Animal Programs for
Children in Foster Care
Harper Wolf
Animal Programs Manager
Email Harper →
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Animal Sessions
Offered April - October
Animal Sessions offer children the opportunity to participate in unique, hands-on farm experiences for children in foster care. During each session, every child is paired with a Session Leader whose primary role is to listen, build connection, and create space for meaningful engagement through animal-based activities.
Activities are tailored to each child’s interests and needs, allowing for a personalized and supportive experience. These activities may include:
Interacting with and learning to care for smaller barn animals
Creating animal-themed art projects
Learning to groom, communicate with, and ride a horse
Animal Sessions provide a meaningful way for children to build relationships, develop caretaking skills, and experience joy through connection with animals.
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Children living in a foster or adoptive home, ages 5 and up, may register for three terms of Animal Sessions. A term consists of individual 50-minute sessions for four consecutive weeks.
Thanks to generous donations, the cost of registration is greatly reduced.
There is only a $20 registration fee.
Horse Riding Lessons
Horse riding lessons offer a fun and engaging introduction to horsemanship for aspiring cowboys and cowgirls. Lessons focus on helping children grow in their horsemanship skills through hands-on learning about horse behavior, caretaking, tacking, groundwork, and riding.
Because horsemanship involves much more than riding, children typically do not ride during their first few lessons. Time spent learning alongside horses in an instructive environment supports confidence and communication for children in foster care—skills that extend far beyond the arena.
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Children living in a foster or adoptive home, ages 5 and up, may register for 1 semester of horse riding lessons.
A semester of lessons consists of 16 individual, 1 hour lessons on the same day at the same time each week for 4 consecutive months.
Thanks to generous donations, the cost of sessions is greatly reduced.
There is only a $30 registration fee.
Animal Day Camp
Calling all animal lovers! Animal Day Camp is a fun and engaging opportunity for children to spend time with our barn animals, learn new skills, and explore how animal interactions can point us to biblical truths.
During camp, children will:
Work with our equines (both the little ones and the big ones!)
Make new friends who share a love for animals
Study the Bible through interactive lessons and activities
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A child may attend the Animal Day Camp for their grade. Registration cost is $10.
2025 Animal Day Camp Dates:
K–1st Grade Camp: Saturday, May 31 | 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Elementary Camp: Saturday, August 30 | 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Youth Camp: Saturday, October 25 | 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Elementary Camps are for children who have completed 2nd–5th grade. Youth Camps are for children who have completed 6th–11th grade.
Hippotherapy
We know the name may be unfamiliar, but we are excited to offer this specialized therapy at Joy Meadows. Hippotherapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the movement of horses to support improvements in motor skills, balance, coordination, and emotional well-being.
Each 50-minute session includes time to prepare in the barn, mount the horse, participate in guided activities, dismount, and return to the barn. MNRI exercises and other therapeutic modalities are incorporated throughout the session.
Each session is supported by a trained team, including a horse leader, a sidewalker volunteer assisting on one side of the rider, and an occupational therapist leading the session while providing support on the other side.
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Since this is a therapeutic service provided by an occupational therapist, insurance will be billed to cover the cost of the sessions.
Hippotherapy is offered to children living in a foster or adoptive home, age 2 and older.
Each child will be allowed to attend one session per week for a term of 8 weeks. The term options for the 2026 season include:
Weeks of June 1st to July 27th (Mondays or Fridays)
Weeks of August 24th to October 12th (Mondays or Wednesdays)
Weeks of October 19th to December 14th (Mondays or Wednesdays)
We partner with Lindsey Phillips, an OTD with Pediatric Connections, to offer hippotherapy.
If you would like more information or to sign your child up for the waiting list for this therapy, please email Lindsey Phillips at lindsey@pediatricconnectionsot.com.
