A Little Bit about BITS ETC
Pauline Meridien and her husband, Walter England, MD founded Back In The Saddle Equine Therapy Center (aka BITS ETC) in 2003. They treated children and adults with disabilities by providing quality time shared with horses. Dr. England was instrumental in providing both monetary and emotional support in this endeavor. In his psychiatry practice, he often referred patients for a healthy dose of time with a horse to combat depression, and the debilitating features of chronic pain.
BITS ETC was born when her daughter was studying Hippotherapy techniques in San Francisco in conjunction with her occupational therapy studies at UNH. Her insistence that the two horses they owned (and with whom she grew up) would be perfect for the work, got Pauline hooked on the idea. Well, those horses were put to work and Pauline never looked back!
Six horses, one pony, three miniature horses, a donkey, two goats, two cats, chickens and a rabbit now live here; the horses offering riding and equine activities to people 2 to 92 living with disabilities. Following the guidelines of Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH International), BITS has grown to encompass several programs, and three instructors specializing in therapeutic riding, SpiritHorse autism intervention, and Equine Facilitated Educational opportunities, not originally envisioned when BITS first started.
BITS was the first facility in the North East to be licensed by SpiritHorse International to offer their unique intervention for autism.
In 2020, Pauline retired and handed the reins over to Jaryn Hall-Haines, who plans to bring BITS to the next level by expanding on our already successful program offerings. Stay tuned!
As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we pride ourselves on focusing funds on advancing our program of horse interaction. Our Board of Directors, as well as all support personnel during lessons, are voluntary positions. Funds donated go directly to support our equine partners or to fund scholarships for the riding or vocational education program directly.
Pauline Meridien and her husband, Walter England, MD founded Back In The Saddle Equine Therapy Center (aka BITS ETC) in 2003. They treated children and adults with disabilities by providing quality time shared with horses. Dr. England was instrumental in providing both monetary and emotional support in this endeavor. In his psychiatry practice, he often referred patients for a healthy dose of time with a horse to combat depression, and the debilitating features of chronic pain.
BITS ETC was born when her daughter was studying Hippotherapy techniques in San Francisco in conjunction with her occupational therapy studies at UNH. Her insistence that the two horses they owned (and with whom she grew up) would be perfect for the work, got Pauline hooked on the idea. Well, those horses were put to work and Pauline never looked back!
Six horses, one pony, three miniature horses, a donkey, two goats, two cats, chickens and a rabbit now live here; the horses offering riding and equine activities to people 2 to 92 living with disabilities. Following the guidelines of Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH International), BITS has grown to encompass several programs, and three instructors specializing in therapeutic riding, SpiritHorse autism intervention, and Equine Facilitated Educational opportunities, not originally envisioned when BITS first started.
BITS was the first facility in the North East to be licensed by SpiritHorse International to offer their unique intervention for autism.
In 2020, Pauline retired and handed the reins over to Jaryn Hall-Haines, who plans to bring BITS to the next level by expanding on our already successful program offerings. Stay tuned!
As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we pride ourselves on focusing funds on advancing our program of horse interaction. Our Board of Directors, as well as all support personnel during lessons, are voluntary positions. Funds donated go directly to support our equine partners or to fund scholarships for the riding or vocational education program directly.