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M.A.R.E. Welcomes You to Our Program
To ensure a safe experience is had by ALL we request the following:
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Please arrive on time.
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Please call if you will be absent (24-hour notice preferred). Even a 1-hour notice will prevent horses and volunteers waiting for a rider that does not show.
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Long stretchy pants, riding boots or close-toed shoes with a small heel are required.
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Helmets that are approved for equestian sports must be worn during mounted activities.
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Please do not bring pets to the facility.
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All spectators are requested to sit quietly on the bleachers during lessons.
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Please refrain from swinging, climbing on gates, sitting, standing or leaning on the fences, chewing gum while mounted, yelling or running while at the facility.
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Please refrain from feeding the horses.
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Please supervise your rider in the front area of the barn until the instructor or a volunteer takes over their supervision. No unauthorized, unsupervised persons in horse occupied areas.
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Inclement weather policy: On most rainy days, a barn activity will be planned for the students. These educational activities are fun and can provide many of the same benefits that riding does for your student. Requiring the rider to display, in another setting, the horse knowledge that has been taught in the arena is a great way to determine if the information has truly been acquired.
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Parents or family members are sometimes needed to assist in the lessons. Please sign a volunteer release form for M.A.R.E. to have on file.
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Please drive slowly, 5mph, in and out of the front pasture to the parking lot.
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If you have a change of address or phone number please notify us as soon as possible.
We thank you for your cooperation and participation in making everyone's time at M.A.R.E. a safe experience.
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Sport/Recreational Riding
M.A.R.E.’s Sport Riding Program focuses on mastering basic horsemanship and equestrian skills.
Classes are taught by N.A.R.H.A. Certified Therapeutic Instructors, who specialize in teaching riding to individuals with disabilities. Students are therapeutically impacted through the multi-dimensional sensory experiences that are unique to horses, riding and a farm environment. There are behavioral, physical and educational components incorporated into each lesson.
Students participating in the Sport Riding Program are encouraged to become independent riders, as their individual abilities allow.
Hippotherapy
The Hippo (horse) Therapy Program is orchestrated by a licensed health professional, such as a Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or Speech Pathologist. Therapists must have special training through the American Hippotherapy Association and be registered through the A.H.A. as well.
During a Hippotherapy session, the horse’s movement and posture is used to influence the mounted client’s body. The main objective is to activate or stimulate the deep postural muscles of the trunk, to enhance a person’s ability for purposeful movement of the extremities.
Abnormal movement patterns can be positively affected by the rhythmic movement of the horse. Muscle tone and arousal levels can be positively impacted through graded and varied movements. As in Sport Riding, there are unlimited opportunities for a therapist to affect all the senses and systems of the body.
Vaulting
“Gymnastics on the moving horse.” Vaulting is an extremely challenging activity, both physically and cognitively.
Vaulting can improve muscle strength, coordination, balance, motor skills, short and long term memory, social skills, attention, behavior and self-confidence.
Vaulting can be performed individually or as part of a team. Team vaulting promotes appropriate social skills, responsibility towards others, trust, and friendship.
S.T.E.E.P.
Summer Teen Enrichment Equestrian Program – is a partnership with M.A.R.E. and the Bakersfield Police Activities League (PAL). Open to at-risk girls age 11-15, S.T.E.E.P. is about expanding horizons, establishing purpose, discipline and consistency. Daily work “externships” that allow students to explore feeding, grooming, and treatment of horses.
Girls participate in feeding and grooming horses, academic classroom lessons on equine care, riding lessons, showmanship, journal writing, and sharing thoughts and feelings.
This five-week program culminates with a cookout and sleepover at the barn under the stars with storytelling, singing and games.
Stable Skills
A collaborative project between The Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic and MARE that provides a unique approach to addressing mental health issues facing at-risk teens. The Stable Skills program presents positive character traits such as respect, courage and leadership each session through interactions with the horse. Discussions on trust, choices, body language, wardrobe, self awareness, commitment, group dynamics and attitude are all relative when working with horses. Stable Skills participants graduate from the program feeling a sense of accomplishment and having a new sense of awareness about how they relate and react to the world.
Carriage Driving
Carriage driving allows students that are unable to ride due to physical or cognitive constraints the opportunity to participate in equine assisted activities and experience horses. Many of the same benefits that are experienced through riding can also be achieved driving the carriage. There are weight shifts through turns, postural adjustments needed through transitions from walk to trot, and forward thinking. It takes planning and depth perception to navigate obstacle courses and an expanded awareness that includes the horse and carriage.
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