learning disabilities and riding

stormy's mum

stormy's mum

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Feb 2, 2006
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hi i know there was a similar thread to this a while back but does anyone know if riding could help with spatial awareness problems my friends would like to learn how to ride but has a hard time with judging distances could learning
to ride make it easier to tell distances
 
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I dont see why not. You would imagine the horse wouldnt let him wander too far in the wrong dierection.

Also think of what it s going to do for his central balance and body awareness ect!

Might as well give it a go, you never know he might just get realy good at it!
 
ya he is a she but i suppose the horse i have in mind will be good to her used to be a therapeutic riding center before it shut and hes a good boy might want to keep my friend on the lead though don't want any accidents
 
Spatial awareness

My sister has a learning disabilities as well as a physical disability. She has been riding for over 20 years and now rides internationally. Riding and doing dressage has helped with spatial awareness problems as the arena markers are good for guiding her around the arena. She has learnt to do quite advanced movements through constant repitition - however things can go wrong if the arena at a competition has a different look to the one at home e.g. if a 20 x 60 arena has been shortened into a 20 x 40 and sometimes circles can become square or oval bacause she has lost her focus.

Overall I would recommend riding for someone with spatial awareness problems. It is important for the instructor to be able to explain instructions clearly to someone with learning difficulties and to see things from the rider's point of view.
 
ya its important to be patient so things don't get too frustrating . i have an ld myself and when people talk to fast or are not patient things get kinds hard to manage
 
stormy's mum said:
hi i know there was a similar thread to this a while back but does anyone know if riding could help with spatial awareness problems my friends would like to learn how to ride but has a hard time with judging distances could learning
to ride make it easier to tell distances
Click to expand...

Hi - I'm dyspraxic and, as such, have big problems with spatial awareness (as well as seeing distances and speeds!) TBH, I feel a lot more comfortable on a horse than on foot around people *lol* But I think some of that is becuase I get on better with animals than people ;) I do tend to have a few problems riding circles and getting through small gates, but as a whole if I could spend all my time on a horse i would :D
 
ya she has a had a few lessons yet and besides having a bit of trouble judging where the poles we walk over should go she did really well i jumped at one point an time and could not see the proper distance to the fence
 
Using my Occupational Therapy head (that way it nearly classes as actually writing my assignment, which is what I should be doing), I can't see that it would particularly help with spacial awareness problems.

However, anythign that someone enjoys and feels confident with will have health benefits, as will a physical activity, so sod whether it might help-will it be enjoyed!!!!
 
With time then yes, her spatial awareness and ability to perform movements on a horse, in a school will improve. It's fairly easy to make sure that things are done gradually, and with repetition there is no reason why people with learning difficulties shouldn't be able to ride movements as accurately as people without.
For example, when I first start teaching 20m circles then I usually put out 4 poles - one at A or C, one at X and then two on the sides. Make them all different colours, and then direct the rider to walk over the different coloured poles. If they are still finding this conceptually difficult, then I make a circle with as many cones as I have to so that they can follow the shape around. I gradually take away more and more cones until they're just left with 4, then just one at X to show how far to come out, and then none at all:)
Learning things like how close to get to another pony takes practice as well, but after being corrected a few times (and possibly allowing a couple of very friendly horses to "crash":p ) then they seem to have no more problems than other riders.
However...I honestly don't know whether it will transfer to help with overall spatial awareness or not.
 
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