RDA near Manchester for multiple sclerosis

Art Nouveau

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Can anyone advise me on looking for an RDA group southeast-ish of Manchester? I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow but I like having personal recommendations as well :) I'm assuming it's fairly simply to call a centre, advise them of the situation and take it from there, but just in case there's particular questions I should ask or anything I should know first I thought I'd open this up to all you lovely people.

It's for a christmas present for my grandma. She's always been very outdoorsy and she used to have a horse, as did my mum (her daughter) so she know's what she's doing around horses, but has very limited mobility now. She uses a wheelchair to get around the house (self-propels) and a scooter to go outside so her legs are very weak and are unlikely to be in the correct position, but presumably the horses are trained to cope with this.

Anything I should know before I make some calls tomorrow? Would the RDA people need to speak to my grandma's physio?

Thanks everyone :)
 

teapot

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Riders used to have to be signed off by a medical professional but in RDA National Office's wisdom, they removed this requirement so don't worry about that too much (it's not gone down too well from a volunteer's point of view!)

I don't know anyone in the Manchester region sadly - regional website here: http://www.rdanorthwest.org.uk/index.php Best bet is if there's the Regional contact, ring/email them and explain the situation as they'll know which group can accommodate your grandma the best. Remember some of the groups will be children only, others will have waiting lists, some only have ponies etc, disability limits or even age limits...

RDA is a bit of an minefield at times and I say off the back of almost five years of volunteering and teaching. Any other more generalised info just give me a shout :)
 
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Pearlsasinger

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If you can't find anywhere suitable, I can probably point you in the direction of a group which could give your grandma a personalised session, just over the border. Not a posh place but very experienced with all kinds of difficulties, in both adults and children.
 

teapot

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PS makes a good point, don't be afraid to travel further - I have certainly recommended groups further away before now.
 

Art Nouveau

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Thanks everyone :) Some very useful information there.
I'll call the regional contact tomorrow and see what they suggest.
PS, I'll let you know if I don't find anywhere suitable my side of the hills. I think it would be best for my grandma to have a personalised session so travelling could be the right option :)
 

fatpiggy

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Didn't there used to be an RDA place in Wilmslow? Sorry, I don't have a horse anymore so am a bit out of touch. I used to teach a young mum who had MS and had no feeling in her lower legs and feet but we still managed to get quite a bit done, and of course it is so good for passive exercise of the muscles. Getting her dismounted was harder than the riding to be honest. We had a lovely older horse at the RS who was just the right size and build and erred on the side of "can't be bothered" so he was perfect for the job, plus he was a lovely character.
 
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