Horse-riding can improve children's cognitive ability

[Fenris]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170302115822.htm

Recent research shows that the effects of vibrations produced by horses during horse-riding lead to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which improves learning in children.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Interesting because my nearly 8yr old has ridden from 18 months and she is years ahead maturity wise of her peers. Very intelligent and good at solving problems and has an unbelievable memory. Maths is her weakest thing.

 

[Art Nouveau]

I've got a friend who's recently adopted and has been advised to take her daughter for riding lessons due to the cognitive benefit

 

[Orangehorse]

Well we know that riding helps disabled children and adults through Riding for the Disabled, so it is logical that riding has benefits for all children.

 

[teapot]

Well we know that riding helps disabled children and adults through Riding for the Disabled, so it is logical that riding has benefits for all children.

Quite. Incredible what these full studies find out isn't it?

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Shame this post has only just been posted. I could have let eldest son go to the XC rally that was on during the other county's half term week and explained to the head teacher that it was benefiting his education!

 

[alainax]

Excellent, a new "reason" to buy more ponies

One of the magazines had a good article about all the benifts children get from being around horses, not just the riding or fitness aspect. Things like patience, understanding, responsibility, respect etc.

 

[EmmasMummy]

Strangely I have not found this with my daughter. I had hoped that she would have gained more from it.

 

[Tnavas]

I used to have a eenager ride at the riding school from a special needs school - riding was his reward for good behaviour - it worked really well - he developed a great rapport with his horse, developed the responsibility of grooming hi, tacking up and taking care of the horses needs after his lesson. He came to me for around 5 years - his teaches said that his behaviour had improved so much.

 

[rachk89]

I am not overly sure I agree with his proposed theory for why horse riding helps learning. The sympathetic nervous system is primarily used as a flight or fight response, amongst other things. I guess he is suggesting that an increase in this response will trigger a quicker rate of input of information making you quicker at solving problems, although its been worded a bit badly. Any activity will increase learning though, any sport will improve heart rate so blood gets around the body better, oxygen reaches the brain better, the brain can then work properly. Just watch a formula 1 driver doing a reflex test, they are brilliant at it, but their bodies are trained to be brilliant at it. They are very healthy, but so are most kids who do sports.

I think its more due to horse riding being incredibly difficult to do because you have so much to think about mentally and so much to do physically. Your body is on overdrive just trying to figure it all out, especially at that age when they don't know what they are doing, nothing is an automatic response yet. You would need to test against professional riders really to see if they do as well improvement wise on the test, because everything is automatic to them, they don't have to think when riding, they react.

 

[Red-1]

When I was at school in the '70s my Mum was told that they thought I was dyslexic, before it was a well known thing.

Once I started riding it all got a lot better. I knew that I felt different when I had been riding, it was very important to me.

A few years later mum saw a TV program on how Dyslexia could be helped with a sort of mechanised wobble board. It was a millionaire whose daughter was dyslexic who had funded a big project. I seem to recollect that it was to do with the girl looking at a stationary spot on the wall, and having to keep her gaze steady while the board moved.

I thought that was rather like sitting on a moving horse whilst keeping your gaze steady on the horizon, or jump, or whatever you were looking at.

I remember there were brain scans to prove there was physically a difference with the steady gaze and moving wobble board. I think she spent an hour or two on the exercise daily.

I wish I could remember enough detail to look it up, as I now work in a school with kids who have difficulty with developing reading and writing skills. If anyone knows more about it, I would be delighted. Who knows, I could build a business case for actual riding to be on the curriculum ;-) although the purchase or Heath Robinson acquisition of a motorised wobble board would be more likely.

Mum had always told me it was rubbish when I said I felt different and better after riding, after watching the program she apologised.

 

[Fenris]

When I was at school in the '70s my Mum was told that they thought I was dyslexic, before it was a well known thing.

Once I started riding it all got a lot better. I knew that I felt different when I had been riding, it was very important to me.

A few years later mum saw a TV program on how Dyslexia could be helped with a sort of mechanised wobble board. It was a millionaire whose daughter was dyslexic who had funded a big project. I seem to recollect that it was to do with the girl looking at a stationary spot on the wall, and having to keep her gaze steady while the board moved.

I thought that was rather like sitting on a moving horse whilst keeping your gaze steady on the horizon, or jump, or whatever you were looking at.

I remember there were brain scans to prove there was physically a difference with the steady gaze and moving wobble board. I think she spent an hour or two on the exercise daily.

I wish I could remember enough detail to look it up, as I now work in a school with kids who have difficulty with developing reading and writing skills. If anyone knows more about it, I would be delighted. Who knows, I could build a business case for actual riding to be on the curriculum ;-) although the purchase or Heath Robinson acquisition of a motorised wobble board would be more likely.

Mum had always told me it was rubbish when I said I felt different and better after riding, after watching the program she apologised.

Is tis what you mean?

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/jan/21/schools.uk2

Seems there are some for it and some against looking at other articles. Might be that it depends on the cause of the problem and that it works for some causes and not for others?

 

[Fenris]

I wonder if the problems with dyslexia ( and maybe other things as well) are due to children not being allowed to go outside and play like they used to? Are dyslexia rates higher for those living in blocks of flats for instance? Or in cities?

Outside time is linked to normal vision development for instance.

http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-i...ghtedness-particularly-in-teens-young-adults/

 

[Red-1]

Is tis what you mean?

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/jan/21/schools.uk2

Seems there are some for it and some against looking at other articles. Might be that it depends on the cause of the problem and that it works for some causes and not for others?

Yes, this is about the same people, although when I heard about it there was just the man's daughter I think, not the school. Thank you for finding it!

 

[EventingMum]

I wonder if the problems with dyslexia ( and maybe other things as well) are due to children not being allowed to go outside and play like they used to? Are dyslexia rates higher for those living in blocks of flats for instance? Or in cities?

Outside time is linked to normal vision development for instance.

http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-i...ghtedness-particularly-in-teens-young-adults/

I really don't think so, my son is very dyslexic and was outside all the time as a child playing in dirt, riding ponies and playing with ducks, hens and lambs virtually every day and yet his dyslexia has been a major hurdle for him. I was told there is often a hereditary factor and often also a trigger such as trauma at birth. As my OH is also dyslexic and our son had a a very traumatic birth with a huge question mark over whether or not he was brain damage for his first year I am tempted to think these factors probably accounted for his dyslexia.