Riding Sessions

Program Benefits

DSC_0975.JPG

Physical and Sensory:

·       Increased endurance and low-level cardiovascular conditioning.

·       Improved overall fitness and physical capacity from participation in weekly exercise to improve motion, balance, muscle strength and coordination.

·       Increased muscular and postural control. Core muscles are strengthened from learning to sit comfortably and ride with the movement of the horse.

·       Reduction of abnormal movement patterns and decreased spasticity through the warmth and movement of the horse and stretching tight or spastic muscles.

·       Stimulation of sensory processing, especially vestibular (balance) and proprioceptive (spatial orientation of the body in regards to position, motion and equilibrium) sensory systems.

·       Helps integration of sensory systems, sight, vision, movement, hearing, touch, vestibular.

·       Improvement in gross and fine motor skills.

Psychological:

·       Enriched confidence, trust and self-esteem.

·       Improved wellbeing, perception of quality of life and life satisfaction that comes from being

active and engaging with your community.

·       Increased interest in one’s own life and the larger world through a greater variety of experiences.

·       Improved emotional control and self-discipline from developing the patience and focus of

attention that comes from working with a large animal.

·       A sense of achievement from being able to master the skills necessary to participate.

·       Social and Communication:

·       Participants share a common love of horses and the experience of riding, which helps build

socialization and interpersonal skills.

·       Improved communication through providing feedback, following instructions, direction and

communication to the horse and staff. For example, moving from visuals to verbal commands in order to better influence the horse to follow rider’s instructions.

·       Development of respect and a love for animals.

·       Experience of outdoor recreation, enjoyment and fun.

Educational:

·       Demonstrated improvement in multitasking and executive functioning capacity.

·       Improved sequencing, patterning and motor planning through skills games played while on horseback e.g. Obstacle courses, pole bending.

·       Improved eye-hand coordination and visual and spatial perception.

·       Increased ability to differentiate significant from less significant stimuli in the environment e.g. Attend to the horse and those things that influence the horse and not the environment in general.

·       Increased technical competence in horse riding and equestrian skills.

·       Applied equestrian knowledge and practice safe behaviours for riding.

RDA SA Session Costings Overview:

Fees associated with RDA sessions comprise several components:

Personal costs (ie those not generally covered by NDIS):

  • The current annual registration fee of $100.00 This component is payable either in full upon registration OR in 2 x 6 monthly instalments of $50 each.
  • An Activity Fee of $20 per session. This component is invoiced by the local Centre and payable as the NDIA recognises RDA as an optional program, rather than a required therapy, and therefore expects a client contribution.

    Please note – Some of our self-managed clients, and a few who have plan manager managed plans, are now able to claim the Activity Fee from their NDIS plan. If you are unsure of your options for this, please check with NDIS or your plan manager.

Costs which may be met by an NDIS plan:

  • A *Session Support Fee for weekday activities, as of 1 January 2020, scheduled at $56.81 per hour session. (RDA is an NDIS Temporary Transformation Payment (TTP) eligible provider and Support Fees are aligned to TTP pricing).

        *If this support fee is not covered by NDIS, or another funding body, it must be paid by the individual accessing the service.  

RDA SA services have been categorised as recreational activities and NDIS funds for our programs are allocated under the line item:

Assistance to access community, social and recreational activities for weekday supports (04_104_0125_6_1_T)

RDA SA provides all support necessary for each session and, on approval, claims from NDIS, scheduled costs for a single weekday session support, ($56.81), up to a maximum of 40 sessions per year. Also charged to the client’s NDIS plan, are up to 4 hours in each plan period, for the purpose of documenting proposed supports and outcomes. This helps plan progress and record developments and is charged at the then current NDIS support fee.

RDA clients generally participate across the whole year using funds from their NDIS Core Budget allocation to cover the associated Support Fee.

Please note:  As RDASA does not employ registered therapists, we are unable to directly access funds from a Capacity Building budget