2 February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 62
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HORSEWEEK
FARMWEEK
MAY 28 2020
Thank you, Enniskillen RDA Group
OLIVER Hanley
from Enniskillen,
Co. Fermanagh
wishes to express
his thanks to
the Riding for
the Disabled
Association for
the wonderful
opportunities that
his son Kalem has
enjoyed through his
attendance at the
Enniskillen Group.
MADAM,
My name is Oliver
Hanley. My son
Kalem, who was
born with Downs
Syndrome, faced
so many barriers
in his early life.
Then one day, after
a conversation
with a member of
the Riding for the
Disabled Association
(RDA), Kalem had
the opportunity to
start attending RDA’s
Enniskillen Group.
Since Kalem
started riding
with the RDA, he
has achieved so
much. He had poor
coordination, low
muscle tone and
very little social
interaction with
other people.
WELL TURNED OUT: Kalem represented the
Enniskillen RDA Group at Dublin Horse Show.
(FW22-505NN)
Through riding with
the Association,
Kalem has turned
his life around. He
is a lovely, friendly
and happy young
man, who will have
his 23rd birthday
this year. After his
challenging start in
life, he has managed
to win many
trophies, medals
and rosettes. More
importantly, riding
with RDA has given
him the condence
to develop, still
achieving in many
ways. Kalem now
has a great social life
involved in various
groups and works
in a supermarket
while still attending
college.
I got involved
helping with the
Enniskillen RDA and
I have totally enjoyed
meeting other
volunteers. We enjoy
TEAM SPIRIT: Kalem riding at Dublin Horse Show assisted by
Enniskillen RDA Group volunteers - leader, Barbara Lunny and side
walkers, Maeve Lunny and Marina Kidney. (FW22-506NN)
the social aspect
and I continue to do
my bit in helping to
raise funds for RDA.
I am now a trustee
member of our
Group, with which I
am very proud to be
associated.
I love the fact that
Kalem has achieved
so much and that
it was recognised
by his school every
time he took part
in competitions
or won awards. A
highlight was the
Regional Dressage
Competition
at Danescroft,
qualifying for
the RDA National
Championships
at Hartpury,
Gloucestershire.
Other highlights
were representing
Northern Ireland
RDA at the Royal
Dublin Society Horse
Show and then at
the Irish Special
Olympics, when he
won bronze and gold
medals.
As a parent, I am
always bursting with
pride at how Kalem’s
life has turned out to
be full of happiness,
achievements and
smiles. I am proud to
be part of the RDA.
Little did I think
that I would still be
actively involved in
volunteering 17 years
after Kalem started
riding. It is the most
enjoyable experience
possible, seeing the
smiles on children’s
faces, as we help
them on the fullling
journey that Kalem
has enjoyed - and of
course to help the
children, RDA always
needs volunteers!
From Kalem and
me, thank you RDA.
Yours etc,
ABOUT RDA IN NORTHERN IRELAND
RDA NI is a federation of 30 registered
charities who provide riding, carriage
driving and vaulting opportunities to
people of all ages with physical disabilities
and/or learning difculties across Northern
Ireland. This is only possible because of our
band of about 700 volunteers, who provide
services to about 1,000 participants each
year. More volunteers from the age of 12
upwards are always welcome, please see
the website for contact details: https://
ridingforthedisabledni.org/ or phone the
Regional Chairman Julie Frazer on 028
2588 0584 for more information.
WE have all endured a lengthy
lockdown and, for some of us,
that has meant that we have not
been able to visit our beloved
horses and ponies at all. Even
if you have been lucky enough
to spend time with them during
the last few weeks, a lot of
horses have been turned out
to relax in the field, while we
have concentrated on keeping
ourselves and our loved ones
safe and well.
Now that lockdown is easing
and we have a little bit more
freedom, we can start to work on
building our horses fitness levels
back up again in a measured and
controlled way. For those horses
that have been out of work, they
may have lost some of their
muscle, so they will need time to
get back into the same condition
as they were beforehand.
Here at Old Mill Saddlery, we
have our own branded range
of Training Aids that can help
with this when used as part of a
structured exercise programme,
such as the OMS Elastic Side
Reins, OMS Training PU Surcingle
Roller and the OMS Elastic
Bungie Training Rein, which can
be used in several positions on
the horse whilst riding or lunging.
If you decide to use these when
lunging, then we also stock our
own OMS Cushion Web Lunge
Rein with Trigger Clip and OMS
Lunging Strap, which can be
alongside the training rein.
Always ensure that new training
aids are introduced gradually and
for short periods of time at the
start to avoid injury.
PREPARATION: Kalem riding ‘Kanga’ (owned
by Sarah Langham) at Tempo Manor, held by
Maeve Hannon, as they prepared for the Irish
Special Olympics. (FW22-507NN)
CAFRE to provide free online
equine health course for industry
T
HE College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise
(CAFRE) is seeking participants for a free online
Equine Health course next month.
The course is designed to give anyone who has an equine
interest a good base knowledge in a range of health topics.
An Introduction to Equine Health, will start on June
15, 2020 and will run over four weeks. The course
will cover a range of subjects including equine body
systems, recognising signs of good and poor health in the
horse, common equine conditions and equine wounds.
Participants can access the interactive lectures at any
time during the scheduled course, at a time and place
which suits them.
As part of the course, there will also be two live webinar
sessions, which will further add to participant’s knowledge.
Upon completion of the course, all participants will gain a
certicate of completion from CAFRE.
Participants must enrol online by Tuesday, June 9 by
following this link: www.cafre.ac.uk/ industry-support/
industry-training/ and clicking on Equine. When
registering on the CAFRE website, please ensure to enrol
on the courses after setting up an initial CAFRE log in. A
good internet connection is all that is necessary for this
course.
Light at the end of the tunnel
ONLINE COURSE: CAFRE is running a free online Equine
Health course to give anyone who has an equine interest a
good base knowledge in a range of health topics.
(FW21-527NN)
MORE MUSCLE:
Equine America
More Muscle
pellets are just one
of the supplements
stocked at Old
Mill Saddlery to
encourage equine
muscle growth.
(FW22-500NN)
To help encourage muscle
growth, we stock a range of
Balancers that can be fed on
their own or in addition to your
horse’s normal feed to give
them an extra boost of protein
and vitamins. These include
Baileys Lo Cal Balancer, Baileys
Performance Balancer, Baileys
Stud Balancer and Bluegrass
Stamm 30.
If you do not want to add any
extra feed to your horse or
pony’s diet, then a supplement
may be a better option for you.
We have Equine America More
Muscle pellets, Stonebridge
Muscle Plus, Horse First Back to
Form and Horse First My Muscle
to name just a few.
We are currently making big
changes to our retail store to
make shopping safe for both
our customers and staff. As well
as making things safer, we are
also having a revamp and we
can’t wait to unveil our new look
to all our loyal customers in the
next couple of weeks. While this
work is going on, we are only
open to the public on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 1pm3pm. Any updates to these hours
will be on our Facebook page,
our website: www.saddlery.biz
or you can call us on 028 9335
3268 to check or place an order.
Our website is also still taking
orders and we are shipping them
out on a daily basis.
Old Mill Saddlery would like to
take this opportunity to thank
our customers for their support
and custom and hope that you all
continue to stay safe and well.
