Sponsor Casper the Friendly Horse

Casper,one of our ponies that helps in our therapy classes. Karlie is one of Casper's riders, read her story:

Karlie was born with a physical condition causing joint stiffness and pain, and muscle weakness in her limbs. She began riding at RDA in 2020 at 18 months old. At this time she was unable to walk or even crawl and was pretty frustrated as she really wanted to move! Horse riding opened up a whole new world for her.

Before she started, Karlie had been through a lot of regular casting for her legs which was traumatic for her, and she had a lot of trust issues with adults that were not family. I watched as the staff at RDA kindly and patiently worked through this, allowing Karlie to develop trust and progress as she felt ready. Within 4 months of starting RDA Karlie began to crawl and I have no doubt that the riding therapy gave her the idea and extra motivation to work out how to get her body moving. She was also more willingly do her stretches and exercises during riding therapy because she just enjoys the experience so much. As Karlie has gotten older she has developed a love of horses, and it gives her a real sense of belonging to have a physical sport that she can do. She is now 5 years old and is currently progressing well towards gaining her balance and walking. She has developed a trusting relationship with her coach and RDA staff, we are so grateful for the RDA programme and the benefits that Karlie has gained by attending.

Casper makes this magic happen.