Guest
Editorial -
Why girls need ponies
Why do little girls love horses in the first
place?
Horses are big. Horses are beautiful. Horses can make great
friends. Horses are magical.
Horses are very empowering. Riding horses teaches girls to be
natural leaders in societies where many stimulus shout the opposite.
Horses require a “take charge” attitude from the
rider. Horses need riders to stand up, take control, and be
outspoken. Horses require character and confidence, and for
a little girl, horses are the anti-timid medicine they crave.
Additionally, horses allow girls unique competitive experiences.
Horse and rider are a TEAM. This team bond between horse and
rider is one that is special, thoughtful, fulfilling, and in
more ways that it isn’t, SAFE. And though horse and rider
are a team, the rider is in charge. The rider, in her ability
to pilot, communicate, and command is responsible for the team’s
performance. With just proper training, horse riding is a very
skilled activity little girls can do ALL BY THEMSELVES. Horse
riding takes confidence, and it builds confidence.
Learning to fail and learning from failure is also an important
part of horseback riding. Little girls often have a fear of
failure that seems to be somewhat built in to their being. Learning
how to ride horses requires failure, struggles, and mistakes.
Overcoming fears, mistakes, and failures takes patience and
determination. Little girls will learn that with time, great
things DO happen.
Horses bring another important quality to a young girl, individuality,
which is sometimes so scarce in a suburban landscape. Often
times, young girls are trying to figure out who they are, what
they stand for, how they think, how they work, and how they
act. So many young girls aren’t able to effectively express
themselves, and with the big group activities that EVERYONE
else participating in, how can a young girl feel like she stands
out from the crowd?
Horseback riding not only gives a little girl the ability to
be herself, it allows her to figure herself out in so many ways.
She doesn’t have to dress like the other 40 soccer players;
she doesn’t have to act like the other group of girls
who are all doing the same thing, without any true passion for
what they are doing. Following the pack is something that seems
almost necessary for most young girls. Brownies, Girl Scouts,
and softball are not only giant group activities, they are also
activities that require conformity. With team sports, or other
group think activities, no one really stands out, and no one
is really different. Is that a good message to be sending any
young person?
Whether on the ground or in the saddle, horse piloting takes
a charm, a style. And to everyone, their horse piloting is unique.
And sure, in sects (and albeit highly touted, pressure filled
sects), horse riding too can become about conformity (big horse
shows, Hunters, snooty barns), but unmolested, horsemanship
is sheer freedom (and to the adults, isn’t it sad how
the word ‘freedom’ has become molested over the
last eight years?).
Horses invoke freedom, strength, and confidence, naturally.
The most important path to enriching a little girl’s life
with horses is through her teenage years. With financial and
emotional support, if a girl can get into horses early and be
encouraged to stay with it, outside, recreational activities
that could end up causing real problems in her life fade to
the background.
Most teenage girls I knew who rode horses weren’t interested
in boys (at least not to the degree of non-horse teenage girls)
weren’t interested in parties, drinking, drugs, and other
activities that are often a result of boredom. Healthy curiosity
and experimentation was natural, but horses always came first,
and personal, responsible decisions were made because of horses.
“I can’t go to that party because I have a horse
show that weekend,” or “I can’t sneak out
and go drinking with my friends because I have an early lesson.”
Horses are a huge positive distraction when there are plenty
of negative distractions constantly bombarding the teenage girl.
Finding the right barn with other children around is important,
not so much for interaction, but for the general environment.
Kids also need to be at barns that require them to work. Barns
filled with $250,000 ponies (and their associated parents) negate
almost all aspects of hard work, determination, and self reliance
that go along with young girls and horsemanship.
Having a passion for something special is an important part
of life. If a little girl has a spark of interest in horses,
why not give her the ability to find out if it is a true passion
for her? Not enough young people today have enough true passion
or motivation. Lacking interests leads to boredom, and putting
a child into other sports just to pass the time doesn’t
enrich their lives. Not to get all “children are our future”,
but happy, passionate, motivated, confident, and positive adults
have head start on the rest of the world if they start out as
happy, passionate, motivated, confident, and positive children.
And though barriers to horse entry are real and numerous, add
up those team sports trophy pools, gymnastics classes, swim
parties, and softball tournaments: think there is some monetary
and time commitment room in there? After all, we know most young
girls are horse crazy, but how many five year olds are screaming
for the chance to play field hockey?
If you know a young girl, anywhere, go buy her a helmet and
some horseback riding lessons at your nearest barn.
http://www.citizenhorse.com/2008/05/26/little-girls-love-horses-plus-horses-keep-little-girls-out-of-trouble/
