Looking after and engaging with animals offers numerous established health advantages
Engaging with animals offers children companionship, comfort, and a profound sense of well-being. It’s hardly astonishing that animals have been employed in therapeutic roles throughout history.
Research indicates that a horse’s pelvic motion closely resembles that of a human, delivering sensory input to the brain and nervous system. Beyond its physical advantages, horse riding can also be instrumental in addressing an array of mental health challenges and learning disabilities.
All of our sessions are one to one (except if you’d like family or friends to interact. You don’t have to have an official diagnosis to enjoy our horses, we are open to any child who may be struggling for whatever reason.
Education and growth facilitated by horses
The knowledge and skills acquired through interactions with horses can be applied to everyday life, fostering greater independence among individuals with special needs. Horses offer a unique avenue for learning that aligns with a child’s cognitive development, enabling them to engage with and store knowledge more effectively.
These sessions hold particular significance for children who possess a genuine affinity for horses—children who demonstrate cooperation, communication, and concentration primarily when in the company of animals. For these children, horses serve as a gateway to learning, especially for young individuals grappling with learning difficulties and disabilities. Horses may represent their sole opportunity to experience independence in adulthood.
Children with special needs Can acquire life skills through activities that resonate with their interests and passions
Horsemanship lessons foster this connection and can transform children who face challenges in a traditional classroom setting into enthusiastic learners.
Every aspect of the stable, from the tack room to the feed room and arena, serves as an educational setting. The crucial factor is that children are intrinsically motivated to acquire knowledge because of their deep affection for horses. They engage in effective communication and attentive listening because they have a genuine passion for what they are doing. In this context, they absorb a comprehensive skill set that empowers them to exert greater control over their lives. For instance, they develop numeracy skills through activities such as weighing feeds and correctly fitting horse rugs, while their literacy skills expand as they become familiar with each horse’s name. Additionally, riding contributes to improved kinesthesia, enhancing their coordination and balance.
In this interactive environment, children also gain insights into concepts related to shapes, distances, speech, and language, as horses stimulate brain regions associated with these skills.
Skills honed through practice and repetition are of immense value
Horses can help in many ways. Consistent practice and repetition play a pivotal role in many therapeutic approaches, and horses naturally inspire individuals to sustain this effort, often without them realising it. The routines and sequences involved in horse-related activities, performed day in and day out, are especially beneficial for children with learning disabilities, as they facilitate effective learning and retention. Horses inherently encompass elements of occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, and aromatherapy.
Engaging in equine therapy enables children to cultivate essential skills, including effective communication, self-control, problem-solving, and accountability. It also fosters the development of self-esteem, empathy, flexibility, and independence. This therapeutic approach offers children the opportunity to explore their capabilities, adopt fresh perspectives, and address negative behaviours. For instance, working with horses can help them recognise self-defeating thought patterns or detrimental behavioural habits contributing to their challenges, opening the door to proactive solutions.
Equine therapy sessions are meticulously designed to help children overcome any initial discomfort, empowering them to establish and nurture a meaningful bond with the horse. Collaborating with horses demands qualities like patience, understanding, discipline, and responsibility. Horses’ varying moods, from stubbornness to playfulness, teach children the valuable traits of adaptability, innovation, and openness to adjusting their behaviour as circumstances evolve.
How does Equine Therapy help?
There are many ways in which it can benefit people, including:
- Alleviating stress and anxiety.
- Enhancing self-esteem, confidence, and trust.
- Fostering communication and the spirit of sharing.
- Promoting mental and physical well-being.
- Establishing a tangible connection to animals and the natural world.
- Effectively managing emotions.
- Cultivating empathy.
- Facilitating the development of meaningful relationships.
- Delivering physical advantages through riding, such as building muscle strength, mobility, coordination, and balance.
- Lowering blood pressure.
- Accelerating recovery periods.
- Triggering the release of endorphins, particularly beneficial for individuals dealing with depression or loneliness.
- And, perhaps most importantly, spreading happiness and making smiles happen!
Are you Ready for a PET A Pony Therapy Session?
Get in touch to find out more.