Ataxia...

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x.fat-pony.x

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Sep 9, 2006
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My friend has been coming down to the stables a lot. She loves Brad, and watches me riding with her eyes bulging out :p She just thinks horses are so amazing, and would love to ride.
Problem is, she feels that she couldn't due to her having Ataxia (For those who don't know, it is a condition that causes problems with co-ordination and balance, she doesn't have much control over her legs and arms).
I have tried to explain to her that there are riders out there without arms etc that ride, and that everyone and anyone can do it, but she thinks she would hurt the horse.

She is brilliant on the ground with Brad, and Brad is an angel for her. Whilst he tries to kick me picking up his hooves, he will stand there all day for her, and the way he is around her gives me a tear in my eye :o

Does anyone on here have ataxia? Or know anyone who rides with it? She is slowly accepting that she might, and she is going to have a go in the summer, but a confidence boost is just the thing we need here!

Thanks for reading all that, you can have a lolly for all your hard work! :p
*Hands out imaginary lollies* :D
 
my son also has dyspraxia and think the horses do know that they have to be sensible with him as normally bolshy horses tend to be 'nice' to him while he is trying to clip on a lead rope but they do take the mickey on the track taking him for grass not the other way round.
when we had our old shetland he would try and ride ,sooty was an angel and if my son got muddled with the reins he would just stop and wait for him to get sorted before setting off again.when sooty died i thought bailey might be ok to do lunge lessons on which he did then bailey decided to buck and my son fell off which has totally put him off.
dyspraxia is part of the autistic spectrum so my son is quite set in his ways so trying to get him back on board hasnt worked.i have however had him sit in the trap but he wouldnt have a go..
if you can find a nice quiet horse that will accept flapping arms and legs then let your friend have a sit on or do a demo on how she cant hurt the horse...
 
Some of the kids we've had ride in the past have had similar problems.

With the right horse and precautions there's no reason she cannot ride, unless her Doc or Physios forbid it.

The right horse is important. The ones we used for RDA were good at filtering out spasms and twitches that were unintentional.
 
Thing is though, there isn't a RDA centre anywhere near us :rolleyes:! Brad is the only hoss avaliable. I think he would be fine if I had him on a lead rein, just wanted some examples to show my friend that other people with the condition ride too! :)
 
My sister has severe cerebellar ataxia. She is now mostly in a wheelchair but when her mobility was a bit better she loved riding a friends elderly pony who was a perfect gent and looked after her really well. She really liked having the freedom to go out and about in the country where her legs wouldn't take her. Sadly he died of acute grass sickness and at the time my younger mare was just too flighty for her to ride (the other mare is just simply too tall as she is 16hh and my sister is only 5'3" with short legs :D ) so it fizzled out.

She would probably still be OK as her sitting balance is good enough but it is now the simple logistics of getting her on as we would need a hoist to get her on any of the horses. She kind of makes do now with her scooter round the tracks of the country park.
 
Thanks Ldg thats a great example! My friend isn't wheelchair bound yet, will prob be quite a while before that happens, but your sister is a great inspiration :)
 
i have ataxia and dyspraxia and never thought i would be able to ride but i proved that with determination you can do what evr you wnat in life! when i first went to the rda in glasgw i had 2 helpers and the person leading the horse but i now only have a side walker!:)
 
hi i have a daughter who has athetiod cerebral pasly and she rides at the local Rda and as well as our boy at home. When she is at rda she has two side walkers and a person leading at home it is a bit different due to the lack of helpers so she has one side walker and someone leads. At the start you couldn't let go of her leg with out her sliding to one side and now she can sits nice and still. sorry i didn't tell you that athetiod c.p sufferers have uncontrolled movements and nikayla wobbles all the time....she is the only kid i know that can fall over when sitting on the floor!! we joke with her that she would fall over lying down!!. i hope your friend gives it a go., even if she justs sits on the horse at the start then go from there. good luck.........i know my reply is a bit late but i haven't been on this site for months.
 
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