UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center is looking for a few good horses.

Not only do these horses need to be sound of mind and body, good temperament, about 4 to 5 feet high, and preferably between the ages of 15 to 21 years, but they also need to have the patience and tolerance of a saint – equine or human.

That’s because the horses at the nonprofit center are charged with working with a special subset of riders – developmentally and physically challenged children and adults.

“They’re abnormal horses,” said Linda Morse, equine specialist and instructor at the center. “They have low flight/fright response; they’ve been there, done that.”

The exercises and therapy require the horse to tolerate conditions that would spook many animals.

They’re exposed to toys that make noise, riders being placed on their back from above with a hydraulic wheelchair lift – which can simulate the feel of a mountain lion jumping on their back – and having many people in their space. It sometimes requires up to three volunteers walking alongside a rider during a session.

The center currently has 11 horses, down from 14 possible spots, having recently lost a few horses to age and retirement. Most of the horses at the center are donated or on a free lease from the owner.

After a horse is evaluated and deemed a potential candidate, they’ll be brought in for a 30-day trial. But about 50 percent have to be sent back, said Morse.

“It’s a difficult job for the horse. It’s a lot of stress,” she said.

The center has about 75 to 85 clients with a wide range of ages and situations, such as autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and physical injury.

But within six weeks, most have marked improvements in balance, control and muscle tone, said program director Kristen Woody.

The motion of a horse simulates human walking, she pointed out, and helps kids who have trouble focusing to organize their thoughts and concentrate on the tasks at hand. That ability to focus can spread to tasks outside of the ring as well, said Woody.

Scientific research is just beginning to look into why riding therapy is so effective, said Morse. “All we know is it seems to benefit the clients. We see it all the time.”

The center, which is accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, works with a client’s parents, caretakers, physicians, therapists and educators to draw up a set of individualized goals.

In the course of working with the horses, grooming and tacking them up, riding, and doing the exercises and games, clients work on everything from gross and fine motor skills to following directions, sequencing, memory and recall, decision making, and problem solving.

Yet despite the benefits it seems to bring, therapeutic riding is not covered by insurance, said Woody.

For client Brandyn Pellerin, 17, of Windham, who has a high-functioning form of autism and has been coming to the center for about a year, riding seemed to give him an outlet for his energies.

“It gives him a sense of accomplishment,” said caretaker Crystal Polizzotti. “A lot of times, he’ll stop in the middle of a task. Here, he does everything, start to finish.” What happens at the center is “purely magical,” said Woody.

“The horses accept people no matter how they walk, talk or look,” she said. “Some kids would never go over and greet us but will greet their horse and give them a big hug.”