BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Maintaining a horse stall doesn’t seem like the most rewarding task.

But for Mike Moritz and many other visitors to the Back in the Saddle Equine Therapy Center in Hopkinton, however, the time spent at the barn leads to some of the most valuable lessons of all.

The program has given people ages 4 to 94 with disabilities the opportunity to care after the six therapeutic horses at the Hopkinton barn since it began four years ago.

Pauline Meridien, director of the program, said when members first arrive, they don’t always have the choice which horse they’re going to work with.

“A lot of the time I think that I’m the one teaching, but then I realize that the horse is an equal partner in the endeavor,” she said. “One of the  most magical aspects of doing this job is that most of the times the horse picks out the child who it’s going to work with.”

Moritz, who has battled Down Syndrome from birth, feeds, cleans and sets up the stall for his horse, Mycka Oats, and for every 10 of his volunteer hours, he earns a one-hour riding lesson.

Many of the visitors to the barn are children who are at risk or struggle with emotional issues, and the lessons they learn vary with each case, said Meridien.

“What each person takes out of the time with the horse really varies on an individual basis,” she said. “It has taken Mike (Moritz), for example, many years to figure out what works for him. When he gets home, his mother said he doesn’t like to talk about his day. But he loves to about what he did at BITS.”

Meridien also said the program has helped bring the 28-year-old “out of himself.” After volunteering at the barn and making so many strides, including improvement in physical strength and balance, Meridien suggested Moritz become an instructor to show the steps of caring for the horses to new members.

“He said he would be happy to do it,” she said. “It was so powerful and exciting to see how far he has come.”

The director again stressed the lessons each person takes out of BITS.

“Individual people find the  answer they’re looking for. The horse provides it,” she said. “We all need to be needed, even when it is the people with needs. Finding a job for the horse to need them makes them feel important and necessary.”