How Children Can Benefit From Horse Riding
When it comes to child development, the best way to boost the process is to sign your child to any sports activity. Sports in particular play an important role in child development and where they could get many health benefits.
Sports are great for physical activities and muscle build, mental health, and socialization. With that said, most people choose to push their children in the traditional sports we are used to, such as football, basketball, tennis, swimming, or baseball.
However, horse riding is another activity that isn’t a top choice for parents but it can bring many benefits to your child’s development. Most people consider horse riding to be a dangerous activity that is not meant for children, but that’s wrong.
Horse riding is a safe activity, where apart from the physical exercise, and mental health improvements, it allows a child to make a close connection to the animal which is an exceptional life experience.
With that said, let’s highlight some of the benefits that come with horse riding, and maybe you’ll reconsider your options.
Horse Riding Promotes Physical and Mental Health
Physical activities are crucial for reaching optimal child development, and unlike other sports, horse riding offers unique yet challenging exercise that is great for children. Professional massage therapist explains that horse riding is perfect for building strength, stamina, and better coordination. They also add that horse riding activates a certain group of muscles that are not active in other sports.
Apart from the physical activity benefits, horse riding comes with huge psychological benefits. The bond that develops between the child and the animal is great for reducing anxiety and stress and handling emotions better.
Since most children now suffer from anxiety, this is one of the few sporting activities that can help your child surpass such problems. Horse riding is also used as a therapeutic tool for disabled children bringing many physical and mental benefits.
Improves Social Skills and Building Relationships
One of the reasons why children suffer from anxiety and depression is the lack of social engagement. Due to Covid-19, many children were forced to stay at home and attend school online, which significantly impacted their mental health.
Horse riding is one of the best activities that promote social interaction, especially if your child decides to join a club or ride lessons in groups.
Interacting with other people while riding horses outside of school and their usual social environment, allows children to form a relationship based on an understanding of horses and sharing a similar passion.
Life Experiences
The best way to teach children something new is through life lessons. Even though horse riding is now a safe sport where the horses are trained, and there is always an instructor besides the children, they are still going to feel fear, and tons of other emotions while riding a horse.
This teaches children perseverance, and how to deal with many difficult things in life. Children quickly develop empathy for the horse and that hard work produces success and rewards. All of these are valuable lessons that cannot be learned in school.
Responsibility
One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to teach your children to be more responsible. It is expected of them to avoid responsibilities, especially at a young age, but it is very important to teach them how responsibilities work and why they are important in life.
When you are riding a horse there is a huge amount of responsibility involved. All of these responsibilities start by teaching children to provide horses with their basic needs such as feeding, grooming, and mucking.
It doesn’t matter if you have a horse competing in the Kentucky Derby, or if you are just a casual rider enjoying a stroll with your faithful companion. Horses need caring, and attention and to form a bond with the people riding them.
Horse riding teaches children to put the needs of the horse in the first place which is also an important life lesson. They will apply the same principles and put others before their own needs which develop compassion and empathy.
Improves Confidence
Lack of confidence can lead to many serious mental problems, and horse racing is a great way to improve their self-esteem. The ability to control and ride a big animal like a horse acts as a confidence boost for the child and every little success is considered an achievement that improves their emotional state.
Basically, horse riding is the perfect sporting activity for child development. It improves many things that children need at a young age, and let’s not forget, it is really fun!
