BERNE — EBC Therapy Center in East Berne is seeking volunteers to help with its hippotherapy sessions.

EBC Therapy Center is a physical therapy practice that specializes in hippotherapy, which involves using a horse to help treat special-needs children and young adults.  Each hippotherapy session is a half-hour long and involves the child or adult riding a horse.

Since the client is on the horse, several volunteers are needed to help with the session.  The horse leader is a person who has horse knowledge and leads the horse during the session.  A side walker is someone who assists the therapist by spotting the client on the horse to keep the rider safe. 

“Anyone who needs physical therapy can have hippotherapy,” said Britta Lovegrove, a registered nurse who works at EBC Therapy with physical therapist Liz Chauvot. The center contracts with the Center for Disability Services in Albany, which sends out both clients and clinicians, Lovegrove said.

“We can't do a good session without the volunteers,” she said.

Volunteers will be trained by EBC staff; no horse knowledge is necessary to be a side walker.
EBC Therapy will be starting its 12th year in March. Volunteers are needed to help make the program successful for the riders. Interested volunteers may call 872-1870 and ask for Chauvot or Lovegrove.