Frequently Asked Questions:

It's people like you, long term riders who want to continue with Little Bits after they turn 18, who inspired our Board of Directors to develop the adult riding program. About 20% of our riders are adults so the adult program is much smaller but it works just like other Little Bits programs. In fact, if the adult-only classes don't fit a rider's schedule, you can ride in a mixed session. We suggest you talk with your instructor to find out which class would be best suited to your abilities and your schedule. We look forward to having you continue riding with us after your 18th birthday!

Thank you for your interest in Little Bits. We are always looking for dedicated volunteers. Our riding programs run for 10 weeks in the fall and 12 weeks in the spring. We don't ride in winter because the arena is too cold for our riders and volunteers. We offer 6 different riding sessions per week in the spring and fall, both morning and evening, as well as on Sundays.

Most volunteers come once per week for the length of a session and help out for 3 to 5 hours, however, we work flexibly around our volunteers' schedules. Our volunteers help out grooming the horses, leading or walking beside riders for safety and balance as needed. We also have volunteers help with fundraising and office duties.

Before our spring and fall riding sessions we provide a thorough orientation for all new and returning volunteers. To become involved, call our Volunteer Coordinator, Lisa Doyle at 780-476-1233.  Thanks again for your interest.

Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association (LBTRA) is run primarily by volunteers with the exception of our part-time Volunteer Coordinator, contract Barn Manager and contract Instructors. Our Instructors teach between 5 and 20 hours per week during the 28 weeks the riding program operates per year: 10 weeks in the fall and 12 weeks in the spring.

Over the years we have received many requests for practicums and internships. While we would like to be supportive of such ventures, we do not have a full time program and have never been able to offer placement. We do have opportunities for interested and qualified individuals to become involved as contract Instructors. Check out the question from a future instructor regarding the necessary qualifications.

Other vacancies and opportunities will be advertised on this web page as they occur.

Little Bits Instructors are certified by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA). To become a CanTRA certified Assistant Instructor (A.I.) you need to:

• be 18 years of age, minimum
• have accreditation in basic First Aid and CPR
• have completed 1 year (or 50 hours) of volunteer experience with a CanTRA recognized therapeutic riding program, such a Little Bits
• possess a Canadian Equestrian Federation (CEF) Rider 1 Certificate (English or Western)
• be a current member of CanTRA

To become a certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor you need all of the above along with:

• the completion of a course offered by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Associations (CanTRA). Detailed requirements are available on the web site. (Note: There is a fee charged for the examination and certification.)
• an appropriate liability insurance is also required.

CanTRA recently offered a residential training school in eastern Canada. A training school in BC is currently being developed. For information on this training school and other details see CanTRA's website at www.cantra.ca.

It sounds like your horse might be well-suited as a therapeutic riding horse, however, Little Bits does not own the horses we use in our programs. The horses are owned by the Whitemud Equine Society and we lease them. As we only run for 26 weeks each year on a part-time basis, owning our own horses is not a viable option for Little Bits. The horses we use from the W.E.S. also have to serve as regular lesson horses in addition to their Little Bits activities. This requires the horses to be physically fit as well as gentle and reliable. Thank you for your kind offer and we wish you the best in finding a good home for your horse.

The best source of information for therapeutic riding programs anywhere in Canada is CanTRA, the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association. Their website is located at http://www.cantra.ca and their address is:

Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association
PO Box 24009
Guelph, Ontario
N1E 6V8
Phone: (519) 767-0700
Fax: (519) 767-0435

We have several young people (14 years and up) who volunteer with us in a variety of capacities. While we prefer to have adult volunteers assist with the riders, we have our younger volunteers involved with the horses, grooming, tacking up and leading. I suggest that you and your daughter come down to the Whitemud Equine Centre and check out our program. To arrange this, please call our Volunteer Coordinator, Rhonda Skinner, at 474-1233 and arrange a time with her. She will be happy to give you further details.

Well you have asked a question that has a very detailed answer, and I'm not sure I could give you all the information that you need. I can however give you some references to check out and hopefully they will provide you with a good start.

In the US the place for you to start is with the North American Riding For The Handicapped Association. They are the national governing body for Therapeutic Riding in the United States. They have a site accreditation program, as well as an instructor certification process. The standards they have set are excellent and the guidelines would give you a strong base for starting your program. You can contact NARHA at: www.narha.org and their e-mail is narha@narha.org. Our Canadian governing body for therapeutic riding is the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA). Their website is: www.cantra.ca and their e-mail is ctra@golden.net. Our instructor certification manual is an excellent reference for teaching persons with disabilities. A good reference book available in the states is called Aspects and Answers and it is available from the Cheff Center, att'n Executive Director, Augusta Michigan, 49012. (This is from my 1986 edition manual so it may have changed).

Certainly the most important piece of "equipment" that you use will be the horses or ponies. They must be sound, honest, forgiving, patient, calm, trusting, and have the mental capacity to deal with up to 4 people in their personal space at any given time. In other words they must be perfect, and believe me there are those kinds of horses and ponies out there (but they are few and far between)!

We use mostly English saddles in our program, in addition to western endurance saddles (these have no horns), vaulting surcingles, bare back pads, anti-cast rollers, and sheepskin pads. All the saddles are equipped with safety stirrups so that the riders feet do not ever get caught in them. The reins we use are the coloured rubber reins to give the rider a specific length to hold the reins. We also have sets of black and white reins so that the rider can identify right (white) and left (black). All riders must wear equestrian helmets, either American Standards for Testing materials (A.S.T.M.) or Safety Equipment Institute (S.E.I.) approved.

A good tool to use for selecting equipment is the Freedom Rider Catalogue, and you can order it at: info@freedomridier.com. They have a large selection of special equipment and books for therapeutic riding. Aspects and Answers have a chapter devoted to equipment.

I trust this will give you a place to start, but my strongest recommendation is to go and work with a reputable program and watch, listen and learn. Then take the strongest points from that program and improve on them to start your own. Our program has been around since 1975 and every day we are trying to improve and refine our methods. Safety must always be the primary concern, remember to "DO NO HARM" and remember to find our what insurance coverage you need. Good luck on this great adventure you are embarking on, and please stay in touch and we'll be glad to help you along the way.

[Answer from Linda Rault]
Well, you have embarked on mission that will give you such joy in your life. Therapeutic Riding can change the life of a person with a disability, and more often that not it is for the better. The best piece of advise I can give you is to visit a program (you are most welcome to visit Little Bits) and talk to the staff, parents and riders at the program. We would be able to give you samples of our forms, advise about horses, and information on getting certified instructors. A great website to visit would be the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association at: www.cantra.ca. They are the governing body of Therapeutic Riding in Canada, and they would be able to give you lots of information as well.

Thank you for inquiring about riding for your daughter. We do have certain criteria that we hope most riders can meet, in order to make the riding a beneficial experience for the rider. One of those criteria is that the rider should be able to maintain a sitting position on the horse while it is moving.

We have had tiny riders who at the beginning did not fit this criteria, but who over time were able to gain the strength to do so. A rider who is not able to support their body puts very high physical demands on the horse and the volunteers. So, if the person is tiny, we can sometimes facilitate them until they are able to support themselves. A rider who is larger presents too much risk not only for themselves, but again for the horse and the volunteers.

We evaluate every rider as an individual, so if you think that your daughter is a candidate, we would be happy to meet you both and make an assessment. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions you have, or to arrange a time for us to meet.