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Teach Children Healthy Habits and Discipline with Horses

Horses are beautiful, responsive creatures. Owning horses teaches us self-discipline and how to care for others. That is why so many families take on the burden of owning horses for their children. And there are other reasons, like physical health and mental effects. Horses also serve as companions and how to love, especially when the horse barns are close by.

The Science Daily highlighted another interesting benefit. On March 2, 2017, the magazine reported research published in “Frontiers in Public Health” on the effects of vibrations experienced while riding horses. “Studies shows how the effects of horseback riding to improve learning in children.” The vibrations produced during horse riding activates the sympathetic nervous system and improves learning in children.

How Horse Riding Affects Children

Researchers sought to understand exactly how horseback riding affects humans. They already knew there were positive responses to physical and mental health. They discovered that movements created by horses improved cognitive responses to computerized questions generated through the Go/No-go test. This test assesses the ability to respond appropriately in various situations. The child’s response could be performing an action or demonstrating self-control or discipline.

Horse Movements

What types of movements are generated by horses? The report put it this way. “One important characteristic of the first steps is that they produce three-dimensional accelerations. The movement of the horse’s pelvis may provide motor and sensory inputs to the human body….”

Brain-Based Skills Enhanced

It seems that situational awareness improved although mathematical computations did not seem to render a similar increase in heart rate and agility. The researchers surmised that arithmetic problems are simpler than behavioral problems. Math does not activate the sympathetic nervous system in the same manner. Horse riding may improve brain-based skills, opening the way for enhanced learning and memory plus the ability to solve problems.

Animal Interactions Affect Non-Verbal Communication

One of the researchers, Mitsuaki Ohta of the Tokyo University of Agriculture, also suggests that interaction with horses and other animals gives the child the ability to “appreciate and respond to complex emotional influences and nonverbal communication.” And there’s nothing like the good habits formed while feeding and grooming the horse—and cleaning the stalls and barns.

Colorado Builders Specializing in Horse Barns

For information about horse barns, pole buildings, pole barns, and metal buildings for Storage, Hobbies, Farm & Ranch, Livestock, Equestrian, and Commercial uses, contact Sapphire Construction, Inc. at (303) 619-7213. Our team custom designs each building using high-quality, engineer-tested materials from Lester Buildings.