I didn't understand the true healing power of horses until I started coming to The Legacy Ranch! I have seen so many people (children and adults) benefit physically and/or emotionally from their time spent there. It is a wonderful, transformative place with kind and caring staff and volunteers and gentle, intuitive horses. I highly recommend it!
Through Legacy Equine-Assisted Services NFP, they are able to offer a variety of programs for individuals of all ages and backgrounds who can benefit from sharing space with their sweet horses!
The Legacy Ranch provides an array of services under one roof that include OT, PT, Speech Therapy, Mental Health therapy, and assisted riding lessons to name a few. With licensed and certified staff from many backgrounds, they are able to meet the needs of each client that is served. Clean, well maintained and professional facility!
I started volunteering at Legacy Equine-Assisted Services NFP ('Legacy Ranch') in 2017 after the death of my husband and best friend of 34 years. Connecting with the wonderful staff and herd of healing horses helped me to cope with my loss and manage my grief. Every time I'm there, I see remarkable instances of adults and children with a wide range of physical, mental and emotional challenges achieve their highest levels of physical and cognitive function, increase independence, and enhance self-esteem. I've seen a veteran with traumatic brain injury regain his desire to live after establishing a connection with the Legacy horses . I've seen a child living with quadriplegia establish a strong bond with one of horses who is so intuitive to the child's needs that he lets the staff know when the child is tired and it's time to end the session. I've seen adults and children who were not successful with other treatment modalities achieve remarkable improvements through equine therapy and other services offered at Legacy. After eight years, I'm still committed to Legacy Equine-Assisted Services and its mission. It truly is a remarkable place!
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Legacy Equine-Assisted Services makes such an impact on so many lives. In the nearly seven years that I have been associated with Legacy as a volunteer, client, and most recently has a board member, I have seen the care and respect the staff and leadership show for their clients and their horses. It is truly an amazing place!
Legacy is amazing. Its a wonderful place to connect with horses in so many unique ways. The horses are the absolute sweetest horses and the staff is kind, knowledgeable, and welcoming. love it there!
THIS place is top notch with awesome instructors to work with! My daughter has been here since they opened in 2017 and prior to finding Legacy, we had been going to other barns and they just didn't fit, here they make her feel confident, included, un judged and SAFE, when she is here, I can relax knowing she is in awesome hands! That feeling doesn't come along very often when you have a child with special needs!!!- we have found our forever home here!!!! Now I am on the board and ALL IN
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My daughter has been riding at the Legacy Ranch since its inception in 2017 - the growth she has experienced in self confidence and physical awareness has been amazing! The horses are very well cared for and loved, the instructors have a keen sense of what my daughter needs and the facility is top notch! Having a child with special needs is not easy - but when she is at the ranch, SHE is HAPPY AND SAFE. It gives us a little break and time to recharge as well! Knowing she is doing something that she loves, people who treat her with kindness and understand her needs, give US peace!
The Legacy Ranch is truly life changing. Not being a “horse” person, I was originally skeptical about a horse could be helpful during therapy or working with people with disabilities. However, over the past 6 years, time and time again I have witnessed how it has helped so many people and their families. Watching how the amazing staff at the Ranch helps horses interact with a child or an adult dealing with their own emotional or physical struggles has been incredible.
I feel like The Legacy Ranch and I were destined to connect. I have always been a horse lover and rode a lot as a younger woman. As a registered nurse and looking forward to retirement I happened upon a therapeutic riding facility when I was scrolling on the internet. I put the information in the back of my mind until I retired but I never forgot about it because I thought it would be a good way to volunteer to help others and to get my horse "fix" at the same time. Fast forward to March 2022 when I had retired and my daughter and her family moved into Broken Arrow sub-division. When I was telling her about my plan, she suggested checking out the ranch on Farrell Road. I drove into the ranch that day and realized that this was the place I had seen on the internet a couple of years before retirement!! I immediately signed up for an orientation and have not looked back! Assisting with lessons and even sweeping and cleaning stalls is my therapy and the horses and staff are wonderful. The ranch is clean and the horses are so well cared for and loved that I feel like I have another family of friends (not all four legged) which I love and cherish. I am so happy that I found The Legacy Ranch!!
Volunteering and taking riding lessons at The Legacy Ranch is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've met the most wonderful people and I absolutely love every single precious horse in their herd. The instructors and staff are so caring and knowledgeable and their love for what they do is evident.
The Legacy Ranch is a special place!!
The Legacy Equine - Assisted Services NFP has empowered countless children, adults and veterans to grow, heal, and find their inner strength. The countless volunteers are the lifeblood of this program along with the amazing team of therapists are able to assess individual needs while maximizing outcomes that are determined all parties involved. I have personally seen these transformations and am happy to now be a part of this team as a board member. I'm looking forward to watching these services grow while continuing to focus on our mission.
I am so proud to be a part of the Legacy Ranch “barn family”. It is such a welcoming, caring and positive place that brings people together to help each other with the common bond of horses. Volunteering with the therapeutic lessons is such a rewarding and humbling experience along with time spent helping with the horses, barn, classes and other events. I can’t think of a better place that I could spend my time. There is so much to offer for people of various needs.
I’m proud to be a part of the Legacy Ranch community. As a retired teacher volunteering gives me the opportunity to work with two of my loves:children and horses. Helping out there allows me to witness first hand the kindness and professionalism of its staff. But most of all I get to see the positive results of its programs on faces of so many clients- many of whom are disabled children. As a volunteer I may give my time to Legacy Ranch, but what I get back in return is immeasurable. It's truly a great organization. Norma Schulfer
It's awesome that The Legacy Ranch offers customized Leadership Workshops. There's something for everyone at The Legacy Ranch
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The Legacy Ranch is truly a high quality, certified Equine Therapy Facility that makes each and every client feel valued and important. The staff and volunteers work very hard all year round to raise funds so the programs can be both maintained and increased. The Legacy Ranch has never turned down anyone who has come searching for help, and the Board is dedicated to providing scholarships so finances are not a barrier either.
The Legacy Ranch truly is a piece of Heaven on earth for those facing physical or mental challenges. A life-changing experience is only a neigh away.
I am a retired school administrator and have enjoyed a lifetime of caring for others: human and equine. When I retired from education, I looked for opportunities to continue to help others of all abilities and backgrounds. I worked with a team of horses and handlers, and we trained to ensure that our members had the skills and professionalism needed to work with diverse populations and for our horses to exercise good, reliable social behavior.
During this period, I had several occasions to meet with Sandi Moleski and to learn more about the Legacy Ranch. In time, I came to believe that we shared the same vision, dreams and standards for an equine-assisted program. I joined the Legacy Farm Family first as a volunteer and now as a member of the Legacy Board of Directors. With tremendous admiration I have observed our staff interact with clients and horses in a highly professional and respectful manner. Our riders have developed confidence and lifelong skills; our horses are well cared for and have proven to be dependable in their service to others.
I invite others to visit the beautiful Legacy Ranch in Lockport, Illinois where you can immediately recognize this exceptional equine facility established in honor of a very remarkable woman.
My initial experience with The Legacy Ranch and their invaluable work in the community was as a volunteer. I was immediately struck by the warm and welcoming environment, which still amazes me two years later. Instructors, therapists, client riders, families and volunteers work together focused on providing the best possible services with the most benefit for the client riders. I’m so proud of our riders and their accomplishments and extremely excited for our first Special Olympics team.