On the outskirts of Dubai, in the gardens of the Desert Palm Resort, there are volunteers helping children in an active and therapeutic way. It’s the Riding for the Disabled Association in Dubai (RDAD). This group of generous and motivated volunteers work with children with physical challenges to help improve certain skill sets that can be acquired through therapeutic horseback riding. We take a look at how a community effort is helping equine therapy make a difference in young lives.
It all began in 1998 when Shaikha Hessa Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum donated three of her horses to launch the program. The founder and director of the program, Satish Seemar has been working with horses for decades and takes pleasure in helping children through the RDAD program.
Now, 16 years later, RDAD has volunteers that come out during the winter months and commit to weekly hours helping around 50 children with disabilities.
Jessica Cook has been volunteering with them for six years and has enjoyed her time getting to know the children and volunteers throughout her time with them.
“It gives you the chance to work with some fantastic children, you get to work in the great outdoors, which not many people get to do, and you get to meet some great people and make new friends,” Cook told Gulf News.
Deb Anderson has been volunteering with RDAD for the past five years every Monday. “Just watching the children’s faces while they are on the horses is exhilarating! It’s good for the soul,” she said.
They also enjoy creating meaningful friendships with the other volunteers. Through years of returning volunteers, friendships have blossomed.
In 2013, RDAD celebrated 15 years since they launched the program. They awarded two volunteers who had been there since the very beginning for their dedicated service to the organisation.
In speaking with a few of the volunteers, the two main reasons they keep coming back for more are the satisfaction they get through helping children and the friendships they have developed.
“We really need help,” Seemar told Gulf News. “We can always use more volunteers. Tell your friends, tell your family, we’d love to have you here. It’s a great place, it’s a very social thing. We have some volunteers coming for 13 and 14 years, two to three times a week and they’re all great friends. It’s nice and it’s a rewarding thing to do.”
Looking forward
The not-for-profit organisation is hoping to eventually expand. Their service is in high demand with its growing popularity.
Right now the organisation has 10 horses with the maximum use of the stables. Their longterm goal is to be able to help more children which, they hope they can do one day by saving up their contributions and opening up a bigger stable that can accommodate more horses.
They get contributions from individuals or from companies.
The significance
Be it autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or spina bifida – children with various disabilities are developing in some way or another through equine cognitive therapy.
The therapeutic experience these children are receiving is helpful for mental and physical development. Riding a horse can be difficult.
Disabilities can affect a child’s basic motor and communication skills.
According to equine-therapy-programs.com :”Learning to ride a horse requires balance and coordination. Many physically disabled children lack muscle tone, and consequently, their coordination is severely lacking. Equine therapy gives a disabled child a physically enjoyable experience (learning to ride a horse) that also helps develop muscle tone, balance, and coordination. It also helps the child develop and improve upon hand-eye coordination. It achieves the same results as standard physical therapy but in a more pleasant setting.”
Emotionally, horses are always keenly aware of how their rider is feeling. This often means that the rider needs to develop a mental strength and control over his or her thoughts and feelings.
It takes mental energy to play through the exercises and confidence just to feel comfortable on the horse. Of course, these are very safe circumstances for the children but horseback riding forces its rider to take control or else be controlled.
Physically, it takes the ability to maintain balance, use a wide variety of muscles, and use a certain level of flexibility. Because riding is something enjoyable, there isn’t a perceived long period of exercise even though it is physically demanding. Muscles are used without the rider even realizing it. The stopping, starting, accelerating and turning on the animal tests the balance and muscle coordination of the rider.
All of this coordination that these children are gaining happens gradually through their lessons.
equine-therapy-programs.com posted: “Some of the disabilities and disorders that can be improved with an equine therapy program include cerebral palsy, down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, attention deficit disorder, stroke, and visual impairment.”
How to register:
Registering a child into the program is made simple through emailing the organization at lessons@rdad.ae. There are guidelines that must be met that can be viewed on their website. Riders must be at least four years old, and there are certain physical abilities that have to be met at different weight ranges.
Once the application for registration has been filled out and approved, there is a registration fee of Dh750 for the whole season of riding.
Some facts:
Riding competition:
Gulf News attended the end of the season rider’s competition for the children. The riders had to finish various goals around the grounds.
Activities they were doing were things like picking up toys or costumes at a station and bringing them to a different station. Smiling and riding while wearing a clown nose was a common occurrence. Sometimes they were walking and at other times they were trotting. There was often a gratifying high five waiting at the end of an activity for a job well done.
The concentration of the volunteers was noticeable. Because it was the end of the season, the children were definitely comfortable after having numerous lessons, but the volunteers remained attentive.
There was always a hand steadily ready at the child’s back and one near their leg – just in case. Safety was obviously paramount.
— The writer is a trainee with Reader’s Desk at Gulf News
