8 Physical and psychological benefits of horse riding

Physical and psychological benefits of horse riding

For some, horse riding is a sport or a hobby, while for others it means recreation and a good vacation on horseback.

Traveling through places on these incredible animals has a charm and produces positive impacts on the mind and the body. On the back of a horse you contemplate nature from within the landscape.

Just as, equine therapy uses horses in the physical or psychological rehabilitation of people and to promote the integral development of the person. An important element that equine therapy uses is the leveling character of the horse, since the horse will not make a difference between a healthy rider and a rider who is not. In other words, it places all people equally and this favors the inclusion of people with problems or with some kind of disability.

Nuria Gómez, a therapist from the Equinoterapia como terapia Association, listed 8 physical benefits of this discipline for the Spanish newspaper El País.

Physical benefits of horse riding

It improves vertical and horizontal balance.
The trunk is kept upright, which favours posture control and helps to correct it.
It regulates muscle tone.
It promotes blood circulation.
It reduces spasticity (contracted muscles).
By having to be alert to possible changes in the horse's rhythm, it promotes fine and gross motor coordination, reflexes and motor planning.
It improves the perception of the body schema and promotes the acquisition of laterality.
It helps release endorphins, which helps rejuvenate the body and reduces stress problems.

Now you know: Instead of spending hours in the gym, get on a horse and ride in the open countryside! Not only will this help you relax, but the more you do it, the more physical and psychological benefits you will notice in your daily life.

If you can, travel through other countries or regions on horseback doing equestrian tourism, which will allow you to discover other impressive landscapes and fill yourself with the wisdom of other cultures.

Horses are sociable animals

Horses are extremely sensitive animals. The brain of horses functions in some aspects in a similar way to the human mind. It has evolved to allow them to survive in their position as prey in the face of predators.

They experience emotions such as fear, which allows them to react instantly, making use of what is called the “flight instinct”, when faced with the unknown or a frightening situation, which allows them to quickly get away from danger. When we see an upset horse, we should understand that it is upset because it is experiencing fear, and not because it is showing aggression.

Horses are very sociable, so they need to be in relationship and contact with other horses or with human beings. The horse enjoys your company.

Through interaction with horses, humans are able to experience psychological benefits from getting closer to these animals, especially if they do an activity such as horse riding.

What psychological benefits do you get from horse riding?

Being in contact with a horse encourages trust, self-control of emotions and also improves self-esteem. It also helps regulate stress levels.
It improves concentration and attention span and, therefore, has a positive impact on memory.
Having the animal under our control helps improve attention span and instills feelings such as respect and responsibility.
It provides new knowledge.
It favors the location in space and time.
It helps socialization with other people, since this type of activity is often done in a group.
It favors empathic connection, unblocking psychological obstacles.
It increases the amount of endorphins produced by the body, which helps to reduce depression and generate great feelings of joy and relaxation.

As we can see, horse riding has many benefits that are very useful for solving the problems of modern life.

Riding a horse is therapeutic and fills us with joy. At the same time, it is an excellent way to enjoy wonderful landscapes while being in contact with nature and a wonderful animal.

Don't doubt that horse riding will help you get in shape!

Let's live the adventure!