children riding with epilepsy ?

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Yorkshire dumpling

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my sister wants to start taking my niece to riding lessons ( not to livery /riding stables) to one of her friends houses who has a few horses and ponies. my niece has epilepsy pretty bad and has on average 10+ fits a day (while on her medication)
i have expressed that she should take her to a proper school when she has sorted out the fitting with the doctors ect but she wants to do it this way! im so worried incase she fits while on a pony and the woman is defo not going to be covered (insurance wise) if she or pony or both hurt themselves. im just not sure what to do to try and talk her out of it. as this is surely not a good idea?!
i think she would love learning how to ride but not on a friends pony when she has had no instructor training. ideas please???!!! xxx
 
I've got no experience at all but my gut instinct would be that the RDA would be the best place to start. If she finds that she gets on ok after a couple of sessions then maybe move on to the friend's horse but I wouldn't start there.
 
Just a thought, why not contact the RDA? They are used to dealing with various medical constraints and would certainly have ponies who are well behaved enough if the child did have a fit whilst riding and adults who were more prepared than the average owner.
 
im so sorry - but i do think you need it clear to your sister she has a duty to make her daughter as safe as possivble ie learning through a school who knows about her condition with mum to hand should things go wrong. I appreciate your neice is not disabled but if i were you i would contact dla riding schools for advice - much better to be safe then sorry and im sure they could offer you help and support - huge thoughts to your family and neice xxx
 
RDA would be the best place for her to go and would not cost too much as well, they would have people lead the pony and also with the children normal for a person to stand beside the child depending on condition but normally then parent would stand on the other side or another RDA helper.
 
I was about to suggest, as others have, I think the RDA is a good place to start. They will be able to advise on the best way of teaching her. She will probably need 1 person to lead the pony and at least one person to walk next to her. The pony will also need to be a saint who will just stand still when stuff is happening. I'd say RDA is definitely the best place to start. :)
 
I have been a volunteer for many years with RDA. We have had riders with epilepsy and have been amazed at how sensible the ponies are, just standing still while rider has a seizure between their front legs on occasion. However, these have been unexpected seizures. I strongly recommend that the OP suggest that the child's doctor is the best person to advise but would have thought that if this child can be expected to have up to 10 seizures a day riding would not be a good pastime for her, unfortunately. The first priority IMO should be to get the seizures under control.
 
I've worked with Kids with epilepsy - and taken them horse riding on a regular basis, poor girl, 10+ seizures a day is pretty uncontrolled :(

The sort of things we took into account when assessing Risk v letting children live the lives they wanted to live would be, what type of seizures they have? what triggers them? what time of day do they tend to have them? Have they got learning difficulties aswell? can they tell you when she is going to have a seizure?.

Most of our kids had a helper on each side as well as a leader, if they had a seizure whilst on board we would 'slide' them off and lower them to the floor -(ok for small light kids and very bombproof RDA ponies!!)

Its absolutely possible but needs ver careful planning and assessing - good luck and definitely go to a RDA centre to start with. :D

xx
 
I would have thought this a very silly idea! I really think you have to (gently!) persuade her to re-think. RDA would have been my suggestion too. The ponies are used to 'unusual events' and of course they have a high ratio of helpers who know what to do in various medical situations. What sort of pony does this person have? However bombproof, I'll bet it won't have come across someone fitting before.

My son works with children with epilepsy and I know they try to involve them in as many activities as possible (they used to have a stables at the centre), but if he goes swimming, for instance (slightly higher risk, maybe?!), they have (highly trained) staff of at least 1:1 as well as him with life-guard and medical training. He's not in at the moment, or I would ask him what he thinks about the riding idea.

I do, however, think it would be a lovely thing for her to do - safely!:)
 
I've also volunteered with the RDA and see it as the best option. They will aim to make the lesson as fun as possible for her whilst maintaining high levels of safety.

Speaking as someone with experience in various disabilities however; whilst doctors can advise of their professional opinion in regards to risk; they don't tend to comment on ones sense of normality and ability to 'carry on as normal'. For me, the benefits far outweighed the 'risk'.
 
Yeah, i support the rda route.
We get quite a few riders with epilepsy at my yard. They have really good sessions, involving them lying on the horse (with a roller) and slowly working their way up to sitting up etc. with lots of time for them to go at their own pace. There are well prepared, trained people about to deal with any seizures.
Don't be put off, though! I'm sure she'll have a lovely time when she does go :)
 
my friend (25) passed away this summer.

she had epilepsy, had a fit and fell into a swimming pool and drowned.

your sister has a duty of care to her child to not put her at risk, and putting her on a horse with no one around who has been trained or has experience in dealing with this sort of situation is extremely negligent.

If I were you I would be reminding your sister how dangerous horse riding can be when the rider is fully conscious, never mind when fitting.

The RDA is fantastic and would be the most sensible option in this scenario.
 
My nephew is seriously disabled and suffers from epilepsy amongst other things so much so that he is not allowed out his residential home without a protective helmet. He used to go to a special school and part of the curriculum was attending the RDA twice a week. He absolutly loved it and he even used to ride my old horse before he got to heavy for us to lift him on and off. He was unable to use a mounting block. He loves to visit my current horse but she's not suitable for him to ride sadly.
 
so mad now! i tried again to talk her out of it..."well ***** is going to ride ****** pony as her son has epilepsy so she knows what she is doing.

but her son has never rode a horse god damit! yes she might be used to epilepsy but the pony isnt god she makes me so mad and then she said i was over exaggerating!!!:eek::eek::eek::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::eek::eek::eek:
she thinks im just being jealous because she didnt ask me to teach her... but im not and even if i wanted to i couldnt because all i have is a 19 month old filly who goes nuts if you put a rug on never mind a fitting child! god i wish i hadnt said anything now and just let her get on with it. :mad:
any other ways of suggesting the gentle push off the cliff my sister needs??? xxx
 
again the RDA route. they are used to dealing with epilepsy. and the ponies tend to be saints! and a high number of helpers v child (just in case) and helpers/and or instructor will usually have first aid training etc. dont talk her out of encouraging her child to engage with animals and riding. get her the telephone numbers of the local rda, as a nice aunty buy her a couple of rda lessons. i dont always agree with h & s measures per say, but in this case it is paramount! good luck ...
 
My son has epilepsy and autism and rides at a therapy centre. As far as the epilepsy is concerned, it depends on the type of fits your niece has. If they are focal the horse is unlikely to respond to a child sitting quietly and staring blankly or drooling. If she has tonic clonic (laying on the floor jerking etc) then clearly its a higher risk situation. I would definitely start on a trained therapy horse and with one person on either side of the horse, which is how my son rides, and certainly with a helmut!

I hope she gets to ride as its been very beneficial to my son :)
 
Sorry - haven't read all the replies but would like to say that a lady I work with has a niece with epilepsy. She was desperate to ride and went to RDA who were fab. She did once fit when on a pony and the pony stood like a rock while the helpers got her off and saw to her.

I most certainly wouldn't risk my child on a friend's pony if it were my. No insurance would cover this I don't think.

Def recommend going to RDA.
 
i have gave her th RDA's number and web site addy but she says she trusts her friend!:mad: makes me so mad that she might be putting her own daughter in danger.
she has fits that jerk and spasm.
i have offered to take her to our nearest centre and she turned the offer down saying she trusts her friend and her ponies aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh will keep trying though xx
 
Its a shame she has just trusted her friend and not gone the RDA route. I do have to say I would try to get the meds to settle down first though but would ask my doctor for advice RE riding, they have told me abseloutley not to and thats without even fitting (brain tumors - long story!). Hope you can talk some sence into her... not sure pushing her off a cliff will help in the long run, might make you feel a bit better in the short though :P
 
Give her a copy of this thread, she may see sense! People who are not used to horses often have the most peculiar ideas about them and she probably does not understand the risk she is exposing her daughter to.

I have also worked with children with epilepsy in the RDA and echo what the others have said. You need well informed helpers, who know the signs of a coming fit, who have an action plan (e.g. who stops the pony, does the rider dismount or not, how, etc) and experienced helpers on either side and a safe pony to make sure no accidents happen. A rider fitting on a pony has a good chance of falling head first with no body control which could be exceptionally dangerous.
 
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