The many emotional benefits of horse riding

by Grace Harawira on 20-04-2015 Kids Health & Fitness
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The many emotional benefits of horse riding

Horses have a hard to explain alluring attraction to girls. Whether it has something to do with the power and freedom riding a horse gives to a young child or the bond that takes place between a child and their horse, horse riding has many lifetime benefits for your kids that you may want to start paying attention to their on-going petition to take horse riding lessons.

  1. Nurturing skills
    The first thing your kid will learn is that caring for horses is very hard work. The physical fitness level and how well a horse is being look after has a large impact on a horse’s performance and lifespan. Apart from learning the proper techniques in riding a horse, Riding Coaches and Instructors will also teach your child the essential skills and responsibilities in keeping horses in good condition - everything from how to groom their horse to looking after the shelter. These are all important nurturing skills that teaches a child how to care for and look after those around them. In return, their horses will provide them with unconditional acceptance, as well as emotional support for their young caretaker.

  2. Teamwork skills
    In the beginning of horse riding lessons, your child may show signs of frustration or defeat because it takes time and a lot of patience to develop a strong bond with a horse. There needs to be good teamwork and coordination between the child and their horse. Your child will learn to be attentive to their horse and to process different visual, tactile and auditory cues. Overtime, your child will develop their own method and style in communicating with their horse.

  3. Build self confidence
    With their big stature, horses can look intimidating to children. During horse riding lessons your child will learn the techniques required to handle their horse. When a child can confidently handle and ride their horse on their own, it often provides a big boost in their confidence level. The boost in self confidence will not only help their riding techniques but also help your child to feel more confident in other areas such as school and social situations.

  4. Learn not to get defeated by mistakes
    It’s important for kids to learn from a young age how to learn from mistakes and not get defeated and affected by them because this will help to build up their persistence level to keep working on something until they succeed. Horse riding is no exception. Kids will learn how to overcome the fear of falling or getting hurt by their horse and keep trying until they feel confident to ride on their own.

  5. Respect
    Horses can be very dangerous if not handled with proper care and manner. Your child needs to display patience and learn how their horse would best like to be treated to gain trust. Once a horse trust and respect your child, they’ll start building what could perhaps become an important relationship in each other’s lives.

  6. Social Skills
    By now you probably have a good idea of how much commitment and patience horse riding takes from a child. This is why horse riding often becomes a lifetime hobby or passion for many people as it becomes a big part of their lives growing up. This also means that a child that grew up with horse riding would often befriend those that share the same passion in horse riding. There are also regular horse riding school activities that takes place around town for your kids to participate in and meet other young horse lovers.

Horse riding is a great activity for kids with lifetime benefits so I hope the above points will help to convince you to give your kids a try at horse riding. Our active activities also has more information on Horse Riding Associations, Riding Schools and Riding Venues.

Grace Harawira

Grace Harawira is a thirty-something Mum and all round creative type. She cares for her three young children in their Wellington home, in between blogging for ActiveActivities and working on a novel she has had in the works for years. She hopes she can inspire other Mums to carry on following their dreams, as well as raising kids that get lots of exercise and quality family time.