Moore County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) invites interested horse-lovers to Prancing Horse's volunteer orientation and training. Prancing Horse is Moore County's only Center for Therapeutic Horseback Riding, located in Cameron.

Riding a horse is an enjoyable experience for many people, but for an individual with a disability it can be much more. Each year people with physical, cognitive, and/or emotional disabilities discover the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding. Whether it's a five-year-old with Downs Syndrome, or a 45-year-old recovering from a spinal cord injury, horseback riding builds self-esteem, helps increase mobility, and provides a chance to participate in an activity that is fun outside a therapist's office. Each school year, Prancing Horse Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center provides hours of therapy free of charge to Moore County public school students with impairments.

Interested in spending a couple of hours a week with a horse and child who could benefit from your kindness? Attend the new volunteer orientation session scheduled for Friday, March 30. Orientation begins at 10 a.m. and wraps up at 1 p.m.

"No previous horse experience is needed," says RuthAnne Murphy, RSVP director. "While volunteers don't themselves ride, they provide for the safety of the children by walking alongside or in front of the horses.

Volunteers learn how to prepare the horses for the ring as well as how to care for them after the lesson has ended. Watching the progress the children make over the course of the series of lessons is very rewarding. It's also a great way for horse-lovers to spend time with some gentle horses."

To find out how to volunteer with Prancing Horse, contact Murphy at 910-215-0900 or rmurphy@moorecountync.gov.