|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NARHA
Survey Results Prepared by Rebecca Cook OTR, HPCS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
bookmarks on this page... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| note on survey statistics | affiliation of participants | harnesses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| driving vehicles | client disabilities | driving lessons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| equine partners | misc. interesting statistics | one horse/one carriage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| survey summary | appendix 1 survey | appendix 2 carriages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Background Information The survey was disseminated electronically during a 7-week period January 11, 2005 through February 28, 2005 via the NARHA website, the driving and therapeutic riding Yahoo listserv groups, and directly through e-mail. There were 62 e-mail requests for the survey. 59 total survey responses were received through the post office and e-mail representing 8 countries: USA, Canada, UK (England, Ireland, Scotland), Belgium, Italy, and Austria. Out of the 59 responses received, one center from the USA had a multiple response to the survey and the duplicate was eliminated with statistics being gathered from the remaining 58 surveys. Program affiliations from survey respondents included: NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association), RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association), FRDI (Federation of Riding for the Disabled International), Driving for the Disabled, Special Olympics, CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association), and “None” (no program affiliation). In 2003, 45 out of a total of 692 NARHA Centers indicated they completed therapeutic driving. 18 NARHA driving programs answered the 2005 driving survey, representing roughly 40% of the NARHA Centers that drive. The survey outlined the following definitions for both “driving” and “disabilities”: “Horse Driving Activities may include long lining, practicing on a rein board, harnessing, and driving an equine in a cart, carriage, or similar vehicle”; and “Disabilities may include physical, psychological, cognitive, sensory, or behavioral”. Respondents were then asked to answer “yes” or “no” to the following question: “Do you participate in any form of driving activities with people with disabilities?” Those who answered “yes” were invited to complete the survey questions. 33 respondents checked "YES” they do complete driving activities with people with disabilities and 25 answered "NO".
Besides survey statistics, the various program’s additional written comments
provide useful information as well. For example one respondent wrote, “After
looking at your survey, I realized it was for therapeutic programs, which our
center is not. Although we have employed people with behavioral and
psychological problems, our main thrust is the training of Harness Horses.
There are no equipment changes to protect or teach our employees, per se. Sorry
we couldn't take the survey but none of the questions applied to this facility.
Please do send me a brochure when you complete it! I'm interested in anything
NARHA is doing to further therapeutic driving.” Two responses, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Italy, reflected information regarding several centers rather than just one program. In addition to three individual survey responses from RDA programs in England and Scotland, the RDA Carriage Driving Committee Secretary sent data representative of all 100 RDA driving Groups in the UK (England, Scotland, and Ireland): “Please find attached answers to your recent survey. Unfortunately it is not possible to send it to all of our Groups of carriage drivers, so I have completed it as best I can, on behalf of all our Groups. We would also be very interested in the results of the survey. Many thanks.” And the survey from Italy came with the message, “Unfortunately in Italy we don't complete driving for the disabled. Many regards.”
Approximately four years ago NARHA implemented new requirements for programs
utilizing driving. This process resulted in “growth pains” evidenced by five
respondents from NARHA who noted they had an active driving program but due to
changes regarding driving instructor certification they have put driving on
hold; 1 respondent left NARHA and is driving on their own; 2 respondents are
working toward their NARHA driving certification; and 2 respondents not
currently driving under NARHA chose to answer the survey with answers placed
under the “no program affiliation” category. Concern from NARHA centers was
expressed with the implementation of new requirements for certification of
driving instructors and the resulting time and expense incurred with
certification, as well as with the availability of certification clinics.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
# Of “YES” Survey Respondents and their Program Affiliations 18 NARHA (USA and Canada) – North American Riding for the Handicapped Assoc. 4 RDA (UK) – Riding for the Disabled Association 1 FRDI (Europe) – Federation of Riding for the Disabled International 2 (USA) Driving for the Disabled + 2 (UK which are also RDA programs) 0 CHA (USA) – Certified Horsemanship Association 0 Other – Special Olympics (USA) 8
None – No program affiliation (USA)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Harness Summary
Leather is the traditional driving harness for the horse’s comfort, however new improved synthetics and synthetic & leather harness combinations are on the market. Muffy Seaton, driving trainer and clinician, writes in a Q & A section of www.northtexaswhip.org/askmuffy2.html: I have found the synthetic harness simplifies my life by giving me more time. I use Tedman webbing harness at home and Zilco harness at the shows. The Tedman webbing harness has a few drawbacks: It can rub the hair off where the traces come in contact with the horses' hind legs and it takes forever to dry after washing, which negates the easiness of washing it (you have to let it dry on a fence for a couple of days). The Zilco, on the other hand, is waterproof, so you can just hose it down and wipe it dry. I LOVE MY ZILCO HARNESS! It takes me three days to properly clean my leather 4-in-hand harness, including the brass. It takes me half an hour or so to do the Zilco. About half of therapeutic driving programs choose leather only harness and half choose synthetic with a couple of programs specifically writing in that they use a Zilco Harness. Pleasure harness was the overwhelming choice for the majority of programs and no program indicated using race harness. Both synthetic and leather harnesses were equally used with 2-wheel and 4-wheel carriages and with different horse types. The vast majority of programs surveyed utilized adapted reins of some type. Nearly all programs used double reins but only half of those used double reins 100% of the time (see chart outlining “Other Interesting Statistics”), thus there are many lessons where only one set of reins are used – either by the AB whip or by the student. One program noted they drive severely disabled students for the sensory experience, thus in that example, there would be one set of driving lines held by the AB whip. Other programs indicated advancing some driving students to independent driving lessons and thus in that example, there would be one set of driving lines held by the student. Harness Survey Norms: Leather or Synthetic Pleasure Harness; Use of Double Reins for Lessons return to top of page |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Driving Vehicles
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||