Easter Seals Nova Scotia and Halifax Lancers are pleased to partner and bring Learn to Ride, an inclusive equestrian day camp to children and youth living with disabilities.

This five-day camp is offered in two week-long sessions. The program takes place for 1 hour 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-centered 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.

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.