Disabled people and riding?

Question

Does anyone have experience with disabled people and riding?
My husbands cousin was injured in a motorcycle accident a year ago today. He shattered T12 and is now paralyzed from the waist down at only 20 years old. He has ridden before but is by no means experienced. Both of my horses are trustworthy and we would of course be with him at all times.
If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.

His physical therapist recommended it. It will help his core muscles get stonger. I would never do anything that would harm him.

He has been around our horses, they do not mind his wheelchair. They nose it around and nibble at it.

I appreciate all the advice on going to a theraputic riding center but HE WONT GO. For one after the 6 surgeries he has had and all the home improvements and all else they have had to do they are short on $$$.

Sorry there was a secondly to my last edit: he refuses to go to any sort of organized event for disabled. He just isn't ready. He is better one on one still.

Answer 1

Here we have whats called Suncatchers Riding Academy. I tried to see if they have a website, but they must not.

What I HAVE SEEN that they use is a ramp to wheel the wheelchairs up there to help the person get onto the horse easier. So the horses back is pretty close to the floor that the wheelchair sits on. Just an idea for you.

I know when they are at all the demonstrations that we preform in, there is one at the head leading the horse, then a person on both sides of the rider.

What about a driving horse? If hes only a parapalegic, that would give him alot more freedom than riding. Just another thought for you. My only afterthought after writing this is could his fracture in his back, take the jolting of sitting in a cart? My meadowbrook is extremely comfortable over trails, but its not something someone with physical limitations could easily get in and out of. My easy entry is a filling killer, but would be simple enough for him to get in and out.

Good luck and sounds like a wonderful thing for your cousin in law.

If you are interested in a driving mule for your cousin, I can recommend a person that would make sure that mule would be dead broke to drive for your cousin if he had one. He lives in AR, or he can recommend someone for you.

A horse is fine also, I just have more mule contacts lol.

Answer 2

Well, you have lots of good answers, but I'm gonna add mine, =-)

What level is he? Sometimes a T12 break still allows some feeling and help w/ balance.

Perhaps you can get a good high backed Aussie, Western, or Portugease saddle, or heck, a medieval saddle with the high pommel and cantel, park the horse next to a picnic table, and have your husband help him aboard. Then, if your horse is sturdy, or your husband and his cousin are not too big, have your husband ride double behind him, offering support. (heck, even if they are kinda big, for a short trip, it will be o.k.) You lead the horse, but make sure your cousin has reins. Your husband should offer the minimum amount of support possible. He's there mainly as a spotter.

Only start out with a short ride. Your cousin will be sore, as he will be learning to use muscles he's never had to before for alternate usage. Don't let him get tired, stop while he still has the energy to get down, and be in a good mood.

I would see if I could get him to do this every other day, or every third day. Eventually, he will learn to balance, and may be able to pilot the horse himself. Or gain enough confidence to move to a larger horse that will support double riders. He could even teach the horse to lay down so he could get in the saddle.

And, I also saw the suggestion of driving. That is a fantastic suggestion! There's a man named Mike Muir who used to do Driving for the Disabled, and he drove a team of horses across the United States on a 3000 mile journet from California to Washington DC. (I now own that team, and they are the best horses ever!)

Even if you can't get him on a horse any time soon, at least get him out with them, grooming them and dinking about with them. It will help him get his head around the idea that he can do this!

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I have volunteered over the years at a therapeutic riding group in my area. They are a part of the NARHA - North American Riding for The Handicapped Association. I even went to some of the classes to be certified as a NARAH instructor but I never finished my certification. I also think NARHA is the best place to start.

Even though you have very quiet gentle horses there is a LOT to learn about riding therapy.

If I were you I would contact them and find classes in your area for your friend. You will probably be welcomed as well as most of the classes are always in need of volunteer assistants. You will be part of the class with your friend, helping to control his horse during the therapy pieces or possibly as a safety member called a side-walker. While in the classes you will both learn what riding therapy is all about. It is possible that your horses may also be used for the lessons, but that depends on a LOT of things.

Perhaps after a while you and your friend will be able to go riding at home. I have seen a blind boy jumping a horse, I know of a man with only one arm and no legs that competed in reining events, and I have seen Autistic children excitedly join in and play games with other kids on horseback. There is even a group in our area that uses horses mostly on the ground for mentally and emotionally disturbed individuals. Equine therapy is amazing.

Answer 4

Contact NARHA - North American Riding for The Handicapped Assoc. You can search for a local program that can assist you with learning what needs to be done - you can volunteer to see how its done, learn safety with individuals who are disabled to the extent that your cousin is - Im going to go out on a limb here and say that from my own personal experience - its going to take more than your husband and yourself to get your cousin safely mounted- and to stay safely on the horse..I would definitely refer him to a center first.But by all means open your barn to him and let him enjoy the therapeutic benefits of just being with the horses.
On a side note - start conditioning your horses by introducing a wheel chair into the barn so its not so foreign. Good Luck & God bless.

Answer 5

I can tell you a couple of stories:

I used to run a public rental stable- where groups could go on a trail ride for an hour on dead-broke horses. We had one horse named "Angel" because that's what she was - an angel. One day an overstuffed minivan showed up for a ride. About 8 or 9 children and 2 moms poured out. One of the children was a girl about 10 or so with cerebral palsy. She had an attitude of "i can't" but was pretty stoic about not being able to play like the rest of the kids.

I told her she should ride Angel - and she said "I can't" I said, "Sure you can. She's really an Angel and I promise you won't get hurt. I'll even make it so that the ride will double back on itself and you can get off if you want to in about 30 minutes. How's that?" So she agreed. And off she went on Angel.

When the ride returned, there was a new and different girl on Angel. Oh, outwardly it was the same kid with cerebral palsy - but she'd changed somehow. She was laughing and tossing her head and having just as much fun doing everything the other kids were doing. She was no longer the same child.

Indeed, she was physically exhausted and had to get off. As she stumbled into her mother's arms, I saw tears of joy from her Mom. I had given her a new child.

If they could have stuffed that pony in their already overloaded van I would have let them.

Second story:

I knew a field biologist who had some kind of degenerative illness along the lines of muscular dystrophy. Normally he was confined to a motorized wheelchair and specially equipped van. As a means of getting to and from his field sites - often way off beaten paths, he rode a pony named Sheba. He belonged to our riding club.

One day I overheard two nubile young college coeds saying "I heard that so-n-so is getting married!" "Yeah! That lucky girl! Imagine waking up to those blue eyes." "Oh wow! He's SOOO cute!" and they went on and on and on about the groom as though he were some college hunk.

They were referring to the field biologist with the dystrophy.

Answer 6

My advice would be to see if there's a therapeutic riding program in your area. Either take the guy to one of those, or ask them for advice about putting him on one of your horses. The people that run those things are usually very knowledgeable and helpful. Therapeutic riding works wonders for a lot of people with things like MS and cerebral palsy (I know people with both conditions who've done it and loved it) so I'd definitely try it out with your husband's cousin.

Answer 7

My Wife Has taught Disable children to ride for 8 years now. Sorry to say the U.S. is way behind some Europeans countries. They put horses into the Schools for Disable and Handicap children. They use them for Rehab. It is a sorry thing to say for us in the U.S. that we are so scared of Lawsuits that we lose so much that can help so many people.
Most all of the government programs are for children only. So I think this will be something you will have to partake on your own

I think you will find your horses to him greatly.

Answer 8

Before you do anything consult his doctor/physical therapist to get their approval.

Therapeutic riding can be wonderful thing for some disabled people. At the very least it would help him improve his balance and give him a feeling of freedom again. You'll want to start by having a person leading the horse and a strong person on either side of him to help him balance and be there to catch him if he starts to slide. It'll probably be very difficult for him at first since a rider generally relies on their legs for support and balance.

Try to find a local therapeutic riding center to see if they have a certified instructor who can help you. You can search for centers in your area and find more information on riding for the handicapped at http://narha.org

Answer 9

My advice to is contact an experienced therapuetic riding organization and work with them or at least get their advice - there may be some issues you have not considered. Also, a doctor's Ok is a good idea.

Answer 10

The mulereiner has an excellent suggestion. The first link is to driving clinics for the handicapped:


http://www.instructors4christ.org/driving_clinics.htm


The second link is to horse therapy in NJ:


http://www.hrhofnj.org/


Good luck- I hope the young man finds these activities pleasurable for him- who knows, he might even compete someday!