RDA (Riding for the disabled)

S

sophieb14

New User
Joined
15 January 2017
Messages
9
Visit site
Hiya everyone :)
First time posting on here!
I'm new to horses however recently contacted the RDA about volunteering as it seems like a life changing experience to do.
They've told me to come down whenever
So what should I be expecting?
What will I have to do/know how to do? Bearing in mind I'm only 16 years old so there might be a restriction on the things I can help with?
What should I wear?
Any other advice?
I'm not the most outgoing person and can be quite shy and reserved, will this be ok?

Thanks in advance!! :)
 
Hi there. What a good thing to volunteer for. There are several things that the volunteers do. The manager will guide you. Many of the riders need leaders and two helpers either side. There's mucking out, doing the horses water and hay, grooming themWear strong boots, comfy jeans or trousers and warm jacket, hats and gloves.You will fit in easily. The people I know are kind and helpful. Good luck
 
Last edited:
Every group is different but they are all in need of volunteers, so should welcome you with open arms. If you are not experienced with horses, you could help by walking a!ongside the riders.You probably won't be the only inexperienced helper, we get DoE volunteers, every year
. The instructor or secretary will explain what they want you to do but don't be put off if they are very busy when you arrive. You may find some of the riders difficult to talk to or to understand because of their disabilities. Our group has mostly riders with learning disabilities and some use Makaton to communicate.
 
Good for you - my daughter helped at our local RDA a couple of years ago - basically wear what you would for riding - take your riding hat - be prepared to spend a lot of time mucking out and grooming. You may end up spending a lot of time doing lead rein work/side walking once they have got to know how competent you are.
 
KrujaaLass said:
Hi there. What a good thing to volunteer for. There are several things that the volunteers do. The manager will guide you. Many of the riders need leaders and two helpers either side. There's mucking out, doing the horses water and hay, grooming themWear strong boots, comfy jeans or trousers and warm jacket, hats and gloves.You will fit in easily. The people I know are kind and helpful. Good luck
Click to expand...

Thank you :)
That's reassuring to hear
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Every group is different but they are all in need of volunteers, so should welcome you with open arms. If you are not experienced with horses, you could help by walking a!ongside the riders.You probably won't be the only inexperienced helper, we get DoE volunteers, every year
. The instructor or secretary will explain what they want you to do but don't be put off if they are very busy when you arrive. You may find some of the riders difficult to talk to or to understand because of their disabilities. Our group has mostly riders with learning disabilities and some use Makaton to communicate.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks very much :)
 
Clannad48 said:
Good for you - my daughter helped at our local RDA a couple of years ago - basically wear what you would for riding - take your riding hat - be prepared to spend a lot of time mucking out and grooming. You may end up spending a lot of time doing lead rein work/side walking once they have got to know how competent you are.
Click to expand...

Ok thank you! :)
 
Hi SophieB14
First, well done you 😊 It's a great thing to do, my son volunteers for the RDA, started as his DofE award when he was 14. His first week, he asked me to pick him up after an hour (he had to complete 12 hours of voluntary work for part if his award and reckoned he only had to do an hours voluntary work for 12 weeks..... ) I turned up after 1 hour as instructed, only to be sent away and told to come back at later that day he loved it so much! He has now been going for 18 months and loves it. He too is quiet, and was a little apprehensive about how to talk with children with often very differing disabilities ranging from physical to Aspergers. He started out initially just mucking out, grooming, tacking up, feeding ponies but now he sidewalks and leads children, along with a group of other teens he probably would never have met. It's a wonderful thing to do, you will be shown what to do and just go in your normal horsey attire, my son wears over trousers and the mucker type boots rather than his Jodphur boots. If you are uncertain about anything, just ask but you will probably start off working alongside someone knows the ropes. Everyone is lovely and helpful. Good luck and enjoy, and know you are doing something very worthwhile 😊
 
mustardsmum said:
Hi SophieB14
First, well done you 😊 It's a great thing to do, my son volunteers for the RDA, started as his DofE award when he was 14. His first week, he asked me to pick him up after an hour (he had to complete 12 hours of voluntary work for part if his award and reckoned he only had to do an hours voluntary work for 12 weeks..... ) I turned up after 1 hour as instructed, only to be sent away and told to come back at later that day he loved it so much! He has now been going for 18 months and loves it. He too is quiet, and was a little apprehensive about how to talk with children with often very differing disabilities ranging from physical to Aspergers. He started out initially just mucking out, grooming, tacking up, feeding ponies but now he sidewalks and leads children, along with a group of other teens he probably would never have met. It's a wonderful thing to do, you will be shown what to do and just go in your normal horsey attire, my son wears over trousers and the mucker type boots rather than his Jodphur boots. If you are uncertain about anything, just ask but you will probably start off working alongside someone knows the ropes. Everyone is lovely and helpful. Good luck and enjoy, and know you are doing something very worthwhile 😊
Click to expand...

Thanks very much :)
That's very reassuring to hear that your son had such a great experience
Hopefully it will get me out of my shell a bit too
 
sophieb14 said:
Hiya everyone :)
First time posting on here!
I'm new to horses however recently contacted the RDA about volunteering as it seems like a life changing experience to do.
They've told me to come down whenever
So what should I be expecting?
What will I have to do/know how to do? Bearing in mind I'm only 16 years old so there might be a restriction on the things I can help with?
What should I wear?
Any other advice?
I'm not the most outgoing person and can be quite shy and reserved, will this be ok?

Thanks in advance!! :)
Click to expand...

I'm an assistant group coach for the RDA so tend to have the responsibility of inducting new volunteers. Wear gloves, sturdy boots and warm clothing; hats are optional for over 16s but your group may wear them anyway, so take one along just in case.

I will say RDA can be overwhelming at first if you're younger, a bit reserved, and maybe without experience regarding those with disabilities BUT do not worry! I've seen a very experienced horsewoman stand back, go 'wow, this is a different environment' and start asking me loads of questions. As a newbie you should be under a buddy system so you learn all there is to know safely and sensibly. I actually feel quite strongly about new volunteers not being thrown in at the deep end, and instead introduced the way you would introduce a new horse. A good group should match you up with an established, experienced volunteer so you don't feel too out of your depth. Hopefully the group will have some younger volunteers too, so you're not put with a doddery 85 year old. Don't be afraid to ask questions, especially of chatty riders, take an interest in anything and everything, and if you feel like you're standing around doing nothing, offer to pick up poos etc. Some groups don't have any yard work (mine doesn't), but there will always be something to do. You'll probably start off as a side walker (so stood next to the rider) and progress from there. If you continue to volunteer the group will do your RDA Green card training and you'll be trained up in six different aspects of RDA work.

Above all of else, enjoy it, and welcome to the RDA family, we're a good bunch. I started over six years ago to get some short term experience, and I'm now part of the furniture!
 
Last edited:
Hey Sophieb

I've been volunteering with our local RDA group for nearly two years now. We mainly do driving but lots of the procedures cross over and we all have a great time.

I too am very shy (with a big spoonful of social anxiety) and was so worried about it to start with, but you'll be given all the appropriate support and training to feel confident with what you're doing with the horses... and if your group is anything like mine, meet some lovely friends from all different walks of life.

On your first day you'll be introduced to all of the volunteers and clients and probably given a green card.. which is just that; a piece of card that lists and records all of the training that you receive in order to be able to help out with certain things eg. Head holding, tacking up etc.

You'll probably be able to complete a lot of this training pretty quickly if you have previous experience with horses, but the RDA do have very specific ways of doing some things (which can take some getting used to!) as keeping everyone safe when dealing with the horses is top priority 😊

Either way, don't worry about it.. you'll learn so much and have a great time 😊
 
Forgot to say if you are going for the day take some snacks/lunch and a drink. My daughter was provided with drinks and cakes/biscuits but wished she had listened to me and taken some sandwiches for lunch
 
teapot said:
I'm an assistant group coach for the RDA so tend to have the responsibility of inducting new volunteers. Wear gloves, sturdy boots and warm clothing; hats are optional for over 16s but your group may wear them anyway, so take one along just in case.

I will say RDA can be overwhelming at first if you're younger, a bit reserved, and maybe without experience regarding those with disabilities BUT do not worry! I've seen a very experienced horsewoman stand back, go 'wow, this is a different environment' and start asking me loads of questions. As a newbie you should be under a buddy system so you learn all there is to know safely and sensibly. I actually feel quite strongly about new volunteers not being thrown in at the deep end, and instead introduced the way you would introduce a new horse. A good group should match you up with an established, experienced volunteer so you don't feel too out of your depth. Hopefully the group will have some younger volunteers too, so you're not put with a doddery 85 year old. Don't be afraid to ask questions, especially of chatty riders, take an interest in anything and everything, and if you feel like you're standing around doing nothing, offer to pick up poos etc. Some groups don't have any yard work (mine doesn't), but there will always be something to do. You'll probably start off as a side walker (so stood next to the rider) and progress from there. If you continue to volunteer the group will do your RDA Green card training and you'll be trained up in six different aspects of RDA work.

Above all of else, enjoy it, and welcome to the RDA family, we're a good bunch. I started over six years ago to get some short term experience, and I'm now part of the furniture!
Click to expand...

Thank you :)
I look forward to it!
 
Maybe? said:
Hey Sophieb

I've been volunteering with our local RDA group for nearly two years now. We mainly do driving but lots of the procedures cross over and we all have a great time.

I too am very shy (with a big spoonful of social anxiety) and was so worried about it to start with, but you'll be given all the appropriate support and training to feel confident with what you're doing with the horses... and if your group is anything like mine, meet some lovely friends from all different walks of life.

On your first day you'll be introduced to all of the volunteers and clients and probably given a green card.. which is just that; a piece of card that lists and records all of the training that you receive in order to be able to help out with certain things eg. Head holding, tacking up etc.

You'll probably be able to complete a lot of this training pretty quickly if you have previous experience with horses, but the RDA do have very specific ways of doing some things (which can take some getting used to!) as keeping everyone safe when dealing with the horses is top priority 😊

Either way, don't worry about it.. you'll learn so much and have a great time 😊
Click to expand...

Thank you!
That's reassuring :)
 
Hi there!
I have an RDA group based on my yard and I'm also a group coach. All our volunteers are lovely and very friendly; they range from school age to retired people and have varying levels of horse experience. New volunteers are all given training and have to have a "green card" completed to show they have undergone training for various tasks before they can actually undertake them so you should not be put in a situation you aren't ready for. Many people have reservations about dealing with disabilities but after a short time any worries usually disappear. Most volunteers find they get as much, if not more out of RDA than they put in so have fun!
 
EventingMum said:
Hi there!
I have an RDA group based on my yard and I'm also a group coach. All our volunteers are lovely and very friendly; they range from school age to retired people and have varying levels of horse experience. New volunteers are all given training and have to have a "green card" completed to show they have undergone training for various tasks before they can actually undertake them so you should not be put in a situation you aren't ready for. Many people have reservations about dealing with disabilities but after a short time any worries usually disappear. Most volunteers find they get as much, if not more out of RDA than they put in so have fun!
Click to expand...

Ok cheers :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top