Therapeutic Horse Riding Mounting Platform & Ramp Plans

Teaching Horseback

Riding Lessons

Sally Cochran

(my daughter)

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See note below from Ride Above Disability Therapeutic Riding Center's therapeutic horse riding mounting ramp project.

My daughter, Sally Cochran, owns and operate the Equine Kingdom Riding Academy on their farm in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sally is currently a Level 2 ARIA (American Riding Instructor's Association) instructor certified in Recreational Riding and Hunt Seat on the Flat, a member of AQHA, NCHJA, and PATH Int'l. She became a PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) certified instructor in November 2012. In order to fully implement a therapeutic riding program at Equine Kingdom, it was necessary to install a mounting platform and access ramp that can be used to assist people in wheelchairs and with other disabilities in mounting and dismounting horses.

Commercially made platforms/ramps start at around $5,000, which is far too expensive for an operation like Equine Kingdom. So, I researched some of the government's handicap access requirements and designed the mounting platform and ramp shown below. As you might expect, there are no shortage of regulations. Ramp angle, safety rail height, and spacing between rails should be acceptable to any inspector's measurements, but if you decide to use my plans, I make no guarantee, warranty, or even suggestion that they comply with any regulations. It is up to you to determine fitness for your application.

This is a photo of the completed wooden therapeutic horse riding mounting platform and ramp built at Equine Kingdom Riding Academy . A high-resolution PDF Therapeutic horse riding mounting platform & ramp file is available at no charge (see below), compliments of Equine Kingdom Riding Academy and the Airplanes and Rockets website. The plans are drawn for use on level ground. Sally's land slopes down a little bit from right to left, so we were able to shorten the ramp length by about six feet and still retain the designed angle. If you find these plans useful (they took many hours to draw), please send a note of thanks to Equine Kingdom.

Therapeutic Horse Riding Mounting Platform & Ramp Built at Equine Kingdom Riding Academy

Therapeutic Horse Riding Mounting Platform & Ramp Built at Ride Above Disability Therapeutic Riding Center

Note received from Mr. Wayne Jackson   (January 2015)

"Kirt, Here is your ramp slightly modified.  We made the deck height 33" vice 29", widened it by six inches, omitted some of the hand rails, added offside steps, and reversed it so that the student mount the horse from the left side.  It was easy to build and your plans are amazing.  Thank you so much.  Yours in Service,  Wayne T. Jackson,  Ride Above Disability Therapeutic Riding Center  501(c)(3), Executive Director 858-349-1692,  wayne@radtrc.org

Click here for high-resolution Therapeutic Horse Riding Mounting Platform & Ramp PDF file.

Note: I do not have a detailed parts list.

Posted January 17, 2023
(updated from original post on 4/15/2013)