Sunrise Therapeutic Services - Sunrise Riders

08/30/2026

Why does your brain seem to get quieter the moment you get on your horse?

For riders with ADHD, the saddle can sometimes feel like the one place where everything suddenly clicks.

The to-do lists. The unfinished thoughts. The constant mental noise.

Gone.

And while horseback riding isn't a cure for ADHD or a substitute for clinical treatment, researchers are beginning to explore why movement, sensory input, focus and the human-horse connection may help explain what so many riders have experienced for years.

Riding requires you to be present.

You have to notice your horse's movement. Adjust your balance. Respond to subtle changes. Make decisions in real time.

Your brain can't be everywhere else when you're communicating with a 1,000-pound animal.

Maybe that's part of the magic of the saddle.

Equestrians: Do you have ADHD, or have you noticed that riding seems to quiet your mind and improve your focus?

Tell us in the comments what you experience when you ride. If you'd like to read the full article, comment below so we can connect!

08/18/2026

Taking care of our equine team can be complicated. This video shows just one aspect you may have never heard about, the thoracic sling. Unlike humans, horses do not have a collar bone to help stabilize their thoracic region, instead they have a set of muscles, tendons, fascia and connective tissue connecting the horses front legs to the rest of its body. Our QH/Arabian, Clearly a Sirprize (AKA Prize) , has been struggling with a weak thoracic sling. He also has tight hamstrings. We are providing in hand work over poles, backing, yielding his fore-quarters and hind-quarters, sidepassing and doing special stretches as well as chiropractic, massage and PEMF treatments.

07/28/2026

It's hot y'all! 🥵

Here's a very important PSA from Buster!

07/08/2026

As we celebrate Farrier Day, we extend our sincerest gratitude to Jeremy Reaves for his remarkable dedication, expertise, and compassion in caring for our horses' hooves and earning their trust. His relentless pursuit of excellence has ensured our horses receive top-notch care, and his willingness to learn from experts like Mac Hayden and Aaron Smith has enabled him to address challenging therapeutic shoeing issues effectively. Jeremy's contributions to our therapeutic program have been substantial. We are thankful to also get to call him friend. Over the past five decades, I've also had the pleasure of working with many exceptional farriers, including my first farrier Delbert Heffington, Ron Ferguson during my show season, and the unforgettable Teddy Patterson when we started Sunrise Riders. We're indebted to all these master craftsmen, whose work embodies the spirit of 'No hoof, no horse,' and whose dedication has allowed Sunrise Riders to flourish. Autumn Oaks-Reaves

07/08/2026

Congratulations to our volunteer. Ashlee Phillips, age 19 and a 2025 graduate of Arkansas School for the Deaf, on the exciting news of her recent acceptance to William Woods University in MO.!! She will begin her academic journey to achieve a B. S. in Equine General Studies (Traditional) the end of August .
She started riding horses when she was about 4 years old. Her grandparents signed her up for Therapeutic riding lessons in NW AR at Horses for Healing. Her favorite memory was giving her horse Missy apples and carrots because she was an older horse. As part of the Deaf community she feels she has a special talent and opportunity to help the hearing community with communication with their horse using body language. She explained that she has very good vision to catch whatever is happening in her environment. She can share her abilities with attention to visual details with others and this skill will benefit her work with horses as she gives them her attention and love and will be an asset to any equine program as she is so very observant of their body language. She is sure that hearing community will be very surprised that deaf/hard of hearing individuals can work so well with horses. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see the wonderful things she will do with her life!

06/25/2026

Riders of all levels will benefit from reviewing this video featuring CHA Master Instructor and Clinician Julie Goodnight, which demonstrates effective teaching methods and provides a beneficial review of horse movement and rider balance. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16y1118YvV/

06/22/2026

As part of our ongoing virtual volunteer pre-training, we are bringing back these CHA short videos for our recent volunteer trainees. We appreciate it if you could like and leave a comment or gif when you have viewed each one. Videos 2-8 are found in the comments below.

Certified Horsemanship Association Instructor Dale Rudin explains reading horse behavior and how the horse communicates through body language in this educati...

06/03/2026

The Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo is coming to Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, TX June 20th! It would be awesome to raise the funds to take a field trip to see this with some of our Sunrise Therapeutic Services - Sunrise Riders participants! Featured in our recent Reel is an amazing young man Miyanda who has been a participant and a volunteer for a few years now. I know he and many other participants would love to attend!
https://www.billpickettrodeo.com/?hl=en-US

06/03/2026