so hard to provide valuable services to our clients, and we are thrilled to provide them with happy, healthy homes because of our sponsors’ generous donations. When our horses aren’t working with clients or training with our team, they’re spending well-deserved rest time in their pastures and stables. We have several pastures that allow our horses to graze and enjoy Indiana’s beautiful nature. The stables offer shelter in the event of extreme weather, and a place where clients can easily access their horses.
Join Our Community!
We hope that this virtual tour has offered you a glimpse into the vital role PALS facilities play in equine-assisted services. From getting a horse ready in the tacking and grooming aisle to saying goodbye at the end of a visit to the pastures or stables, every part of our facilities reflects the compassion, learning, and growth that we proudly cultivate at PALS. As we continue to expand and improve our facilities, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our donors, volunteers, clients, and supporters who make our mission possible. Together, we are making strides and changing lives.
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