We Can Ride is both Minnesota's oldest and its largest therapeutic riding program , offering horseback riding opportunities for those living with disabilities.
The rides are held at a Maple Plain farm, where WCCO caught 7-year-old Daisy Spike getting ready to ride a pink-saddled horse named Cole.
The casual ride comes with serious benefits, according to the girl's mother, Mary Hurley. She says the farm and program have changed every part of her daughter's life.
"'Breathe in, breathe out.' And she does that every single day," she said. "Lately she hasn't been liking her seizure medicine, and she does that every day."
Spike uses those breathing techniques as she rides. Natalie Cerchio, Spike's occupational therapist with We Can Ride, praises the young girl's progress, noting that Spike