As a young kid, I had always loved and admired animals. Although I had never had a pet or any knowledge of how to care for one, I still adored them. Four years ago, I had gotten a horse to further my riding career as I fell in love with the sport. She was the first animal that I was ever responsible for. She helped me grow in so many aspects of my life from my confidence to my physical skills, and many things in between. Looking back on those years, it still astonishes me how much a fifteen hundred pound animal that doesn't speak English, can teach things I didn't realize about myself. It was only recently that I had finally, after years of asking, adopted my first puppy. I love him dearly, but having a dog is a lot of work. Work that pays off in the end. Two years ago when I was fourteen years old, I had read a flyer in a local coffee shop, looking for volunteers to help at a therapeutic riding association. One look at the title and I was instantly captivated until the fine print stated there was an age requirement of sixteen years old. Since then I couldn't wait till I turned sixteen to finally volunteer here. But of course, we are living in a covid era. Who would have thought? Anyway, I applied to volunteer at the same place I had seen the flyer back during the holiday break and was stoked to start which was postponed until later this year. The big factor that influenced this decision years ago was that this equine therapeutic association was created for kids with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. The amount of power a horse could have to teach these kids to not only learn about the animal itself but to grow and learn about themselves. For these kids, horses teach them physical, psychological, social skills that other activities can not. I continue to love volunteering here, learning each story of the kids that ride here inspires me. This is the website where I volunteer, for more information on therapeutic riding, visit this page. Physical benefits can include:
Here are four of ten things many different animals can teach us about being human according to Psychology today:
My experiences with working with many different animals and people have taught me more about them and even more about myself. As Well as volunteering with animals and people alike, learning from animals can teach us about the ways of being human that we can forget at times. Madison
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