Learn to Ride

Easter Seals Nova Scotia is pleased to present our Learn to Ride Day Camp at Serenity Acres Family Ranch, located in Ardoise, Nova Scotia, a community 20 minutes from Halifax/ Dartmouth.

This five-day camp is offered in two week-long sessions. The program takes place for 3 hours per day and is available for children ages 7 to 14 and 15 to 24, who live with a physical and/or cognitive disability. The participation cost of the camp to families will be $150 for the entire week. The residual fee will be provided by Easter Seals Nova Scotia and our community partners.

Learn to Ride is an experiential learner-centred program that promotes the development of healthy life skills for educational, professional and personal development through equine-assisted activities. Benefits of this program include positive development of communication, confidence, team building, increased awareness of non-verbal communication and improved self-esteem.

All activities are adjusted to the ability of the child/youth and are implemented by staff trained in Assisted Equestrian Techniques. An Easter Seals Representative will be on-site every day for the duration of the program.

The following activities are included throughout the week. All activities are adjusted to the ability and mobility challenges of the participant:

• Daily Horse Therapy – participants will learn how to groom and walk a horse. Participants will also enjoy a Beginner Riding Lesson or Assisted Ride (indoor facility).
• Enchanted Trail Rides for children and youth.
• Horse & Farm Management – participants will learn how to interact with farm animals including animal meal preparation and barn management.
• Equine-Assisted Learning – participants will be taught through short sessions with trained horses and certified instructors. EAL has been shown to improve non-verbal communication skills, problem-solving skills and much more. For more information on EAL visit Serenity Acres Family Ranch’s website.
• Fun & Games – activities include a petting zoo, chicken coop, crafting, games, dancing and an accessible trail walk/wheel/ride.

At Easter Seals Nova Scotia, we know that inclusive sports provide tremendous benefits to children living with disabilities. These are our anticipated outcomes for Learn to Ride:

• Improved balance by reaching deep muscles not accessible in conventional physical therapy.
• Strengthening of muscles and stretching of tight or spastic muscles.
• Improved coordination including faster reflexes and better motion planning.
• General sense of well-being including improved self-confidence.
• Decreased social isolation.
• A sense of normalcy by being able to hone a skill considered difficult by the “able” population.
• Improved emotional control and self-discipline.

Easter Seals Nova Scotia and Serenity Acres Family Ranch are pleased to partner and bring this inclusive day camp with our Take PART slate of programs for children and youth living with disabilities.

Have more questions or would like to register? Contact takepart@easterseals.ns.ca or call 902-453-6000 ext. 220