A program built around healing
Saving Arrows combines equestrian therapy, trauma-informed care, and clinical treatment into an integrated day program designed for children who have survived the unimaginable.
Equestrian Therapy
Equestrian-assisted therapy (EAT) is an evidence-informed modality that uses structured interaction with horses to support emotional, behavioral, and relational healing. For children who have experienced trauma, horses offer something uniquely valuable: a non-judgmental, attuned relationship that responds honestly and immediately to emotional states.
Horses are prey animals with a finely calibrated nervous system. They mirror the emotional state of the person working with them — calm presence is rewarded with connection; anxiety or aggression interrupts it. This feedback loop, in a structured clinical setting, becomes one of the most powerful tools in trauma recovery.
At Saving Arrows, equestrian therapy is universally accessible. Programming is adapted to meet participants at their current level of readiness and mobility, and no prior experience with horses is required. The focus is relationship, not horsemanship.
Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma-informed care (TIC) is not a treatment modality — it is an organizational and relational framework that reshapes how every aspect of a program operates. At Saving Arrows, TIC is the foundation on which everything else is built.
Our approach draws from SAMHSA's six principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment and choice, and cultural humility. These principles guide staff training, physical environment design, participant communication, and program scheduling.
Children who have experienced trafficking and exploitation have had their sense of agency systematically removed. Every element of the Saving Arrows environment is designed to restore it. Participants understand what is happening, why, and what choices they have. Nothing is done to them — it is done with them.
Clinical Treatment
Saving Arrows integrates licensed clinical professionals into every level of the program. Participants receive individualized, evidence-based mental health treatment alongside the experiential components of the day — not as a separate track, but as part of a unified therapeutic model.
Clinical services are provided by licensed therapists with specialization in trauma, complex PTSD, dissociation, and developmental impacts of trafficking and exploitation. Treatment modalities include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and somatic approaches tailored to the individual.
Clinical staff collaborate directly with equestrian therapy practitioners, case managers, and referring agencies to ensure continuity of care. Progress is documented and shared with appropriate parties according to consent and applicable law.
What a participant’s day looks like
The Saving Arrows day program runs on a structured schedule designed to balance clinical intensity with restorative rhythm.
The Castle Rock farm
The Saving Arrows program is set on a 40-acre farm in Castle Rock, Colorado. The land itself is part of the therapeutic experience — open space, natural rhythms, and purposeful distance from the environments where trauma occurred.
The farm has been purpose-designed for the program: accessible facilities, safe and well-maintained equestrian infrastructure, clinical office space, and natural areas for restorative and reflective activities. Everything is built to serve the healing process.
Clinically credentialed. Evidence-based.
Saving Arrows’ equestrian therapy programming aligns with standards established by PATH Intl. and EAGALA. Clinical services use modalities recommended by SAMHSA and the World Health Organization. Learn more about our clinical approach →
Know a child who could benefit?
We work with schools, courts, foster care systems, and community advocates to connect child survivors of trafficking and trauma with the care they need.