Let’s Ride!
RDA improves health and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing disability, or who have specific challenges or needs. Each year, we provide life-changing opportunities for more than 3,000 children and adults in local communities throughout New Zealand.
Learn about our services
Volunteer-led equine assisted education and therapy for disabled people of all ages in the South Auckland area – allowing enjoyment, engagement and empowerment through goal-focused learning on horseback.
Our Riders come from a variety of sources – special needs units within schools, private clients, referrals by GPs, OTs or other health specialists.
-
Each Rider has their own individualised short and long term goals that they are riding towards. Before riding begins, a Rider must:
• Sign an agreement that allows them to ride, which includes a parent/legal guardians consent.
• Have a doctor complete and RDA Medical Consent form.
• Undergo an initial assessment – this may require the input of a therapist in some cases.
-
Increased Interest in the Outside World:
For those confined by a disability, the world tends to shrink in size. Riding increases interest in what is happening around the rider, as the Rider explores the world from the back of a Horse. Even exercising becomes interesting when done on horseback.
Increased Interest in One’s Own Life:
The excitement of riding and the experiences involved stimulate the Rider, encouraging the Rider to speak and communicate about it.
Improved Risk-Taking Abilities:
Riding is a risk-sport. The Rider learns to master fears though the act of staying on the Horse, as well as attempting new skills and positions on the Horse.
Development of Patience:
Since the Horse has a mind of it’s own, the Rider learns patience as he or she attempts to perform skills on the Horse when the Horse is not cooperating. Repetition of basic riding principles also helps to develop patience.
Emotional Control and Self-Discipline:
The Rider quickly learns that an out-of-control Rider means an out-of-control Horse. Shouting, crying, and emotional outbursts upset the Horse, which in turn frightens the Rider. Riders learn to control these emotions and appropriately express them. -
South Auckland Riding for the Disabled caters for children and adults who:
• Are physically challenged with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, paraplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury, or stroke.
• Have visual and hearing impairment
• Have intellectual disabilities or multiple disabilities; or
• Have learning disabilities
• Have medical conditions effecting their quality of life
-
Our Riders attend riding to achieve a specific goal, whether it is therapeutic, educational, sporting or recreational.
Riding develops, improves and promotes:• Balance and co-ordination, posture and muscle tone
• Concentration, confidence, self-discipline and self-esteem
• Perception and spatial awareness.
• Communication and social skills
• Independence and encourages decision making
What RDA Offers…
RDA improves health and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing disability, or who have specific challenges or needs. At South Auckland RDA we cater for 54 riders per week.
-
The core purpose of NZRDA is to provide interaction with horses to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing disability, or who have specific challenges or needs.
We aim to enable and support riders to achieve good lives including meaningful participation in, and contribution to, important life activities and roles in their community.
We provide over 60,000 structured, goal-based RDA riding opportunities a year at venues throughout New Zealand. Each RDA session is supervised by a qualified coach and assisted by our specially trained therapists, volunteers, and horses.
We have three core riding programmes: Therapy, Education, and Sport and Recreation. While a rider’s initial goal may be therapy, we incorporate education and recreational elements into our RDA sessions. Each rider has their own goal-based programme, individualised to meet their specific needs. Riders may move between the programmes. -
We welcome and assist people of all ages. A person may be referred to us in several ways, including word of mouth or referral from a health, recreational or teaching professional. Over 80 per cent of our riders are children and teenagers, 37 per cent have a physical or intellectual disability and just over 25 per cent are on the autism spectrum. Many of our riders live with more than one disability.
Therapeutic Horse Riding is of benefit to children and adults with a wide range of challenges, needs or disabilities, including but not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Cystic Fibrosis, CVA (stroke), Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, Learning Disability, Hearing and Visual Impairments, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Spina Bifida and Spinal Cord Injury (Para/Quadriplegia).
Improving health outcomes for people who experience disability involves enabling and supporting them to learn to live well, despite their disabilities, challenges or needs, in the context of their home, school and communities. -
The warmth and three-dimensional movement of the horse is the key therapy tool used in our Groups. The movement of the horse is transmitted through the rider’s body, gradually making the rider more relaxed, improving muscle tone, as well as improving their balance, posture, and co-ordination. Our RDA sessions are designed to enhance and improve physical, psychological and social abilities as well as provide recreational and educational opportunities.
Therapeutic Horse Riding is a proven therapy that develops, improves and/or promotes many aspects such as:
Physical ability
• Muscle tone, balance, coordination.
• Muscle strength, flexibility, fitness.
• Posture, gait, ability to walk.
• Respiration, circulation, metabolism.
• Sensory perception and integration.
• Independence, self-care and mobility.
• Psychological ability
• Concentration, problem-solving and decision making.
• Insight, motivation, self-worth, confidence.
• Learning/practising concepts e.g. letters, numbers, colours, distances, shapes, body parts, etc.Social skills
• Communication.
• Learning appropriate behaviours
• Interaction with peers, individuals and groups.
• Human to animal contact and building relationships.
• Consideration for others and taking on responsibility.Sport and recreational participation
• Develop interests.
• Challenge and success in competition with self and others.
• Stimulation or relaxation.
• Integration into a community activity.
Our Programmes
Volunteer-led equine assisted education and therapy for disabled people of all ages in the South Auckland area – allowing enjoyment, engagement and empowerment through goal-focused learning on horseback.
-
Our therapy programme is set for each rider in conjunction with an NZ registered therapist. Each rider will have a different required outcome. Through using riding skills, alternative positioning and alternative saddles or equipment, riding helps stimulate all parts of the body, build muscle strength, improve coordination and balance and improve walking ability. Riders in this programme usually have higher support needs, and often use wheelchairs. They have specific goals developed by a trained RDA Coach and a therapist, to ensure the best outcome is achieved for them.
-
Our education programme focuses on school aged riders, with goals that are linked to the NZ curriculum such as supporting literacy and numeracy skills. The RDA environment and activities can be adapted to teach a wide range of educational skills and goals and programmes are often aligned to their IEP goals (individual Education Plans) that are developed as part of their school programme.
-
Our sport and recreational riding programme offers exercise and active recreation and leisure activities in a challenging, fun and supportive environment. All riders have individual set outcomes/goalsand these may include pathways to pony club, riding centres, Para-Equestrian or Special Olympics. Recreational riding can help maintain a rider’s independence and functionality.
-
Our riders work towards short term goals (riding based) that contribute to their long term goal(s) which are normally life based. Clear individualised goals set with careful consideration by the riders and their key people when achieved create some amazing outcomes.
Some of our riders’ outcomes are life changing. Here are some of the ways that is some riders and their families have let us know about how riding helps.• Riding improves head and neck control – with increased head and neck control a rider can join their family at the dinner table.
• Riding with other riders and being part of a ride team gives riders a sense of community and a place to call their own where they can form relationships and participate fully in a meaningful activity.
• Riding increases balance and tone – with increased balance and tone, a rider can join their friends and family on their bikes and scooters.
-
The number one goal of every RDA Group is to enable and support riders to achieve positive health and wellbeing outcomes by providing a professional, effective, high quality and safe RDA programme.
We do this by:
Safety Checking including Police Vetting and character references for all team members -
Qualifications:
We require that all RDA groups have a qualified coach or coach enrolled in our coaching qualification pathway running all RDA sessions. Coaches must attend NZRDA face to face training at least once every two years and hold a current NZ Comprehensive or Level 2 first aid certificate.Annual Operational Certificates:
All Groups must pass an Annual Operational Certificate to ensure they meet all legislative and regulatory requirements and all NZRDA policy and processes. Committees must commit to ongoing compliance with all standards on a daily basis.Training:
Training of all RDA people is key to the delivery of high-quality RDA programmes and supports good rider outcomes. It also helps ensure the safety of everyone at RDA. Training consists of an induction process and ongoing training.All operational volunteers/staff must complete an induction before starting work at RDA and attend NZRDA approved training at least once every two years. This could be on the job training, regional training, attendance at the annual conference, online volunteer induction modules and special interest webinars and forums.
How equine therapy works…
Riding for the Disabled provides therapeutic Horse-related activities for clients with physical, mental, cognitive, social or behavioural needs, for therapy. This includes riding, horse-mastership, and vocational skills.
The Horses’ movement is used in specialised techniques such as Hippotherapy. The movement of the Horse is used as a treatment tool by physical and occupational therapists to address impairment in individual clients.
-
Friendship:
Although Riding can be a solitary activity, it is normally performed in groups. Riders share a common love of Horses and a common experience of riding – a good foundation on which to build a friendship.Development of Respect and Love for Animals:
Horses require a great deal of care and attention. Riders find themselves bonding with the animals, developing an interest in them and learning to care for them – to put the Horse first.Increased Experiences:
The variety of experiences involved in riding are endless. From tacking and grooming to trail riding, from going to Horse shows to learning the parts of a Horse, the Rider is constantly experiencing and growing. The Horse also provides the Rider with ability to go places otherwise inaccessible due to the disability.Enjoyment:
There is no doubt about it, riding a Horse is fun. Riders experience excitement and pleasure every time they come for a lesson. -
Remedial Reading:
Before one can read, it is necessary to recognize the difference in shapes, sizes, and even colours. These can be taught more easily on horseback, as part of games and activities. There is less resistance to learning when it is part of a riding lesson. Through the use of signs placed around the arena, letters can be taught, and reading of individual words by word recognition can also be learned. Games involving signs for “exit”, “danger”, “stop” etc., help to teach important life skills involving reading.Remedial Math:
Counting is learned by counting the Horse’s footsteps, objects around the arena, or even the Horse’s ears and legs. Number concepts are gained as the Rider compares the number of legs on a Horse to the number of his own legs. Addition and subtraction are taught through games involving throwing numbered foam dice and adding or subtracting the numbers. Because the concepts are taught through games, resistance to learning is decreased.Sequencing, Patterning and Motor Planning:
Something as simple as holding and using a pencil requires a great deal of motor planning. Knowing which comes first in a sequence of events is an important part of most activities. These and other similar skills are taught on horseback though the use of obstacle courses, pole bending, drill team, and many other games and activities.Improved Eye-Hand Coordination:
Eye hand coordination is necessary for such skills as writing. These skills are taught in tacking the Horse, as well as various activities and exercises.Visual Spatial Perception:
This includes our awareness of form and space, and our understanding relationships between forms in our environment. Included in this area are directionality (knowing right from left); space perception, which allows us to differentiate between items close in shape but spatially different (i.e.. “h” versus “b”); form perception (i.e.. differentiating “h” and “m”); figure ground (picking out an object from the background); and visual sequential memory (such as remembering symbols in a particular sequence or pattern). Both reading and math concepts involve visual spatial perception. Visual spatial perception improves as a natural result of control of the horse. Additional exercises are done on the Horse to increase ability in this area.Differentiation:
The Rider learns to differentiate significant from less significant stimuli in the environment. An improvement in this area occurs as the Rider learns to attend to his Horse and those things that may influence the horse as opposed to attending the environment in general.
Rider Testimonials
Interested in volunteering?
Volunteers are an integral part of what we do. With your help, we can reach more riders and change more lives. Find out more below: