Why Horses Make the Best Therapists

How the Horse Influences Psychological Goals

Exercise in the fresh air away from cities and towns help to promote a sense of well-being.

Improved Self-Confidence

Confidence is gained by mastering a skill normally performed by able-bodied people. The ability to control an animal much larger and stronger than oneself is a great confidence builder. Participating in events such as shows and play days add to the sense of achievement.

Increased Interest in the Outside World

For those confined by a disability, the world tends to shrink in size. Riding increases interest in what is happening around the rider, as the rider explores the world from the back of a horse. Even exercising becomes interesting when done on horseback.

Increased Interest in One's Own Life

The excitement of riding and the experiences involved stimulate the rider, encouraging the rider to speak and communicate about it.

Improved Risk-Taking Abilities

Riding is a risk sport. The rider learns to master fears though the act of staying on the horse, as well as attempting new skills and positions on the horse.

Development of Patience

Since the horse has a mind of its own, the rider learns patience as he or she attempts to perform skills on the horse when the horse is not cooperating. Repetition of basic riding principles also helps to develop patience.

Emotional Control and Self-Discipline

The rider quickly learns that an out-of-control rider means an out-of-control horse. Shouting, crying, and emotional outbursts upset the horse, which in turn frightens the rider. Riders learn to control these emotions and appropriately express them.

Sense of Normality

By being able to master a skill considered difficult by the able population, the rider experiences him/herself as being normal.

Expansion of the Locus of Control

The rider begins to view him/herself as having control over his/her world as control over a powerful animal increases.

How a Horse Influences Social Goals

Friendship

Although riding can be a solitary activity, it is normally performed in groups. Riders share a common love of horses and a common experience of riding -- a good foundation on which to build a friendship.

Development of Respect and Love for Animals

Horses require a great deal of care and attention. Riders find themselves bonding with the animals. They develop an interest in them and learn to care for them. They learn to put the needs of the horse first.

Increased Experiences

The varieties of experiences involved in riding are endless. From tacking and grooming to hacking in the countryside, going to horse shows to learning the parts of a horse, the rider is constantly experiencing and growing. The horse also provides the rider with the ability to go places otherwise inaccessible due to the disability.

Enjoyment

There is no doubt about it, riding a horse is fun. Riders experience excitement and pleasure every time they come for a lesson

How the Horse Assists in Academic Achievement

Before one can read, it is necessary to recognize the difference in shapes, sizes, and even colors. These can be taught more easily on horseback, as part of games and activities. There is less resistance to learning when it is part of a riding lesson. Through the use of signs placed around the arena, letters can be taught, and reading of individual words by word recognition can also be learned. Games involving signs for "exit", "danger", "stop" etc., help to teach important life skills involving reading.

Counting is learned by counting the horse's footsteps, objects around the arena, or even the horse's ears and legs. Number concepts are gained as the rider compares the number of legs on a horse to the number of his own legs. Addition and subtraction are taught through games involving throwing numbered foam dice and adding or subtracting the numbers. Because the concepts are taught through games, resistance to learning is decreased.

Sequencing, Patterning and Motor Planning

Something as simple as holding and using a pencil requires a great deal of motor planning. Knowing which comes first in a sequence of events is an important part of most activities. These and other similar skills are taught on horseback though the use of obstacle courses, pole bending, drill team, and many other games and activities.

Improved Eye-Hand Coordination

Eye hand coordination is necessary for such skills as writing. These skills are taught in tacking the horse, as well as various activities and exercises.

Visual/Spatial Perception

This includes our awareness of form and space, and our understanding relationships between forms in our environment. Included in this area are directionality (knowing right from left); space perception, which allows us to differentiate between items close in shape but spatially different (i.e. "h" versus "b"); form perception (i.e. differentiating "h" and "m"); figure ground (picking out an object from the background); and visual sequential memory (such as remembering symbols in a particular sequence or pattern). Both reading and math concepts involve visual spatial perception. Visual spatial perception improves as a natural result of control of the horse. Additional exercises are done on the horse to increase ability in this area.

Differentiation

The rider learns to differentiate significant from less significant stimuli in the environment. An improvement in this area occurs as the rider learns to attend to his horse and those things that may influence the horse as opposed to attending the environment in general.