Location: Saint-Lazare, Québec, Canada
Équi-Libre Therapeutic Riding Centre — originally founded as Enfants en Équi-Libre — is a nonprofit equine-assisted services organization on a 24-acre farm in Saint-Lazare, Québec, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area of Montérégie, west of Montréal.
Co-founded in 2016 by Devon O’Farrell and Joannie Chiasson, the centre began with two horses and rented arena time at a local stable, and has since grown to a herd of 10 therapy horses, a year-round facility with an indoor arena, and a team of instructors, therapists, stable staff, and volunteers providing services to more than 40 riders and clients weekly.
The centre is a CanTRA member and offers programming in both English and French.
About This Program
Équi-Libre’s founding vision — bringing therapeutic riding to as many people as possible in the greater Montréal area — has driven consistent growth since the centre’s earliest days. Devon O’Farrell, now Executive Director, discovered therapeutic riding while completing her bachelor’s degree in human relations at Concordia University, and co-founded the centre with the conviction that equine-assisted services should be broadly accessible. Joannie Chiasson brings an occupational therapy background with a master’s research focus on the impact of hippotherapy on activities of daily living in children.
The centre’s flagship therapeutic riding program provides individually tailored mounted sessions to children and adults with diverse physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges. PATH-certified and CanTRA-certified instructors design activities targeting balance, coordination, muscle development, fine and gross motor skills, communication, sensory processing, and emotional regulation. The relationship a participant develops with their horse is treated as central to the therapeutic process.
Hippotherapy — equine-assisted occupational therapy — is delivered by licensed occupational therapists using the three-dimensional movement of the horse as a treatment tool for specific functional goals. The centre has hosted the Lethbridge Layton Mackay Rehabilitation Centre and other health institutions for recurring group hippotherapy programs, with documented improvements in balance, posture, communication, and fine motor control.
Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) is offered as a ground-based program, with Poncho — a horse trained in the Parelli natural horsemanship method — among the horses who excel in this modality. Individual, group, para-dressage, and recreational programs round out the service offering. The centre also offers a parent riding program allowing parents to learn alongside their child.
Services Offered
- Therapeutic riding (individual and group, mounted)
- Hippotherapy / equine-assisted occupational therapy (licensed OTs)
- Equine-assisted learning (groundwork, ground-based programs)
- Para-dressage training
- Recreational riding
- Parent riding program (parents learn alongside their child)
- Group visits (schools, rehabilitation centres, community groups, day camps)
- Farm exploration activities and pony rides for groups
- CanTRA member programming (English and French)
Who They Serve
Équi-Libre Therapeutic Riding Centre may be a good fit for:
- Children and adults with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities
- Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Individuals with developmental delays
- Individuals with neurological conditions
- Individuals in rehabilitation for balance, posture, or motor control
- Individuals with communication challenges
- Individuals with learning disabilities
- Children with varied learning profiles and IEPs (individual education plans)
- Adults seeking para-dressage or recreational riding
- Groups from specialized schools, mainstream schools, rehabilitation centres, and community organizations
- Families in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Châteauguay areas west of Montréal
Facility and Setting
Équi-Libre is located on a 24-acre farm in Saint-Lazare, Québec, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC. The property includes an outdoor riding ring, walking trails through hundreds of kilometres of surrounding trail system, an indoor arena for year-round programming, a heated barn, and a lounge. The farm is wheelchair-accessible. Programming runs year-round, with April through October being the optimal season for taking full advantage of the outdoor facilities.
- Saint-Lazare, Québec location (Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Montérégie, west of Montréal)
- 24-acre farm with indoor arena, outdoor ring, and trails
- Wheelchair-accessible facility
- CanTRA member centre
- Year-round programming (indoor winter; full outdoor April–October)
- Bilingual services (English and French)
- Nonprofit organization
What Makes Them Unique
Équi-Libre’s interdisciplinary team — combining CanTRA-certified therapeutic riding instructors, licensed occupational therapists with hippotherapy specialization, and para-dressage expertise under one roof — is unusually comprehensive for a centre of its scale. The presence of master’s-level clinical research expertise in hippotherapy (through Joannie Chiasson’s academic background) gives the programme both clinical depth and a commitment to evidence-based practice.
The centre’s bilingual, accessible model in the underserved West Island and Montérégie areas west of Montréal fills a genuine gap.
For families in Vaudreuil-Soulanges and the Châteauguay area who need French-language equine therapy services without travelling into the city, Équi-Libre is the closest and most comprehensive option in the region.