Community Corner

Nonprofit Horse Therapy Center to Open Saturday

Your Angels Wings aims to help children with disabilities and special needs.

A nonprofit recreational horse therapy center is opening in Walton County this week. 

Started by Monroe resident Debi Dalton, Your Angels Wings aims to help children with disabilities and special needs, whether they're physical or mental.

The idea came about when Dalton wanted to help her 4-year-old granddaughter, Addison. She was diagnosed with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, a rare, genetic disease that is associated with intellectual disabilities, sleep disorders and seizures. 

"To describe it, it is a combination of cerebral palsy, down syndrome and autism," said Dalton. Addison also was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease six months ago. 

She regularly completes at least four different types therapies, with horse riding being just one of them. When the costs became overbearing for her daughter's family, Dalton decided to take over the equine therapy part and purchase Candee, a horse specializing in recreational therapy. 

"Candee is just completely amazing," Dalton said. "Addi just loves it."

Dalton recently held a Phelan-McDermid Syndrome reunion at her ranch, and a handful of families from Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama came. The children loved the experience, so she decided turn her ranch into a recreational horse therapy center. 

"Amazing things happen on horses. Children that don't speak, after they've been in horse therapy for a while, they start talking," Dalton said.

There are many aspects to the facility. Trails cover the grounds with different activities, and there's a open area with barrels and cones. Every child begins in the round pen, though, which has shelves on top of the pen's circular fence. Aimed to strengthen the rider's core, the shelves will hold different toys so that each child can reach across and grab the objects.  

Also helping with Your Angels Wings are the Loganville Rotary Club and the Loganville Community Ministry Village. So far, the rotary club has helped with purchasing and building the wheelchair-accessible ramp and platform for the round pen. 

"When [Dalton] started talking about doing this, I just wanted to help her out," said Chet Fowler, a rotary club member. "This is the perfect project for the rotary club. The motto is, 'Service above self.'"

Fowler is also the executive director of the Ministry Village, which sees many foster kids and abused children. The organization is partnering with Your Angels Wings so they can refer those who need therapy. 

The facility has two volunteer trainers, sisters Alexa and Kacy Jones. While equine therapy is fairly new to them, most of their lives have revolved around horses, whether it's taking lessons themselves or training others for professional equestrian.

While the duo has two horses on the ranch that they use for offering lessons, Candee, whom they've known for seven years, is currently the only therapy horse at Your Angels Wings.

"It's so important because you can't just take any horse and say, 'Hey, let me put these kids on this horse' and expect them to be OK," said Alexa, who owns Diamond Z Equine Training & Riding Lessons. "They're living, breathing animals with minds of their own. They can do whatever they want, whenever they want, so it's so important to know the horses like they're your best friend."

"Candee's so dependable and safe for kids," said Kacy. "We need the horse to keep her composure the whole time. We know Candee's history and we know where she's been, so we know she's the horse for the job."

While Your Angels Wings is mainly a recreational therapy center for disabled children, Dalton also wishes to serve the whole family. While the child is in therapy, his or her siblings can play in the treehouse or playground, and there's also miniature horses and goats to play with, too. Parents can sit, relax and watch their child during therapy from a serene pond area facing the trails, too. 

Another purpose of Your Angels Wings is affordability. Its rate is $30 an hour, which is much lower than other horse therapy centers' costs of upwards $50. Dalton said she also won't penalize families who end up missing their sessions.
 
Locals from the area are welcome to browse the facility and let their kids "test-run" Candee during Your Angels Wings' grand opening Saturday (Nov. 16) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2041 Kari Brook Drive in Monroe. There will be barbecue, food, a bouncy house and a DJ for all to enjoy. 

Your Angels Wings will be up and running this weekend, but the nonprofit still is in need of funds to complete its last projects. Dalton said a wheelchair-accessible bathroom needs to be on the facility, and having a cement or mat pathway leading from the gravel parking lot to the barn and round pen is on the wishlist, too.

To donate to Your Angels Wings, contact owner Debi Dalton at 678-478-3198. To learn more about the organization, visit www.mljsoftware.com/wordpress


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