(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 three 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.

(gentle music) He just started jumping where he doesn't need hand support and he can do that.

There you go.

- [Narrator] But physical therapist Kelly Coney Pacious says here at Shining Hope Farms, this is what Caleb likes to do most.

- Say go, Kathy, go!

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

- [Jeff] Caleb learning to walk by learning to ride with his horse swaying side to side.

The same way we sway when we walk.

- Oh, he hasn'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 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.

- 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 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?

All right.

- 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 a 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.

- [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.

- [Jeff] As Army veteran Kelly Little grooms his horse, Red, for a ride today, it reminds him of summers at his grandfather's home.

- [Kelly] Yeah, so I was sitting on the porch.

Mr. Shaw who was right next to him had all these horses.

So I would just sitting watch '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.

(gentle music) - 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.

You're coming back.

It's not quite the same.

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

- [Kelly] The horse showed me that it was things that I was hot 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, changes their mood, changes their stress level.

And so they, 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 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.

- [Instructor] 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 music) - For "Carolina Impact," I'm Jeff Sonier.