Surging demand for equine therapy fills McKinney nonprofit's waitlist
It's therapy that doesn't exactly look like therapy: outdoors, alongside a horse. Across North Texas, the demand for it is soaring.
So much so that , a nonprofit equine therapy center in McKinney, now has a waitlist of more than 400 people.
"A lot of our participants say this is the only therapy that works for them anymore," said Patricia Nelson, CEO of ManeGait.
The center offers cognitive, behavioral, occupational, and emotional therapy through structured horseback riding programs, serving both children and adults. Staff said needs have skyrocketed, largely spreading by word of mouth, driven by proven results and unique programs.
One of those is a first-of-its-kind "brain-building" initiative that incorporates neurological exercises into therapy sessions on horseback.
The goal? To improve mental processing, emotional regulation, and physical strength simultaneously.
Currently, ManeGait provides therapy to 150 riders per week using a stable of 29 horses. Most participants live with physical or cognitive disabilities, PTSD, or trauma, many of them military veterans or first responders. But the program is open to anyone in need of support.
The nonprofit is now working to expand, and hopes to serve more North Texans in a county that's grown rapidly.
Cami Hutchins, who has cerebral palsy, has been riding at ManeGait for over a decade. Doctors once said she may never walk or talk on her own. Today, she's defied the odds, and said the program has helped transform her life.
"When I'm on the horse, I feel free," Hutchins said.
Her mother, Leslie Tillisch, says ManeGait has been a miracle.
"Everything she does out here, it just makes the world better for her," Tillisch said.
For the thousands who've come through its gates, ManeGait is more than a therapy center. It's a place where healing happens, one ride at a time.
