Do you ever wonder if your child is learning the necessary life skills? Are they able to handle real-life situations and have strong problem-solving skills? Not to mention, a really strong core and legs?
Learning to ride horses can create amazing life experiences for children, generate a number of social and physical skills, and mental agility which can help them in their future lives. Ann Swinker, Ph.D., a professor of Animal Science at Penn State University found “Handling, riding, and caring for a horse or pony can develop a host of positive traits in a child including responsibility, accountability, patience, level-headedness, empathy, kindness, and self-discipline.” Riding horses can make children more generous, respectful, and thoughtful.
If you are searching for an exciting sport and at the same time useful for your kids, you cannot find an activity better than horseback riding. To prove my point, here is a list of my favorite reasons why your child could, and should, learn to ride a horse.
Health and Fitness
Riding a horse or pony is great exercise for children and can help get them off the sofa and out into the fresh air. Strong abdominal and lower back muscles are essential for maintaining good standing and sitting positioning. Sitting up and moving on a horse enhances core strength and further enhances muscular development. Riding develops fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and boosts the cardiovascular system. It is also an activity that improves balance and gross motor skills.
Improved Cognitive Abilities
Horseback riding improves learning by activating the sympathetic nervous system and increases memory. Riding also presents children with situations such as: getting around obstacles or dealing with uncertain settings that require problems-solving and quick thinking. Focus and control are further developed the more children ride. For younger children, the simple task of counting ears, legs, and hoof-beats boost both learning and fun.
Emotional Benefits
One of the first things that a young rider learns is to act confidently. Horses are very sensitive to the emotions of their riders and will often mirror these emotions. If the rider appears frightened of something, the horse senses this and will feel the fear as well. As the child progresses in their horseback riding skills, they develop self-confidence and self-assurance. Horseback riding teaches empathy, kindness, and treating others with a gentle hand. Children also learn patience while dealing with a horse or pony.
Social Benefits
Children are naturally attracted to horses making them a welcome alternative to TV-watching, video-game-playing, social-media-obsessing, or just hanging out. If you choose horseback riding as a regular activity for your child, he or she will eventually meet new friends. Children who ride horses achieve goals through hard work and determination which in turn teaches responsibility and accountability. The adage “get back on the horse” teaches children to face their fears and to keep trying. Participating in consistent equestrian or horseback riding activities can help to develop strong character as well as cultivate priceless life skills in children.
Horse Therapy
Spending time with her horses can be incredibly therapeutic for children with special needs. For those on the autism spectrum, horses facilitate an emotional connection while providing structure. Riding also offers sensory benefits in regard to speed, incline, and movement. Horses provide children struggling with behavioral issues by creating a safe place that calms aggressiveness, nervousness, and anxiety by allowing them to slow down and unwind.
In our hectic and overstimulated world, we could all use an activity that slows us down and allows us to take in the scenery. Giving our children the opportunity to decompress and connect with something outside themselves is so rewarding.
