Do you know that horse riding improves mental health? Well, if you don’t you would be able to say “yes” from now on. As per the study conducted in 2017, about 267 million people in the world were suffering from depression, and who knows who many cases go unnoticed, untreated, or even unreported.
Horse riding is not just a physical exercise that improves core strength, circulation, flexibility, balance, coordination, and tone muscles it impacts our mental health as well. Horse riding is often recommended when none of the suggested therapeutic activities are working. Horse riding may not cure depression but it does help in minimizing the attack.
In this article today, we are going to discuss in detail how horse riding improves our mental health. Starting with the most Googled question,
Can horse riding improve mental health?
Yes, horse riding does help in improving mental health. Horse riding has proven to work for people suffering from ADD, anxiety, autism, depression, and dementia, etc. It alone can not cure the disease but it can improve the victim’s condition and minimize depression attacks to some extent. Moreover, it also improves the chances of recovery.
Horse riding can not only be taken as a “recreational activity”, ” physical exercise” but a “therapy” as well. As the awareness is being spread, more depression victims are opting for it. Still, sounding cliche that it improves your mental health? Let’s clear your doubts away and help you in knowing how it improves our mental health.
By allowing us to be “in charge”
Horse riding gives us control of a horse. The sense of having full control gives satisfaction and hope that you still have the charge and time to turn your life around.
By reducing stress
Horse riding gives the person suffering from depression a break from a daily tiring routine. It allows you to get out of the bubble, take fresh air, and gives you a chance to see majestic sunrise, and sunset. As per the research, spending quality time with animals releases a hormone called “serotonin” that directly assists in reducing stress levels and eventually improving mood.
By allowing you to shift your focus
Horse riding is not merely a recreational activity that requires your hands, legs, and the other parts of your body in a certain order or position. It’s a great mental exercise as well because it keeps your focus on the horse, road, and the riding. In between controlling the horse with hands/feed and mind, the rider unintentionally shifts his/her focus on being productive.
By teaching you a new skill
We feel good when we accomplish something, don’t we? We all know how to sit and get the horse moving and it’s not a skill we can brag about. Frequent horse riding can teach you the actual horse riding skills i.e. how to tie, groom, lead the horse.
Moreover, it improves physical health that directly impacts mental health as when you look good you feel good.
In brief, horse riding improves our mental health by allowing us to come out of the bubble to be productive and to learn something new. It gives the chance to inhale the fresh air, see the sunsets and sunrises that are proven to put a ray of hope in the victim’s mind.