Individuals must be at least 4 years old before they can participate in any programs. There is no maximum age limit. At Chariot Riders, safety is our primary concern. We must ensure the health and wellness of our participants, volunteers, instructors, and horses as mandated by PATH Intl. Horses are selected for participants based on a rider’s skill set, stability on the horse, equipment available, appropriateness of volunteers available, horse conformation and movement, and rider’s weight.
Chariot Riders has maximum weight limits of 220lbs for balanced and/or independent riders and 160lbs for unbalanced and/or supported riders. In addition, Chariot Riders can accommodate riders up to 140lbs in PT, OT, or speech therapy sessions incorporating mounted work on the equines. All individuals in Adaptive Riding and Hippotherapy will be evaluated to ensure the safety of their participation in mounted activities or therapies. Among the factors to be considered will be the availability of appropriate horses, volunteers, and tack. Please note that the herd, volunteers, and tack at Chariot Riders is dynamic and due to this fact, we may not always have horses, tack, or volunteers available to safely accommodate every individual who wishes to participate.
The Adaptive Riding Program at Chariot Riders is unable to accommodate unbalanced and/or supported riders above 160lbs. An unbalanced and/or supported rider is an individual who may demonstrate one or several of the following: chronic leaning to one side, unable to consistently sit astride a horse without support, needs help supporting the upper body, needs physical assistance during the mount or dismount, needs physical assistance during an emergency dismount (or is unable to consent to the risks of being unassisted during an emergency), is easily left behind the horse’s movement, etc. Clients participating in therapy sessions involving mounted work at Chariot Riders may not exceed 160 to enable the therapists the ability to incorporate position changes, dynamic stretches, interactive activities, etc.
Individuals may not be allowed to participate in the program if any of the following situations occur:
- Participant’s condition is in any way exacerbated by riding
- An appropriate horse is no longer available for the participant
- The participant’s behavior poses safety concerns (at the discretion of instructor)
- The available staff does not feel able to safely conduct a lesson or session with the participant
- Any other situation that may have a negative impact on the program in general (at the discretion of the instructor and/or program director)