CHATS

CHATS CHATS is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit horse therapy center located in Yorktown, Virginia. We provide servi My name is Dr. Megan B. It was devastating to say the least.

McGavern, DO, MS, FACP....but more importantly, I am Cole's mother. Let me start out by saying it's been a long road!! At times so difficult, frustrating and isolating, I have not known how I was going to survive another minute....but then there have been days so beautiful, and breakthroughs so amazing, it has taken my breath away. Our son Cole was diagnosed with autism at age 4. A few days of sa

dness and disbelief then led to unending research and "warrior mode" on how I could heal my child. Along the way, I read a book titled "The Horse Boy", written by Rupert Isaacson. It changed our lives forever. We took Cole out of public school, created a homeschooling Movement Method (MM) program in 2017 and a Horseboy Method (HBM) program in 2018. In 2019, my husband and I bought almost 18 acres in Yorktown, to create what I have called a "Horse Boy masterpiece". We transitioned to the land in April 2020 with Majana and Diego. Our third Horse Boy horse, Neron, arrived from Germany in May of 2021 after 18 months of intense training. My son is not "neurotypical" by any means at this point, but we have gone from 10 words in a day to 300 plus words in an hour on the horse. We have gone from driving him to a feeding clinic in Richmond for 2 years, to him being above 90th percentile in weight. We have gone from not being able to go to the beach because he couldn't bear to step on sand, to it is now one of his most beloved places. We have gone from lugging a bike to OT for years trying to get him to be able to ride to he now can ride a bike scooter, and hover board all by himself!! We are grateful to have been able to do such a far-fetched thing and hope to be able to share this with those in the community who are going through similar struggles. Here's to strength, hope, community, peace and faith! CHATS does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color,
national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment.

The Easter Bunny is on its way to CHATS!Join us Saturday April 19th from 10a-12p for our Easter Extravaganza!!Email us a...
03/18/2025

The Easter Bunny is on its way to CHATS!

Join us Saturday April 19th from 10a-12p for our Easter Extravaganza!!

Email us at [email protected] to register by April 17th.
*You MUST register in order to attend*

May the blessings of St. Patrick be with you today and always🇮🇪💚
03/17/2025

May the blessings of St. Patrick be with you today and always🇮🇪💚

Remembering Majana who so graciously wore this viking hat each St. Patrick's Day since 2018. You are always with us Ma-M...
03/15/2025

Remembering Majana who so graciously wore this viking hat each St. Patrick's Day since 2018. You are always with us Ma-Ma💚🇮🇪🐎

Thursday is the last day to sign up for Sensory Saturday! email us at explorewithchats@yahoo.com to sign up!
03/10/2025

Thursday is the last day to sign up for Sensory Saturday! email us at [email protected] to sign up!

TOP O'THE MORNIN!

We are hoping the luck of the Irish will be with us and bring good weather for our St. Patricks Day Sensory Saturday!

Come celebrate on Saturday March 15, 2025 from 10a-12pm!

email us at [email protected] by March 13 to sign up!

Summer is coming & so is HORSE BOY CAMP!We are very excited to be able to offer Horse Boy camp for the 4th year running!...
03/03/2025

Summer is coming & so is HORSE BOY CAMP!

We are very excited to be able to offer Horse Boy camp for the 4th year running!

We are excited to join forces, once again, with Youth Volunteer Corps of Hampton Roads to help with our incredible campers! This provides an invaluable experience to these youth volunteers in helping their peers to have an awesome camp experience, and this also provides a solid, steady group of volunteers for the week for our kiddos who need and do best with consistency.

Space is VERY limited, so make sure to register!
[email protected]

03/01/2025

WHAT A MORNING!!! I just attended the annual Riverside Medical Group provider conference and received the "RMG Board of Directors Distinguished Physician Award"!!!!

Description: "This lifetime achievement award recognizes distinguished contributions to medicine, to his or her profession, to our mission and community. Individuals will exemplify the best in our culture, outstanding quality, and unquestioned integrity. To earn the Distinguished Physician Award, the individual will be universally recognized as the best of the best."

AAAAAAHHHHHH!! Cheers to making a difference. I am going to keep on going...sky's the limit!

Spring has sprung at CHATS !! "Daffodils" was one of the first words Cole verbalized when he started riding Majana in 2...
03/01/2025

Spring has sprung at CHATS !! "Daffodils" was one of the first words Cole verbalized when he started riding Majana in 2018❤️🐎❤️

Just don't tell the daffodils that it is dropping to 26 tonight😭!

CHATS friends,In lieu of hosting a Hearts & Horses Gala for our spring fundraiser this year, we are going to raffle the ...
02/28/2025

CHATS friends,

In lieu of hosting a Hearts & Horses Gala for our spring fundraiser this year, we are going to raffle the chance to win 1 of two amazing trips. Unfortunately, the weather can really wreak havoc on hosting outdoor events especially to this magnitude. The lucky winners of our last raffle gave rave reviews saying the trips were AMAZING and they were very impressed with all that was included.
We are only selling 100 tickets so your chance to win is that much higher!
Your support of our raffle helps us provide scholarships to children whose families otherwise can't afford the playdates, funding for summer camp, maintaining top health for our therapy horses, and so much more.
Please join us in making a difference in the daily lives of special needs children and their families. We SO appreciate your support!

Sincerely,
Dr. Megan B. McGavern DO, MS, FACP

Link to purchase tickets: https://square.link/u/xnOKiNTW

02/25/2025

Does anyone know who sells round bales of hay locally? Thanks!

TOP O'THE MORNIN!We are hoping the luck of the Irish will be with us and bring good weather for our St. Patricks Day Sen...
02/18/2025

TOP O'THE MORNIN!

We are hoping the luck of the Irish will be with us and bring good weather for our St. Patricks Day Sensory Saturday!

Come celebrate on Saturday March 15, 2025 from 10a-12pm!

email us at [email protected] by March 13 to sign up!

02/13/2025

As Cole loves to sing, "RAIN RAIN GO AWAY, COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY!" The weather is going to be awful Saturday. When this happens, we try to see if we can still do it on the following day, but guess what...it is the exact same forecast!

It is always hard when one of our outdoor events has to be canceled as we put so much time and effort into preparing and we miss being able to make your child have a beautiful day. Hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with us in a few weeks for St. Patrick's Day SS.

Sending Coconut Cupid kisses to all those who were signed up to come out this weekend. XOXO, Megan

We are very sorry to announce that the Sensory Saturday event scheduled for this Saturday February 15th is unfortunately...
02/13/2025

We are very sorry to announce that the Sensory Saturday event scheduled for this Saturday February 15th is unfortunately cancelled due to weather concerns.

Information about the next Sensory Saturday event will be coming soon!
We apologize for any inconvenience.

-CHATS team

So our hearts are broken....it happened all the sudden....Majana had to be put down a few hours ago. She is who got my c...
02/07/2025

So our hearts are broken....it happened all the sudden....Majana had to be put down a few hours ago.

She is who got my child to start talking, who got him to stop having tantrums 100 times per day, who got him to walk in sand so he could be at one with the ocean, the one who carried us in the woods every day since 2018, who helped me learn to ride a horse much later in life than one would normally start, she is who started our Horse Boy program here at CHATS helping 100s of children aside from my Cole, and she is the one who long before she got to us served 1000s of children at New Trails in Austin, TX.

Dear God, thank you for the gift of Majana. We thank you she did not suffer. Please be with all of us during this time of grief including her horse friends who are in shock and also very much grieving her loss. Amen

Oh, our hearts are broken...

Want to give back to CHATS but not sure how?Visit our newly launched 'Become a Sponsor" page on our website & see how be...
02/03/2025

Want to give back to CHATS but not sure how?

Visit our newly launched 'Become a Sponsor" page on our website & see how becoming a sponsor can help keep CHATS up and running.

CHATS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that largely relies on donations from our community to keep our programs running, our horses fed & healthy, our land maintained & special events recurring.

If you are able to help in any way, we are eternally grateful for the support we have received & cannot wait to help our community even more in 2025!

Become a sponsor! C.H.A.T.S Partner! Please consider becoming a C.H.A.T.S partner!Our monthly sponsors can enjoy an easy way to budget their giving while making a huge impact on our ability to help as many families in our community as we can. Every gift has a HUGE impact no matter how big or small....

02/01/2025

Thank you James Spencer for leveling the sand in the arena!

❤️It's February 1st!! Love is in the air at CHATS ! ❤️Join us February 15th to celebrate Valentine's Day with your love...
02/01/2025

❤️It's February 1st!! Love is in the air at CHATS !

❤️Join us February 15th to celebrate Valentine's Day with your loved ones!

❤️The horses can't wait to get your handmade Valentine's and are sure to shower your children with love.

❤️Email [email protected] to register

Address

100 Old Pond Road
Arlington, VA
23692

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Videos

St. Patrick's Day fun with Cole!

May the luck of the Irish ALWAYS be with you!! Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us at CHATS!! We had such a fun morning shared with so many families enjoying this Sensory Saturday with their children. Tractor rides, leprechaun hunts, pots of gold, games, zip lines, sensory stations, face painting, holiday themed crafts, nature therapy and all the blessings to be had of the Irish holiday. #movememethod #horseboymethod #equinetherapy #specialneeds #makingadifferenceeveryday #autismspeaks #stpatricksday #IrishBlessings #volunteersmakeadifference #grateful

WHAT A MORNING!!! I just attended the annual Riverside Medical Group provider conference and received the "RMG Board of Directors Distinguished Physician Award"!!!! Description: "This lifetime achievement award recognizes distinguished contributions to medicine, to his or her profession, to our mission and community. Individuals will exemplify the best in our culture, outstanding quality, and unquestioned integrity. To earn the Distinguished Physician Award, the individual will be universally recognized as the best of the best." AAAAAAHHHHHH!! Cheers to making a difference. I am going to keep on going...sky's the limit! #movememethod #horseboymethod #EquineTherapy #specialneeds #makingadifferenceeveryday #specialeducation #autismspeaks

Bobby trotting for the first time and working on his core while riding and throwing balls in the basket...Bobby also said "Tado" for the first time...Booker warming up to riding after his nature adventure....Alivia all about the horse with huge smiles and signing "more" with Anna's fingers ❤️...Cole riding independently on Tado!!!!...Travis making sand angels...and remembering Majana with her gravestone arriving this week. #makingadifferenceeveryday #specialneeds #specialeducation #movememethod #horseboymethod #EquineTherapy #autismspeaks

Winter Wonderland at CHATS this morning! Libertado was calmly taking in all the snow. Thank you Linda and Rebekah💙🐎

Sharing some love from the past few weeks. From our hearts to yours, Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at CHATS. ❤️🐎❤️ #movememethod #horseboymethod #equinetherapy #specialneedseducation #autismspeaks

Highlander, our medicine hat healer, you have come SO far!! You rocked it!! Thank you Krystin, Brooke, Marley and Jason of Equestrian Chaos

Yesterday's events were that much harder as I was already in Florida to see Highlander for the first time since I sent him off March of 2024 to be trained. I am gateful to my tribe and Dr. King for acting quickly, for surrounding her with love and making sure I got to talk to her and that Cole got to say goodbye. Last night, I got to be with Highlander, ride him for the first time and tell him about Majana. It definitely helped my heart.... Equestrian Chaos

Thank you James Spencer for leveling the sand in the arena!

We've been needing to put more sand in the arena for awhile!! Delivered today!! #horsesareexpensive #barnlife

Our past few days here at CHATS #sweetboy #movememethod #horseboymethod #equinetherapy #autismawareness #autismspeaks #nature #specialneedseducation

Happy Snow Sunday!

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