Reata Rehabilitation staff members use trained horses to achieve specific therapy goals for clients and are rewarded by plenty of smiles.

“When they get on a horse, the smiles go on their faces,” said director Becca Glaser, describing a typical client reaction.

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Becca Glaser, center, director of Reata Rehabilitation, is shown with Carol Lynch, horse handler, left, and Kelly Kinder, equine manager, inside the facility’s indoor arena. “We are an outpatient therapy facility,” Glaser said. “We just happen to be on the ranch.”

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The nonprofit organization provides physical and occupational therapy with traditional methods as well as hippotherapy, in which the horse is used as a therapy tool.

According to the American Hippotherapy Association Web site, the therapy has been shown to improve musical tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development and emotional well-being.

Reata Rehabilitation is located on a ranch in Ponder and specializes in working with clients who have neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autism and related disorders. Clients also include those who have suffered traumatic brain injury, strokes, partial paralysis, movement difficulties and similar issues.

“We are an outpatient therapy facility,” Glaser said. “We just happen to be on the ranch.”

Reata Rehabilitation currently operates out of leased facilities that include a large barn and indoor and outdoor arenas, allowing therapy sessions in all types of weather. The center also offers trail ride areas and therapy rooms with equipment mats, a treadmill, stretching barrels, steps and other equipment for developmental activities.

Glaser, an occupational therapist, emphasized that the operation is designed strictly to provide occupational and physical therapy. A doctor’s prescription is required for treatment.

“We don’t ride for sport,” Glaser said.

Volunteers are an important part of the operation but are not used as primary care providers, she said, adding that good volunteers are difficult to find.

“You have to have the right heart,” she said. “Some of our volunteers are going to school for physical therapy.

“People who are out here are here because they love what they do.”

Glaser said she began working in therapy as a volunteer and liked it immediately.

“I became an occupational therapist and bought this practice,” she said. “I’ve had horses all my life, so it was a natural fit.”

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Reata Rehabilitation in Ponder recently received a new sign made and donated by Matt and Lisa Cavness of Krum.

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The goal is to help each client have improved quality of life, regardless of financial situation, Glaser said.

The rewards of gaining her clients’ trust go far beyond money, she said.

“We had a little girl with autism who spoke last year,” she said. “We’d never heard her speak before.”

Although the therapy in the typical hourlong sessions is serious business, Glaser said staff members also help clients have fun.

Volunteer Martin Matheny agreed.

“When they [clients] get on a horse, it’s like a whole new world,” he said.

Matheny said serving as a volunteer has been rewarding.

“I just want to give back,” he said. “You can’t walk away from this place and feel sorry for yourself.”

Reata Rehabilitation recently received a new sign made of red cedar, courtesy of Matt and Lisa Cavness of Krum. She and her husband make signs as a sideline to their regular businesses, Lisa Marie’s Stockyard Salon and The Dirt Work Co.

“We knew that place had been out there for a long time,” Lisa Cavness said. “Their sign was falling apart. Matt and I just made one and donated it to them.

“I was glad to give them something that looks nice.”

Future plans at Reata Rehabilitation include a trail ride fundraiser on Oct. 24 at Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland near Decatur. The event will feature the trail ride, lunch, demonstrations and raffle prizes, Glaser said. For cost and other information, call 940-479-2612.

Glaser said future plans also include purchasing a site for the operation.

“We’re looking so hard for a facility that we can buy,” she said.

Reata Rehabilitation is located at 9204 T.N. Skiles Road. For more information, visit the center’s Web site at www.reatarehabilitation.org.

LES COCKRELL can be reached at 940-566-6887. His e-mail address is lcockrell@dentonrc.com.

On the Web

American Hippotherapy Association Inc.: www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org