When I first came to RDA I had many mental health issues that were destroying my life and my families life completely. I wasn’t very happy and felt like everyone hated me. That all changed when I came to RDA. When I first started my course I was given Toby which I first met galloping round paddock having the time of his life and I was offered to have him for my course. I cant explain how much I love him in words and I know he loves me too because in the paddock, even when I was catching another horse, he’d walk up to me and wrap his neck around me when I was patting him. It made me cry for hours on end when I learned that he went lame and left and I still miss him to this day and I will never forget him till the day I die. I always loved going to my course because it was just so much fun and you grow to love your horse so much. The thing I took away from RDA is responsibly, kindness and I began to love life again. I also improved in my overall behavior and showed much more respect for other people and animals (adults words not mine!). It made me feel loved and needed by such a big animal, which I think its how I came to be so responsible and I can prove it as I am now a volunteer at RDA, SPCA, and Parent to parent. All of them trust me now and tell my mum of what a wonderful kid I am, (which I wasn’t 6 mouths ago).
At school I before the course I had 0 friends and wandered the school alone waiting for someone to tease me and get into a fight and I sank deep into depression and had and extreme anxiety problems according to my shrink. But on the course I was with kids with similar problems and I learnt new social skills and to deal with my problems a different way. I don t know how I developed social skills but I made many new friends and you rarely see me alone anymore. The skills I have learned at RDA have turn my life around dramatically and I can never thank then enough. I know the path I was following was a path that was going to get me thrown in jail and believe me, many tried to take me off that path with shrinks groups, and I just wouldn’t listen. RDA changed my life and now my path leads to a brighter future and I’m looking forward to it.