Charlotte's high-tech hospitals offer some of the finest care anywhere, right here in the Carolinas, but for children born with disabilities or adults suffering from stress-related disorders, traditional treatment isn't always the answer.

"Carolina Impact's" Jeff Sonier and videographer Doug Stacker, show us a different kind of care at Shining Hope Farms, where they're changing lives with their Horses of Healing.

- Yeah, Shining Hope Farms serves 300 patients a week at three locations.

in Charlotte, Mt.

Holly, and Conover.

It's a program known as Equine Assisted Therapy, using horses as a stress reliever to help adults with psychological problems, and as a teaching tool for children with mobility problems, special-needs patients who saddle up for the health benefits of riding horseback.

(gentle music) - So, Caleb has been coming to see me about a year now.

and when Caleb started, we weren't really walking on our own, we had just started taking some steps on our own.

- [Jeff] For 3-year-old Caleb, what a difference a year makes.

- You know, and he's come a long way with his core strength and his balance.

1, 2, 3, scooch Scooch, good work!

Okay.

Nice step, Caleb.

He's walking on his own, he just started jumping, where he doesn't need hand support and he can do that.

There you go.

- [Jeff] But Physical Therapist Kelly Coney-Pacious says, "Here at Shining Hope Farms, this is what Caleb likes to do most.

- [Kelly] Say, go, Kathy, go.

Let's see if Kathy's hooves go up, say up.

- Caleb learning to walk by learning to ride, with his horse swinging side-to-side, the same way we sway when we walk.

- Oh, he isn't kicked any, look at him go.

They're getting visual flow, they're getting a feel of the horse, the warmth of the horse, you're getting a stretch when you're sitting on the horse, you're having to activate muscles to maintain your position.

You're working on your balance because you have to correct yourself when you go different directions, and the horse moves.

- [Jeff] The movement is gentle, and so is the horse.

For Caleb, small, but tall in the saddle, there's no fear here.

You would think a horse would frighten a child this young, this small.

- No, a lot of times it's really just when they're little, we actually get them on the horse from the ramp He would turn and look at the horse, pet the horse, you know, some days, and he has achieved all of his goals, every time we reassess in the six-month period, so he is making very good progress.

- [Jeff] Caleb's progress measured in every confident little stride, and every horseback ride.

- [Kelly] There you go, good shift!

- There are no words to describe what it's like to see a parent's face when their child has a breakthrough on the back of a horse.

- [Jeff] Patrice Gibson is Director of Development here at Shining Hope Farms, where breaking through is what they do.

- Yeah?

Alright, let's try say ♪ The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout ♪ - [Jeff] Medical professionals at Shining Hope, evaluating the physical and mental problems of every special-needs child, then using their stable of 30 horses on three different farms, to help treat those problems.

- And it's hard when you're in therapy and you're trying to teach a child how to walk that's never walked before, because their body doesn't know what to do, but when you put them on the back of the horse, there's nothing that mimics the human walk, like the three-dimensional gait of the horse, and so their body literally learns how to walk.

(gentle music) It's a magical moment to be a part of that, we witness miracles every single day with these children.

- [Therapist] There we go.

- [Jeff] It's the miracle of hope and healing that families can actually afford.

- We don't charge horse usage fees, there's no out-of-pocket cost other than their copay that they would be paying if they went to a clinic.

Our goal is to help our community, and not just help the children in need in our community, but also help our communities, the people that have served us, we wanna be able to serve those who have served us.

- [Jeff] That's why Shining Hope also welcomes veterans, and first responders to its Horse Therapy Program.

- It's a gentle giant, right here.

- As Army Veteran Kelly Little grooms his horse.

Red for a ride today, it reminds him of summers at his grandfather's home.

- Yeah, so I was sitting on the porch, Mr.

Shaw, who was right next to him, had all these horses, so I was just sitting watching 'em, but never rode, but I always felt connected to 'em - [Jeff] And now after 25 years in the Military, much of it in combat zones overseas.

- [Kelly Little] Losing different brothers, some of the experience I seen while I was over there.

Just, it must go here.

- [Jeff] The horses he saddles up here at Shining Hope Farms are helping Kelly connect again with civilian life.

- And so there's an isolation, and you're coming back, it's not quite the same.

- [Instructor] And you can check 'em again.

- [Kelly Little] The horse showed me that, it was things that I was hiding and that I needed to deal with.

- Insomnia, flashbacks, whatever it is they're dealing with, being around the horse has this calming effect, it really positively affects them, it changes their mood, it changes their stress level, and so we have countless stories of how just being here on the farm has really helped them.

- He listens well, just my pressure with my feet.

We can act like we are healed, but inside, we're suffering, and so this puts you in a position to, like really be at peace because of this experience with this amazing and huge animal, to build that relationship and create feelings of belonging and trust, that in itself, for me, is, you know, you can't explain it, it just happens, and then they choose you.

All right, big guy.

- [Jeff] Why the horse?

- The horse is mysterious and amazing, and there's a lot that I can't explain about the horse, I don't know how to explain how it does what it does, but some of the things that we've seen our patients experience.

- [Kelly] Say, you get to ride the biggest horse there is.

- [Patrice] Bringing them to the farm, they forget that they're doing therapy, because they're riding a horse, and it's fun, and it's different, and it's very motivating, so it changes the entire dynamic, but they're still achieving the same goals, it's really exciting to watch.

(gentle inspirational music) - Patrice Gibson adds that, "Horses of Healing for patients at Shining Hope Farms are also horses of hope for their families, not necessarily a cure-all for everyone."

That's why Shining Hope also offers clinical treatment, but many find that combination of traditional healthcare with therapeutic horseback riding, makes all the difference.