Horse riding therapy | ADHD Information

Our son has gone 2 times they thought he has lessons before I told them no he had not. Individual sports seem to work better for him than the team sports. Team/individual are to improve GM skills also which why Daniel does them.  Hi! I love this topic because I volunteer as a side-walker doing hippotherapy (horse riding).  Most of the kids I see are in the preschool age group.  It is even covered by the First Steps program in my state for early interventions.  Some of the kiddos are ASD, some have low tone and/or coordination problems, some can't walk yet, some are in wheelchairs.  It's a great therapy!  It helps them use muscles to balance and generally helps their coordination.  I'm not an OT or PT, so I don't know all the particulars of how it helps.  But the kiddos come in and do conventional occupational therapy or physical therapy first, then they do the horse riding, then they go do another session of OT or PT.  They also have therapeutic riding for older kids where they get to control the horse with someone walking with them telling them what to do.  It's a great way to develop confidence as well as coordination!

My favorite subject! We own 2 horses and a pony. My son has been riding since he was born......just with in the past year by himself. He was not born a horse nut like me, but he likes them OK. When I started teaching him to ride Gidget by himself, he loved it, he was in CONTROL of something! LOL But he would only last about 10 minutes and wanted off to go play or ride the 4 wheeler or something. Just last week I started taking him out around the neighborhood with me and he LOVES it! He is asking me when are we riding now. But Gidget gave him a little problem last time out, so he is not so gung ho. She did not want to leave the barn......he struggled with her and got her to go though.

I think horseback riding is great therepy if the person enjoys it. I have owned horses my whole life and it has tought me responsability and kept me out of alot of trouble, horse people are good people generally. It's good excersize, outdoor fun, it keeps me SANE!!!!!!!!!

I could go on and on about my horses......I will stop though....