MIDLAND, Texas — This center is home to Dudley and Nimbus.
And these horses are back to work this week helping clients of all ages with anxiety, autism and physical limitations.
With the absence of a spring session and given that this facility caters to current mental stress, their signups have in fact doubled.
"COVID is definitely I think making a case for the therapeutic side of riding and engaging with the horses. People are calling us and they've got kids or family members who are dealing with anxiety, depression, they're stressed," Gina Friedman, interim executive director at Starlight Therapeutic Riding Center said.
It's been a carefully crafted process of reopening as nearly all their clients have preexisting conditions.
"While the general population might be safe in a certain situation, our clients may be at risk," Friedman said.
They've even kept the number of staff and students below what CDC guidelines deem permissible due to their clients' delicate immune systems.
"We have separate buckets of grooming supplies, so students aren't using the same grooming supplies on the same day. They all have their own helmet, they're labeled," Friedman said.
All instructors wear masks, they sanitize saddles, halters and other equipment in between every lesson and they've gotten rid of group lessons for the time being.
But at the end of the day, it's all about the smile these horses put on your face.
"We've had children with autism and they aren't able to connect maybe with a human, but they connect with the horse and you'll see the child smile and that smile is huge and that's a win for us," Friedman said.
And now that they're open, this therapeutic riding center can keep on winning.