Horses And Children With Special Needs

By: Greg Lucas

I want a pony. That simple sentence has been uttered from many children’s lips over the years. A horse can be a great pet for a child. They learn about love, companionship, nurturing, relationships, and responsibility from owning their own pony or horse.

But no children benefit more from horses than those with special needs. Different types of needs are dealt with in different ways with horses and children.

One of the ways that horses benefit these special needs children is called Hippotherapy. According to medical experts “Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational and speech therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement. Hippotherapy is utilized as part of an integrated treatment program to achieve functional outcomes.”

“In Hippotherapy, the patient engages in activities on the horse that are enjoyable and challenging. Specific riding skills are not taught, but rather a foundation is established to improve neurological function and sensory processing.”

Children with “improved sensory processing”, a disease which causes extreme discomfort to all five senses can learn to cope through interaction with horses. Children with cerebral palsy can learn to deal with their physical challenges through horseback riding as well.

Children who have physical disabilities benefit from mounting and riding horses because it stretches their muscles and has been known to improve posture dramatically. Riding a horse actually simulates the action of walking, so children who cannot walk on their own gain the benefits of walking by riding a horse.

Children benefit in other ways as well. The simple acts of washing and grooming a horse can be therapeutic. It can also tech them motor skills, social skills, and responsibility. A child learns that their horse needs their care as much as they need the care the horses can give them.

If your child has visual problems, hearing problems, physical or even emotion and mental issues, consider the therapeutic benefits of a program that uses horses to help children with these special needs. If you know of a program that does this in your area, please support them generously. These children need the programs that allow them to interact and learn with horses.

The skills they obtain benefit them throughout their entire life. It improves their quality of life as a child as they lean to be more confident, learn motor skills, and learn how to move their body through space. The latter can lead to participation in other extracurricular activities your child needs.

All of this leads to better social skills and behavior as well as improving their lack of self-esteem because of their inability to do certain things. It shows them what they CAN do, rather than what they cannot do.

I hope this article encourages you to get your child enrolled in a program that allows them to be around horses. Even if your child has no special needs or disabilities, the benefit of learning the skills of horseback riding and the care of horses is irreplaceable. Some say man’s best friend is a dog. I know horses would disagree.

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