Since 2019 Forward Stride has partnered with Janus Youth Programs at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility to provide a six week Equine Facilitated Learning program, to the young men there.

The horses create a safe space, allowing the youth to practice new skills and have the opportunity to express themselves without judgement. This program has offered an alternative way for the youth to engage in a therapeutic environment that is not within an office setting. 

The Native American Rehabilitation Association, or NARA, provides culturally appropriate services and treatments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and anyone in need.

At Forward Stride, NARA participants are primarily referred from residential treatment for presentations of drug and alcohol abuse to attend Equine Facilitated Learning sessions and riding lessons once a week and during 3-day horse camps.

For over 12 years Forward Stride has partnered with Providence Health & Services, a network of hospitals throughout the northwest, in our Rehabilitation Services program to provide an alternative, specialized therapy utilizing many treatment tools and strategies including the multidimensional movement of a horse. Every fall and summer, patients from their occupational therapy department come to Forward Stride to participate in this unique therapy.

Forward Stride has partnered with Shriners Hospitals for Children – Portland since Forward Stride’s inception. Each fall and winter, we offer riding lessons on Saturday afternoons to children in treatment at the Portland Shriners Hospital. These riding lessons not only teach riding and horsemanship skills – they also help riders gain self-confidence and strength. While these sessions are not clinical therapy sessions, they provide an opportunity for riders to practice skills and processes they may be working on in treatment. For example, children can practice using fine motor skills to hold a brush and groom their pony.