Qualifications needed for opening a riding school for the disabled?

[Jinx94]

Hey all,

I'm putting this in here since I don't know where else it would go....

I've discovered in the past couple of months that I no longer have any love for veterinary medicine, which is something that I have been working towards since I was 7 years old. However, I've found a new dream: opening a riding school/horse therapy centre for people with physical and mental disabilities.

I have a few friends that have siblings with autism, my aunt suffers from MS and my family has a history of depression and anxiety. I also know a lot of people that do suffer or have suffered from depression or bipolar disorder.

I really like working with people and horses, and would like a career in which I can help them both.

What I was wondering was which qualifications do I need?

I am hopefully going to be doing the Extended Diploma in Horse Management starting in September (if I haven't missed the deadline!) and then I'll go on to study Equine Science (to appease my parents as they desperately want me to do a degree and this is my compromise).

Where do I go from here??

Thanks!! x

 

[Como]

Hi there
The Riding for the Disabled Association is the organisation that runs riding centres for disabled riders across the country - http://www.rda.org.uk/
I would contact them to find out how to volunteer for your local group and find out if there are any opportunities for careers. I Best of luck.

 

[Como]

Another thought, psychotherapists are increasingly using horses to help treat patients. That may interest you if you want to study to PhD level.

 

[Foxhunter49]

The best thing you can do is to get in touch with RDA

http://www.rda.org.uk/

I do believe that they run exams for instructors. There is also an article on starting your own group.

Most RDA groups are run by volunteers and riders do not pay, or pay a minimal sum to ride so, funding would be essential for you to think about.

 

[RockinRudolph]

Have you looked at 'equine facilitated learning'? I am a CBT therapist and often think of incorporating horses into therapy as a future career option but the qualifications are expensive so I can never commit to it! There's a centre over in Yorkshire called 'learning to listen' (I think) and a few training places here and there. There is growing evidence of using horses with kids with learning difficulties, and adults with a range of problems. I think the NHS either uses it or pays for it for patients in some areas.

Your local RDA centre may be helpful.

 

[Tickles]

You may want to consider starting your career working in a similar establishment that already exists. There are RDA groups all over the country you could volunteer to help out with now/at uni. More specialist centres will vary as to qualifications required/desired as they tend to focus on people with particular mental/physical/behavioural issues.

Perhaps have a google as to what is near your first few choices of uni/home to see about having a chat and getting some experience to see if this is the career for you?

 

[tankgirl1]

I second (or third) getting in touch with the RDA

 

[Pippity]

I'm not sure how old you are but, if you're over about 21, most RDA groups would be willing to train you as an instructor, which would give you a chance to be sure that is what you want to do.

 

[Adopter]

You could also consider doing either Occupational Therapy or Physio and specialising in children with disabilities, this would give you the background for working with the children along side your horse qualifications.

 

[YorksG]

Absolutely agree with Occupational Therapy as a good starting point. Be aware though that it is a tough course to do. You are wanting to cover an awful lot of people, children with LD and adults with Mental health problems are not the best mix in the world. There are some therapeutic communities based round animals, but I am not sure how secure their funding is, and also be aware that health and social services funding is being reduced, so it may well be that the funding for such specialust places will dissappear altogether before long.

 

[Jinx94]

Thanks so much!

So do you think it would be advisable to study Occupational Therapy as a degree rather than equine science??

I'm going to contact the RDA and see what advice they have to offer, as well as looking into possible volunteering opportunities with them over the summer and during school holidays etc.

 

[YorksG]

I would look carefully into the course before you decide which option to take. I would try to volunteer with your chosen client group before you make a decision.

 

[Jinx94]

If I can get on to the Extended Diploma course starting in September, I'll have two years to volunteer, if I can't start until 2014, then I have a gap year to volunteer at different places. I'm currently finding as many yards similar to what I would like to set up as possible and will be contacting them by the end of next week regarding work experience over the summer.

 

[ozpoz]

I would consider physiotherapy too.
It is an increasingly specialised field, and a BHSAI, then Equine Assisted Learning is maybe a better way to go.
Autism is increasing and needs a different approach - but very rewarding work.
The RDA is an excellent organisation, and will give you a taster if you volunteer, although it does have some constraints which aren't compatible with European Therapeutic Riding.
The US seem to have the best specialized training, but it is expensive.

I think it's best to start by narrowing down your future choice of client group, and take it from there.

 

[Jinx94]

I know my current thoughts include a huge range of people, but because I haven't yet done any work experience with people with disabilities, I'm not sure who I would want to narrow it down to?

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Tickles]

Two other things to consider are how much you're going to enjoy the course for its own sake and how transferable the skills might be (i.e. can you go get a totally different job afterwards?).

I had a pretty good idea at the start of my first degree what I wanted to do... and have never done it because I found another area of the course much more interesting/suited to me career-wise.

A similar thing happened with my second degree too...

University courses are expensive and difficult (and heaps of fun too!). You don't want to do something /only/ to get into a particular career and then find, part way through, that you no longer want that career and have limited your choices too much. There are plenty of courses that will allow you to apply for many different graduate jobs if you change your mind later.

 

[Booboos]

Another good place for information and volunteering opportunities is the Fortune Centre.

http://www.fortunecentre.org/

They should also be able to explain what kinds of staffing needs they tend to have which may clarify your options.

Also does your school have a careers advisor? He/she might be able to lay out the different career opportunities in this area.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I would do the RDA volunteering for a period before making any major decisions, it could be done to fit in with existing work.

 

[carthorse]

I ran a riding for disabled centre for many years but we didn't get any finance from RDA we had to do a lot of fund raising. I have my BHSAI and paid to go on a couple of courses run by RDA. We did 4 lessons each day for schools and centres who paid a small sum and at the weekend we had a mixture of able bodied (some where disadvantaged and didn't pay) and also parents bought along their disabled children.
Don't go thinking it is like the paras at the Olympics its not. Good luck getting funding we had to employ a lot of staff and when minimum wage came in we couldn't afford them all. We made an appeal on Central news which helped to get a couple of helpers. Its silly people can help for free but if you want to give them a small wage you can't.
I started to feel sorry for the horses after many years with them and eventually left. I hope I helped and gave enjoyment to some. The staff were great and very caring