Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, my daughter has adhd and autism she is high functioning as they used to call it. She absolutely adores horses and knows so much about them. I am going to try and book her some lessons. I am a little worried if they will let her because of her autism but I have been reading it can be very good for children who struggle socially.
Anyone here children ride or ride them selves? How did you find it, did you get treated fairly?
Hi! I am currently in the process of being diagnosed with ASD (I am 24). I used to do a lot of horse-riding from when I was 9 years old onwards (including show jumping) and it was a huge positive in my life- Riding made me feel free and being with horses had a calming and relaxing effect on me. I loved all aspects of it, not just the riding itself but also the interaction with the horses :). In terms of fitting in, I wish I could say that I made lots of friends with the other people at the stables... I didn't. I never really fit in and mainly kept to myself, but I also didn't have any major problems- some stables were more friendly than others- I often found it easier at smaller stables as there was less going on and it was less busy. I was also lucky that my mum had an interest in horses as well and often kept me company and helped me out at the stables. I was very lucky that once I got more experienced I managed to get to do some riding for free- for a while I got to ride at the home of a family that bred horses- that was amazing as it was very quiet and nice.
Usually, I tended to have a share on a horse (or even more than one share at one point :)), so that I would take care of one horse and get to build up a relationship with that horse.
I actually haven't been able to ride in a while but I miss it so much and I am hoping to start again.
I really hope your daughter can get some lessons and finds a friendly stable.
Not sure if any of this is helpful. Writing this has just made me realise how much I miss horses though :).
Ann