Phoenix Equine Assisted Program could be considered a form of Hippotherapy or Equine Assisted Therapy. However, we use Draper Sensory Therapy Method which is unlike any other Equine Assisted program.  Using horses is about the only similarity.
Draper Sensory Therapy Method is an innovative and a worldwide unique methodology based on scientific principles of the brain-body connection and a well-defined series of equine mounted activities. It supports and enhances participants’ abilities to think more rationally, make more socially acceptable decisions and receive hope for a successful and better life.
“using horses to change lives forever”

Terry Draper is CEO and Executive Director at Horse Back Miracles (HBM) in Larkspur CO. Terry is also founder of the Draper Sensory Therapy. He has worked for 28 years on this process. HBM has been formally operating since 2000.
He has over 6000 individualized sessions using this scientific and evidence-based program methodology to improve lives of young people and veterans. He says, "I have 100% success rate if I can get the person on the horse. Even after one session they have some improvement."
Draper Sensory Method is now world wide; Slovenia, Denmark, Netherlands and China.  Other European countries are also looking into the Draper Sensory Method Therapy.  Phoenix Equine Assisted Program is the only Draper Method facility on the East Coast.

Terry has begun to certify others to spread this life saving program so that it can be shared around the world. HBM has begun to record each participant’s EEG before and after each session. This is compounding physical evidence of the permanent change that is happing in the brain. HBM is working with University of New Mexico on producing this evidence.

Phoenix Equine Assisted Therapy will be using EEG technology and will be reaching out to Emory Medical College to partner with the Neurology Department to produce scientific studies that will be published in the Journal of Neurology.  Equine assisted therapy has proven over and over to change lives, however still has work to do in producing scientific evidence of correlation of the process and results.  Studies with CSU showed normal horse therapy has a rate of change (0.5-0.7) Draper Sensory Method had a rate of change (0.8-2.4)!  This is using the Cohen Co-efficiency Scale.

Pictures of the EEG results from Before and After a session.  Red means very active Blue is calm.

The Encounter program is the very basic form of equine assisted therapy.  The Encounter does not include riding.  It is about getting to know the horses and yourself through them.  Horses have way of soothing the soul.  Winston Churchill said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man."