In a nutshell, the horses’ gaits are similar to that of humans. When two spines align, the movement of a horse’s hip helps our physically challenged riders to ‘walk’ and promote the sensory stimulation in the hope to improve their core/muscle tone.
For mentally challenged riders, horse riding improves their body/spatial awareness (balance, coordination, motor skills etc.), muscle tone, concentration, cooperation, behaviour/discipline and confidence.
Any breed can be used for RDA sessions, but only after careful selection and proper training. The horses used for RDA should be calm and able to tolerate our riders and the RDA environment, which will be monitored from time to time.
Riding for the Disabled (RDA) is a sports-based programme, with therapy value, while Hippo Therapy is an actual therapy session supervised by either physiotherapists, occupational therapists or SLP therapists. They are governed by different organisations and hence different qualifications are required for their respective instructors.
Once you submit your registration form, our instructor will arrange for an assessment and trial ride to determine whether your child is suitable for our RDA programme. Since RDA-BK started in 1994, our sessions are free of charge, thanks to the continuous support of BKECR and our committed volunteers.
Depending on the rider’s disability, we use specialised tack such as loop/bar/ladder reins, toe stoppers, monkey bar, belt, rubber band etc.