Pony Pals - Outreach
Pony Pals is one of Special Equestrians’ outreach programs in which our therapy horses and outreach team make visits to local agencies, schools and community groups. During these visits, Pony Pals facilitates the well-being of children and adults with special needs who can benefit from the human-animal bond.
The Pony Pals program is designed to educate and provide human-animal contact for children and adults which can result in benefits such as: empathy building, outward focus, nurturing skills, rapport building, acceptance, entertainment, socialization, mental stimulation, physical contact and touch, and physiological benefits. Bringing a trained horse to meet with participants, is meant to facilitate growth in these areas as a natural source of healing in our community. Our Pony Pals share joy and bring smiles to everyone we meet.
The visit will last for approximately one hour and can be structured to include one or more of the following:
- Meet and Greet our Pony Pals horses – pet and brush a Pony Pals horse
- Learning about Horses – 4 learning stations (horses, grooming, feed, equipment)
- Reading Rodeo Literacy Program – Read, or listen to, three books about horses and earn a copy of our book, “Guinness the Rescue Pony.”
The places we have been and the people we have met...
- Artful Gardens
- Autism Connection
- Bonita Springs YMCA
- Bridgetown at The Plantation
- Brookdale Senior Living
- Buckingham Exceptional Student Center
- Camp United
- Center for Independent Living
- Diplomat Elementary
- Discovery Village Senior Living
- Eden School
- Estero High School
- Faith Academy
- Goodwill Pathways to Opportunity
- Goodwill Trailways Camp
- Hancock Creek Elementary
- Heights Elementary
- Home Base Florida
- Impact for Development Education
- LARC
- Lehigh Senior High
- Lighthouse of SWFL
- LCEC Tunes & Taste Buds
- Lily Academy
- Mariner High School
- Oak Hammock Elementary
- Orange River Elementary
- Our Mother's Home
- PACE Center for Girls of Lee County
- Park Royal Hospital
- Patriot Elementary
- Pinewoods Elementary
- Renaissance Montessori
- River Hall Elementary
- Salvation Army
- San Carlos Park Elementary
- Tanglewood Elementary
- The Palms of Fort Myers
- Three Oaks Elementary
- Tice Elementary
- Treeline Elementary
- Skilled Nursing at Health Park
- Special Populations
- Springwood Court Assisted Living Facility
Since 2012, Pony Pals have enriched the lives of more than 2,283 children and adults in our community. Pony Pals is available for visits to community groups, schools, assisted care facilities, agencies serving individuals with disabilities, and other community partners. As of September 2025 Pony Pals have made 92 visits!
Contact Special Equestrians
For available scheduling and more information.