Therapeutic Riding: What and Why?

Beach Day

Over the last 6 months I have become more involved with a Therapeutic Riding program here in San Diego (well Poway specifically) and with that has come lots of questions: Why are you always with horses? What's therapeutic riding? Why is it good? What do you actually get to do?
So here are answers to those questions and lots of others. I will be focusing on the place where I volunteer, because it is so near and dear to my heart.

So, What is therapeutic riding?
I like to describe it as a riding lesson for a person with special needs. Instructors design lessons that integrate physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and even utilize ABA techniques. This is what is so awesome to me. These kids are working hard and combining all sorts of skills in order to ride a horse, something that is pretty difficult to begin with.

How did you hear about it?
After graduation I worked as a personal care assistant to a 2 year old with a diffuse brain injury. I took him to all his different types of therapy, but there was something special about his days that he spent with the horses. He was able to relax enough that being frustrated didn't lead to a breakdown, it lead to a breakthrough. I saw things click for him and those skills were generalized outside of lessons.
When I moved to San Diego I missed having that special time within this awesome space, so I looked up therapeutic riding center. I volunteered at one (that no longer exists) for about a year and then took a while off. 
I had looked into what it would take to be a certified instructor and always felt overwhelmed by the prospect of having to learn so much about horses. About 6 months ago I finally said SCREW THAT! When you're learning there is always a point where you basically know nothing, if that deterred everyone then we would never advance! So I wrote to Ride Above Disability Therapy Center in Poway and the rest is history. 

What do you actually do?
As a volunteer you help with everything that goes into helping the center function and everything that is involved in a lesson: grooming and loving on the ponies, mucking stalls, tacking and untacking (getting horses "dressed"), providing support and safety during lessons.

Can you take me riding?
Nope! But you can come volunteer with me!! 

I wanna do that! But I don't live in San Diego, what do I do?
Check out the PATH Website and find a center near you!

What can I do?
Below is our list of 12 ways to give to our center:


12 Gifts for RAD

If you live nearby:



1. Volunteer- contact Allie at 858-752-9066, allie@radtrc.org  We have 40 volunteers for 26 students. We need several volunteers in each horseback riding lesson and volunteers to clean stalls, exercise and prep horses, and provide support at all of our events. We are a volunteer driven organization. Volunteers are the backbone of RAD- Thank you!
2. donate large tarps for shape, donate books for our lending library, chairs or other patio furniture for use at the ranch,
3. Donate water, Gatorade, coconut water for the volunteers.

If you live near or far:
4. Make a cash donation- http://radtrc.org/help When we asked for windows for the shed, you immediately stepped up. Thank you! We have very high horse costs (food, veterinary, farrier, transportation) and very low overhead (no facility to heat and cool, reliance on volunteers and donated labor for projects). In other words, your cash donation serves our program directly- thank you!
5. Use smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com every single time you make a purchase. Designate RAD as your charity of choice and RAD will get a percentage of our purchase.
6. Purchase something for RAD from our wish list- http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/351WW2I0HFFB4?ref_=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_.Xkevb1EVCHC1&pldnSite=1
7. Sponsor one of our horses- contact Wayne at 858-349-1692, wayne@radtrc.org 8. Write a grant for us. Hey, we are new to this whole grant writing thing, but we are going to figure it out, You do not have to be an expert to help, We need you! Thanks!
9. Write to philanthropists to generate interest and dollars for our program.
10, Throw a fundraiser.
11, Forward this newsletter to family, friends, and colleagues. Invite them to subscribe, Ask them to get involved- by donating time, money, and expertise.
12, Ask your company if they have matching donation programs, Sometimes your cash donation will be matched by your employer.

 If you have any questions, ask me! I will talk about therapeutic riding all day!!