Mandy’s Farm Offers Youth Adaptive Horse Programs for Free

Published March 8th, 2024 at 4:08 pm, Last Updated March 8th, 2024 at 9:40 pm

Studies have shown that oftentimes children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not able to participate in outdoor community recreation programs. This can be due to the lack of adaptive equipment and the financial cost of the activities.

This hasn’t stopped Mandy’s Farm in Los Ranchos from providing these outdoor recreation programs to children who normally wouldn’t be able to receive these services elsewhere. 

Mandy’s Farm is a nonprofit organization that focuses on assisting youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to reach their life goals of living, learning, and working in their communities. With 24 years of operation, Mandy’s Farm provides a multitude of services for folks of all ages. 

“We help with affordable and supportive housing for adults with disabilities. We help with employment, outcomes and goals for those that we support, with an emphasis on supporting youth that are transitioning into adult services,” said Melissa McCue, Executive Director of Mandy’s Farm. 

The farm recently received a $27,000 grant from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division’s Outdoor Equity Fund that will help provide a free Adaptive Horsemanship Camp for 80 children with intellectual or developmental disabilities from March through November. 

The Adaptive Horsemanship Program is one of the most popular services offered at the farm. The Horsemanship Program aims to build confidence, patience and self-esteem while helping children strengthen their muscles, balance, and coordination. “We have created an effective, accessible way for little ones to ride horses. We have ramps, we have other accessible equipment for them to mount and dismount,” said McCue. 

The grant means the farm can offer Adaptive Horsemanship Program for free to applicants. The program is open for kids ages 5 to 12 years-old. All abilities are welcomed, and there is no prior experience required. “Regardless of your ambulatory skills or if you use supports for ambulation, at our program, everybody can ride a horse,” said McCue. 

Volunteers and staff also do therapeutic and adaptive recreation work on the farm’s other location in Albuquerque’s South Valley, which includes horticulture, animal husbandry, aquatics and adaptive horsemanship. 

Registration for the Adaptive Horsemanship Program at Mandy’s Farm is currently open, with only 80 spots available; the spots are filling up fast. The camps will start on March 28. The first six camps from the program will be held from March to June. The program will start up again in the fall during fall breaks and during the weekends. “We’re trying to fill in these horse camps that align with the APS calendar so that there’s opportunities during Albuquerque Public Schools breaks for kids to participate,” said McCue. 

To sign up your child for the Adaptive Horsemanship Program or to learn more other Mandy’s Farm programs visit www.mandysfarm.org.