Black Girl Magic, My Life, Raising Black Children

The Joy of Seeing My Daughter Learn to Ride Horses

Developing an Appreciation for the Environment

Ever since my daughter was old enough to ride a horse, I’ve been taking her to the stables. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I love watching her learn and grow as a rider.

But I think the best thing about taking my daughter to the stables is seeing her develop an appreciation for the environment. She loves being outdoors, and she’s fascinated by the horses and all the different plants and animals around her.

It’s been great for her to learn about nature, and I know that she’ll continue to appreciate it more as she grows older.

Strengthening Her Self-Confidence and Resilience

She was slow to warm to horses. They are big and intimidating.

But over the past year, I’ve seen a major transformation in her. She’s become more confident and resilient. We owe a lot of that to the horseback riding lessons she’s been taking.

The first few weeks were a bit tough as she struggled to get the hang of it. But she kept at it, and eventually started to progress. Now she’s able to ride by herself. Watching her ride makes my heart swell with pride. She’s come so far, and I know that this is only the beginning for her.

Empowering Her With Life Skills

It has been an absolute pleasure watching my daughter grow and learn new skills. I can’t help but beam with pride when I see her gaining confidence and feeling liberated as she rides her horse. It warms my heart to see her accomplishing new milestones in her life at such a young age.

Apart from the physical attributes involved in horse riding such as stronger core muscles, posture and balance, there are also lessons that come with it that she wouldn’t have been able to learn any other way – such as patience, empathy and discipline. Riding horses has empowered her with life skills that she can use in many aspects of her life going forward.

I am so glad that I was able to give her this experience and support her development!

Learning How to Care for Horses

As my daughter has been learning to ride, she has also been learning how to care for horses. When we go to the stables, she eagerly grabs a brush and gets to work cleaning the horses. She enjoys brushing the horse’s muzzle, carefully watching as it closes its eyes and relaxes in her presence.

We’ve talked about how import it is to get her horse ready for riding: picking his hoofs, making sure he is well-groomed, brushing him out properly. Not only is this important from a safetys perspective, but it’s also an excellent way for her to build a relationship with her horse and establish trust. We like to joke that her horse knows her by name!

By learning how to care for horses in this way, my daughter has gained confidence and developed more patience. Even more importantly, she’s growing in love and appreciation of animals – something I hope will stay with her forever.

Watching Her Grow in Excellence and Enthusiasm

Every week, I marvel at how my four-year-old daughter’s eagerness to learn more each time she rides horses has grown. Her trainer’s been very patient and encouraging, which has really been instrumental in helping her build her confidence.

There’s nothing quite like watching her enthusiasm and joy when she’s in the saddle. I love how she never stops smiling, even when things don’t always go as planned. More importantly, it’s been wonderful seeing how quickly she picks up the tips and tricks of horseback riding.

I take pride in seeing all the progress she makes each week during her lessons. It’s amazing to watch her learn new skills and become more comfortable with the horse each time she comes out of the arena. Plus, it’s been beautiful to witness my daughter’s motivation and determination as she strives to get better each day.

I never imagined that my daughter would learn to ride horses. It’s something that I always wanted to do as a child, but never got the chance. It’s been amazing to see my daughter develop self-confidence and learn about caring for horses. She is also becoming an environmentalist, and I know that this is only the beginning of her learning to ride horses.