Disabled riding faces national horse “crisis”
Groups are reporting fewer sessions and long waiting lists as they struggle to find equines suitable for their needs
RIDING for the Disabled Association (RDA) groups are in “crisis” as they struggle to find suitable equines, meaning fewer sessions and long waiting lists.
The RDA said misconceptions about the type of horse groups need, plus increased prices and demand, are making it increasingly hard to source horses, and the pandemic is exacerbating the problem. Some groups have waiting lists of 150 riders.
RDA equine and competitions coordinator Emma Bayliss told H&H groups are “crying out” for younger, healthy, athletic horses with good temperaments, who can take part in activities including showjumping and driving.
“I receive weekly calls from people saying, ‘I have the ideal RDA horse,’ and it might have had a suspensory ligament issue or arthritis,” she said. “They think horses that aren’t suitable for a ridden career any more would be great for us – but generally we use ridden horses for therapy we do on the ground; groups can’t pay to keep horses just for ground work.
“The public probably aren’t aware of all the disciplines we do, so we’re really trying to raise our profile from that perspective.”
Penniwells RDA has a waiting list of 83 riders, some of whom have been on the list for two years.
Centre manager Sarah Healing told H&H she has been trying to find a 15hh to 15.2hh cob type for almost three years.
“We don’t want retired ponies, we want them at their peak,” she said, adding that some owners are reluctant for their horses to join the RDA as they have the wrong impression about riders.
“There is nothing worse than spotting the perfect horse and someone saying, ‘I don’t want it to do RDA.’ It’s really sad,” she said.
“Some people have a misconception that riders are going to be bouncing about or pulling them around and that’s not what it is – they just have this image they can’t get away from.
“RDA riders are taught to ride just as well as anyone able-bodied and people haven’t caught up to the fact of how good our riders are; they sit beautifully, love the horses and care about improving.”
Nantwich and District RDA group chair Sheila Saner told H&H the struggle to find horses has become a “crisis”, with reduced sessions affecting riders.
“If we haven’t got the horses, we can’t take the riders. Our riders need continuity – this may be their only form of exercise and they need it to be constant,” she said.
“Horses have become more expensive and the sort we’re looking for are like gold dust. In many cases, we’ve had to buy horses slightly older than we’d like because they’re in our price range.”
RDA CEO Ed Bracher told H&H sourcing horses has been a growing issue, and riding school closures have had an impact.
RIDING SCHOOLS
“WE have groups based in riding schools, and with the number of schools turning into livery yards, particularly in the last year, the horses we had access to are becoming liveries and may or may not be available,” he said.
“The issue has been exacerbated during Covid by the demand. We’ve seen horses that would be great sold the day they go on the market. As a charity, we have to make sure we’re protecting money people give us, so we won’t take a horse without vetting and, ideally, a trial.”
Mr Bracher said there is no “obvious” solution, but appealed to those selling horses to consider the RDA as an option.
“We give horses a good life and home, but it would be helpful if people could respect the fact we need slightly more time. Where it’s possible, give us a second to get in there; from a point of due diligence and being a responsible organisation, we can’t react as quickly as an individual,” he said.
“If we haven’t got the horses, we
can’t take the riders”
RDA GROUP CHAIR SHEILA SANER