This capstone aims to explore the benefits of equine-assisted therapies for adults with a variety of emotional, cognitive, and/or behavioral disabilities. This capstone also creates a business plan to provide services to this population using the horse as a therapeutic tool. Both qualitative and quantitative research articles were dissected, analyzed, and appraised to provide quality justification of the benefits of equine-assisted therapy and to ensure that implementation of this capstone would provide measureable benefits to the intended population. A business plan including a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis (SWOT analysis), market analysis, marketing plan, organizational and management plan, and financial plan was created with the intent of creating a meaningful, evidence-based, client-centered service for adults in the mid-Pennsylvania area.
