Windy Hollow Therapeutic Riding Centre














Part-Bait Our Ponies Or Horses

  • Is your child an advanced rider but you can't afford their own pony or horse for them?
  • Does Your Child Need Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy?
  • If so why not speed up the process by using Equine Facilitated Movement Therapy in addition?

With Windy Hollow Therapeutic Riding Centre you can part lease a pony or a horse that has extensive therapy experience at a fraction of the normal livery price of your own pony or horse, allowing your children to ride or you can do your child's therapy yourself!!!

  • By doing the therapy yourself - you know what you have put into each session.
  • Pay a pre-set flat monthly fee, with no additions, no vets bills and no farrier bills etc.
  • Ride everyday if you like - conditions apply.

Why Equine Facilitated Movement Therapy?

The horse produces 110 multi-dimensional movement dialogues in just one minute, and because we use over 300 muscles simultaneously, 20 minutes of un-amplified riding is equivalent to 3 hours of physical therapeutic exercise.

Which means that normal growing pre-school children will be given a better chance at additional cognitive development if they are exposed to riding therapy from as younger age as possible. (Porcelli, 1988).

The effects of the use of the horse as a therapeutic aid can all be related to the neuro-, senso-, psycho- and sociomotoric development of all developing children regardless of whether they are challenged or not. With no real age limit on therapeutic pupils and riders being matched in stature to the horse or pony used.

Conditions

  • A payment for the lease in this contract is R650 per month and this entitles one child to ride for the month. ie. Each child riding in a family needs to have their own separate contract - sessions are not transferable.
  • Extra visiting riders to pay casual riding fees as and when required.
  • Our therapy contract entitles its rider to ride one half hour session per day by appointment.
  • Our staff will saddle and unsaddle ponies or horses used with the said pony or horses allocated tack, no other tack is to be used on the pony or horse unless with prior agreement with Helen Du Plessis.
  • If a rider misses the allocated riding session it is forfeited, unless by prior arrangement.
  • This contract allows for controlled riding and therapy sessions only that are pre-formulated in association with the referring therapist and Helen Du Plessis, that are to be carried out or supervised by a responsible individual if not by the contract rider's parents.
  • When the need for therapy is exhausted the contract rider may continue with riding lessons with the privilege of doing more equestrian based activities as each level of the centre's proficiency tests are achieved and pasted. (If rider is in control of the horse a guest instructor can do lessons, or we can arrange an instructor if needed).
  • All therapy and riding will be monitored or supervised by a Windy Hollow representative and should any rider or supervising individual be found to be abusing or damaging the schooling of any horse or pony, then the said contract will be terminated and an appeal against this will only be entertained if lodged in writing with the centre's executive committee at its next meeting.
  • If it is found that the wrong pony or horse has been allocated to a rider then the pony or horse may be exchanged for one that is better suited.
  • If an allocated pony or horse is lame or sick another pony or horse may be used as a replacement but this will be by appointment and the convenience of the replacing pony or horse's existing contract holders.
  • This contract is binding for a minimum of six months and if it is no longer required after that it can be terminated at any point with a months notice.
  • No cantering, jumping or galloping etc will be allowed by any rider unless under the direct supervision of Helen Du Plessis, this is to prevent accidents and the creation of bad habits and vices in our ponies and horse, with the understanding that the main focus of our centre is the rehabilitation of disabled individuals making their safety more important than the recreation or achievement of equestrian skill in more advanced pupils.
  • No pony or horse may be re-located, WHTRC, may make use of the pony or horse from time to time, or the pony or horse maybe part-baited to multiple riders, hence this being a part-bait agreement.
  • The Right of Refusal to lease is reserved, trial contract at the discretion of the Windy
  • Hollow Executive committee may be used in some cases.

Define Cruelty

  • No rider is to be in the controlling position of any pony or horse until they are able to post to the trot correctly with their hands on their head. If a rider insists on holding reins they are to be dummy reins attached to the head collar or from a chest strap, with the pony or horse's controlling reins held by a leader. We will not tolerate our ponies losing their mouths.
  • No bouncing on the horses back to try to gain the rhythm of the trot, posting is to be taught and practiced at a walk with the rider holding the monkey strap on the front of the saddle at first and only when the child is strong and coordinated enough is it to be applied in the trot, only 40 paces of consecutive trot within a round of a 60m dressage arena is to be used during the acclimatisation and transition training phase of rising trot. ie. Trot may only be applied on one side of the arena per revolution thereof until the rider is strong enough for the correct rhythm to be achieved and can be maintained.
  • No therapy or riding sessions will be allowed with the pony or horse on the lunge, linear movement is to be used, with centrifugal movement limited to turns and the odd circle or serpentine.

What Makes Our Ponies And Horses Different To Those In Other Schools??

Many of our ponies and horses have been rehabilitated from previous abuse and with the way we have formulated and applied our riding methods, they have come to offer our special riders a greater understanding of the problems they face, as a result of having had in some cases similar experiences.

For more information contact: Helen Du Plessis 082 975-5369

Quote:

"My horse's feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears."
~Bonnie Lewis

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