Location: Sudbury, Massachusetts, United States
BINA Farm Center is a nonprofit equine-assisted services organization in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with an inclusive mission of bringing together people of all ages and abilities — those with and without disabilities — through clinical, therapeutic, recreational, vocational, and agricultural programming.
Founded in 2009 and now operating year-round from its Sudbury campus, BINA is a PATH International member center and a member of the American Hippotherapy Association, serving participants from the Greater Boston area and across Middlesex and Norfolk Counties.
About This Program
BINA’s approach to equine-assisted services is notably broad, spanning licensed clinical therapy, adaptive and recreational riding, group programs for schools and organizations, a veterans program, vocational training, and a new agriculture initiative — all operating from the same farm campus. The organization’s inclusive philosophy means that programs are generally open to participants with and without disabilities, creating community spaces where ability differences are not barriers to participation.
On the clinical side, BINA offers Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) delivered by licensed mental health professionals who incorporate horses into their therapeutic practice. The program does not require any prior experience with horses, and goals typically include building self-esteem, self-awareness, confidence, and empathy.
BINA has collaborated with Mass General Brigham McLean Hospital on research involving EFP with women who have trauma histories, attracting attention from senior clinicians at McLean who have spoken publicly about the immediate impact they observed.
Occupational and physical therapy utilizing equines — hippotherapy — is also offered, with licensed OTs, PTs, and speech language pathologists using the movement of the horse as a treatment tool to engage sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems. These sessions are conducted one-on-one within a licensed therapist’s broader plan of care.
Equestrian programs cover adaptive riding, therapeutic riding, and recreational riding, offered in groups of up to eight participants to maintain an intimate and supportive setting. Group programs are also available for schools and organizations, with customized outings designed around each group’s goals — whether team building, equine-assisted learning, or a combination of ground-based activities and horsemanship.
The Healing with Horses veterans program is provided free of charge through grant funding and serves veterans dealing with PTSD and the challenges of military transition. BINA’s vocational and life skills program supports participants in learning practical skills applicable in barn, agricultural, and retail settings — some of which are run by volunteers and offered at no cost.
The newest initiative is BINA’s Agriculture Program, which includes handicap-accessible raised beds in a Sensory Garden, composting infrastructure, and a low-scale irrigation and seedling propagation system designed to offer hands-on growing experience to participants of all abilities.
In addition to its Sudbury campus, BINA offers adaptive riding at the Karen Stives ’68 Equestrian Center at Dana Hall School in Wellesley.
Services Offered
- Therapeutic and adaptive horseback riding
- Recreational riding
- Hippotherapy (OT, PT, and speech therapy utilizing equines)
- Equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP)
- Equine-assisted learning (group programs for schools and organizations)
- Healing with Horses veterans program (free of charge)
- Vocational and life skills program (barn, agriculture, retail)
- Agriculture Program and Sensory Garden
- Summer and day camps
- Corporate service days and volunteer programs
- Horse sponsorship program
Who They Serve
BINA Farm Center may be a good fit for:
- Children and adults with physical, developmental, or emotional disabilities
- Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Individuals with cerebral palsy
- Individuals with Down syndrome
- Individuals with ADD or other hyperactivity disorders
- Individuals with anxiety disorders or mood disorders
- Individuals with PTSD, including veterans
- Individuals with multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy
- Individuals with epilepsy or spinal cord injury
- Individuals with spinal muscular atrophy or transverse myelitis
- Individuals with vision impairment, including those from the Perkins School for the Blind
- Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
- Individuals with Tourette syndrome or Angelman syndrome
- Cancer survivors and individuals with cystic fibrosis
- Amputees
- Individuals with trauma histories
- Veterans and active duty military
- Students referred from McLean Hospital, the Carroll School, the Cotting School, and other partner organizations
- Participants of all abilities seeking inclusive recreational programming
Facility and Setting
BINA Farm Center recently relocated to its current campus at 30 Field Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The facility operates year-round on a structured session calendar — fall, winter, spring, and summer — with break weeks built in for horse rest and professional development. An additional adaptive riding program is offered at the Karen Stives ’68 Equestrian Center at Dana Hall School in Wellesley. The farm maintains a carefully selected therapy herd, with BINA noting that only about one in a hundred horses is suitable for a therapeutic riding program.
- Sudbury, Massachusetts location (Middlesex County)
- 30 Field Road, Sudbury, MA 01776
- Additional location: Dana Hall School, 160 Grove Street, Wellesley, MA 02482 (adaptive riding only)
- Year-round programming on a structured session calendar
- PATH International member center
- American Hippotherapy Association member
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
What Makes Them Unique
BINA Farm Center occupies a distinctive position in the Massachusetts equine-assisted services landscape because of the clinical rigor and institutional relationships it has built over time.
Its collaboration with McLean Hospital on equine-facilitated psychotherapy research reflects a commitment to evidence-based practice that goes beyond what most therapeutic riding programs pursue. The fact that a senior McLean clinician with thirty years of trauma treatment experience described the results as unlike anything she had seen before speaks to the potential of the program’s clinical work.
The breadth of BINA’s programming is also unusual — very few organizations in New England combine licensed hippotherapy, psychotherapy, recreational riding, vocational training, a veterans program, group school outings, and an agricultural program under one roof with a consistently inclusive philosophy.
For families, schools, and referring clinicians in the Greater Boston area looking for a therapeutically sophisticated and deeply community-rooted equine center, BINA Farm Center is one of the most compelling options in the region.