Horses offer much more than just enjoyment!

That’s right; horses are not just for riding they actually offer much more. Horses are used in a treatment program for disabled humans. It’s called therapeutic horseback riding; therapeutic horseback consists of using horses and equine-assisted activities to help disabled people improve their social, emotional, and physical skills. It also helps improve many other skills as well. It helps the person develop a relationship with the horse and allows them to work together as a team.

Therapeutic horseback rising benefits disabled people because “horses provide a unique neuromuscular stimulation when being ridden through their one of a kind movement.” The movement a horse allows the riders muscles and bones to be moved in the same way as if they were actually on the ground walking by themselves. This improves the riders balance, strength, coordination, flexibility, and even confidence.

Horses also offer championship for disabled people. Many disabled people are cared for by loved ones. In this case the disabled gets to care for a loved one. The disabled can feed, brush, bath and do much more for the horse that the horse can’t do on its own. Although the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding vary upon each person’s disability, motivation, and companionship with the horse, therapeutic horseback riding is way better than an exercise machine. It allows all the muscles to be moved at one time so it is an all in one work out. Whereas, an exercise machine only focus on one muscle group at a time making disabled people spend a lot more time at the gym than they want to.