Have you ever had one of your program riders request to help as a volunteer?
Sooner or later one of your special needs riders will be interested in volunteering in your program. How can you accommodate them while minimizing liability concerns? What are some successful ways programs have included special needs riders as volunteers?
Program can choose to integrate riders into their existing volunteer program or design a program especially for riders interested in volunteering. Both strategies have their merits and limitations. Having riders volunteer in your existing program means that your special needs riders must meet the same criteria for safety and skills as your average volunteer. Many programs need volunteers to help with office work, special events, landscaping and other tasks. These may provide a “just right” match for the volunteer with a disability. However many riders want to volunteer with the horses and lessons. Can that rider with a cognitive impairment understand the safety concerns when sidewalking? Can the rider with a mild physical impairment complete an emergency dismount? These are important factors to consider when including special needs riders into your existing program. Your program must balance both the desire and opportunity for people with disabilities to volunteers with your program with the safety needs of the riders in the lesson. If a rider were to sustain an injury with a volunteer with a disability as the sidewalker what liability would your program assume?
Creating opportunities for riders to volunteer can be a way to mitigate risks. Your program may decide to create a buddy or mentoring program for independent riders to mentor each other and provide encouragement and support. This is an excellent way of involving riders with riders! Your buddy program can help riders who want to volunteer their time by having them assist with grooming and tacking and then providing encouragement and suggestions to riders during the lesson. This type of program has been used successfully with several adaptive riding programs. Other programs for riders to volunteer may include programs focusing on horse care and maintenance. Program volunteers and rider volunteers can learn horse care skills and provide these during volunteer hours. Skills can include bathing, clipping, mane pulling, braiding, hand walking and hand grazing, carrot stretches and TTouches. These skills are first provided to everyone under supervision and as groups progress they are allowed to do more of the horse care with minimal supervision.
What programs have you seen that incorporate riders as volunteers? Are you a rider that volunteers at a PATHI center?