Coupeville ranch launches hippotherapy services

By Karina Andrew • June 6, 2023 1:30 am

A Coupeville ranch’s new nonprofit arm will help kids develop balance, coordination, fine motor skills and more, all from the back of a horse.

Iron Mills Ranch, located at 636 Long Ears Way in Coupeville, will launch hippotherapy services at the end of the month.

Hippotherapy is a practice within occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology that utilizes the movement of the horse as a tool to engage sensory, neuromotor and cognitive systems. It is part of an individualized medical treatment and differs from therapeutic riding, which is a recreational activity adapted for those with special needs or anxiety.

Jaimie Sawyer, a certified occupational therapy assistant, said she first encountered hippotherapy when she was in school and fell in love with the practice. When she and her partner Shannon Ivins moved to Whidbey Island and started boarding Ivins’s horse at Iron Mills Ranch, they made friends with ranch owners Doug and Alexis Mills.

Doug grew up on Whidbey, then met Alexis while living in California. The Mills moved back to the island in 2019 and opened the ranch shortly after. Alexis, an Oak Harbor School District paraeducator, practiced behavioral therapy in California for 15 years and was interested in incorporating therapeutic practices into the ranch, because she and Doug felt therapeutic options for youth were lacking on Whidbey.

“There’s definitely a need on the island for that,” Doug said.

When the Mills met Sawyer, their dream came to fruition.

Iron Mills Ranch Therapy Services officially launches on June 30. Sawyer said that she has seen the practice enable children to walk, run or even speak for the first time.

“It’s pretty amazing when you see the power of a horse,” she said.

For now, the ranch will only offer occupational therapy, though Sawyer said she and the others would eventually like to expand to physical therapy and speech-language pathology services, as well.

Sawyer said any occupational therapy tasks that can be done in a clinic setting can be done on the back of a horse. During a session, a therapist, a side walker and a horse handler work with a client to achieve goals he or she might struggle to reach in a more conventional setting.

Three horses living at Iron Mills Ranch are set to participate in the hippotherapy program so far — Ivins’s horse, Apache; the Mills’ horse, Django; and Ike, a horse that boards at the ranch.

“The horses create a safe space for kids to be able to learn and grow and do things they normally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing,” Ivins said.

The ranch is accepting clients from around ages 3 to 21. Anyone interested in scheduling a session or volunteering for Iron Mills Ranch Therapy Services can call Sawyer at 360-632-5931. More information is available online at ironmillsranch.com.