I’ve been thinking recently about how much horses bring to our lives (if you haven’t seen “Horse Benefits Part 1: What They Give Us” pop over and check that out before you read this). Although I joke to the parents who point out horses to their children “don’t go there, you’ll be poor” what I should actually be saying is “do it, I can’t think of many better ways of teaching your kids how to deal with life!”
Realism
Horses ground you. You can’t become over confident because they will bring you back down to earth (sometimes literally!) The very fact that half tonne animals allow you to sit on their backs and tell them what to do is humbling.
Resilience
There are maybe more ups and downs with horse sports than with any other because there are always at least two “people” involved. Health issues or injuries, confidence issues, falls and other challenges all require you to develop coping strategies, get back on the horse (again, sometimes literally) and keep going. A valuable life skill!
Discipline
As well as requiring commitment, horses need you to have self control. You can’t let your emotions get out of control because that directly affects your horse. You can’t spontaneously decide to go away for the weekend, stay out all night when you’ve got a show the next day or spend all your money on clothes. You can’t just grab a horse and ride it, it involves so much more than that. Which leads us on to..
Commitment
Riding or keeping horses teaches you commitment. You simply cannot improve in your riding if you don’t commit to it and as for having your own horse, you either have to make a massive financial commitment to get other people to look after your horse or commit excessive amounts of time, energy, blood, sweat and tears to do it yourself, whatever the weather!
What have horses taught you?
Young Hip and Horsey 