Riding lessons to help with attention and focus issues in 9yo?

[Henrietta23]

Some of you have followed my saga with DS who will be 9 in early April. We pulled him out of the over crowded public school last year because his teacher was pushing for ADHD meds and for various reasons DH and I are not wanting to go that route. In addition his pediatrician agreed with us, not even being sure that DS has ADD or ADHD. Anyway, I had a short conference with his new teacher at his Catholic school this morning. She's been great about helping learn strategies to learn the best way for him but she is concerned about his difficulty maintaining focus without a lot of adult intervention. Apparently one of his classmates, who was home schooled until this year, has a lot of sensory issues and is diagnosed and not medicated for ADHD. His mother has him in a physical therapy program that seems to be helping. I'm looking into that but also other things that may help like swimming and riding. I'm thinking there's probably someone on here who's had experience and can share thoughts?

 

[freemotion]

I have had some opportunity to observe children in therapeutic riding programs, and it was amazing! Your ds may not need the therapeutic program, but certainly private lessons would be needed at first, then consider continuing in a group setting. Find a good program with baby-sitter horses and patient teachers....check out the instructors and make sure they are not a bunch of partying 18-19 year-olds. Someone patient and kind but firm is needed. Drop in and observe lessons without saying you are coming....just call and ask when beginner lessons usually take place (usually 3-6 PM after school and on Saturdays.)

Look at supervision, safety features (helmets that don't flop and hard-soled boots on all the kid's feet, plenty of spacing between horses, and no kicking, squealing, or biting of lesson horses), and safe arena...no trash, smooth walls, properly functioning and CLOSED gates, not a lot of unnecessary distractions during lessons.

Years ago, I would spend my vacations at a riding school and had the chance to observe the same children in the therapeutic program from year to year. Often, I wouldn't recognize certain ones, the change in them in one year was so amazingly huge. I'll never forget one little girl in particular....she was very withdrawn and couldn't make eye contact, would barely speak, and only in a whisper. Her early lessons consisted mostly of petting the horse, grooming it, and learning to put the tack on, and some led walking.

A year later, I was standing with the instructor, watching a very outgoing little girl helping a group of beginners get their horses ready for a lesson. She dashed from kid to kid, showing them what to do and where to get stuff, etc. She was like a competent little instructor's assistant. It was the same kid, of course.

 

[sufficientforme]

It is VERY calming to my diagnosed ADD but actually has a lot of food allergies that bring out ADD tendencies/behavior child Loves to ride horses and behaves and listens to the instructor (which in itself is amazing) I would try it and see how your son does, our local therapeutic riding program includes classes for add/adhd kids for free.

 

[MsPony]

Where in connecticut are you? I have several new england equestrian friends that could suggest a good beginner barn.

I think its a fab idea, and a good trainer will be able to help your son out. That and a really good horse We always put kids on my older mare first, she was a 4' eventer and was an honest mare. If you couldn't ride her, you couldn't ride the other horses.

 

[AL]

We have a local therapeutic riding program here that works with not only the handicapped (mentally / physically) but also at risk youth, etc.
They start small.... grooming, tacking etc. The kids learn that they have to master one skill before the ultimate reward. This group is really successful with their endeavors. If you want to look them up it is called "Leaning Post Ranch" in Florida.

 

[Denim Deb]

Another thing that can help is karate classes, especially if you can find one that really takes the time to work w/the children, not just baby sit them. I've seen 5 yo that can do karate, and others that have gone to a different school, you can just barely recognize what they're doing as karate.

 

[patandchickens]

It is a great idea (assuming she is at least *interested* in horses/riding), just make sure that you find the right instructor. Not just a safe and effective one (as per above posts) but one that is willing to work with attention and focus issues. There are some really *great* beginner instructors out there. Also some not so great ones. So shop around.

Overall I would suggest going with whatever she is most interested in -- if it's not horses, then whatever she DOES have a real fire for, soccer, swimming, whatever. It should be much easier to teach her to be focused and on-task if it is something she has a strong personal interest in than if it's just "okay". Otherwise it can just become yet another thing that adults are dissatisfied with her concnetration at, you know?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Henrietta23]

He did gymnastics for years until he reached a point that they wanted him on the competitive team and he decided that was too much for him. The general classes are all girls and he doesn't want that either. He will be playing baseball this spring by his choice.
He wants two things for his birthday, a BB gun and a pony. He's not getting either. While I've seen him shoot at camp and he did fine I'm not ready for my impulsive not quite 9 year old to have his own BB gun. And we aren't in a place where we can have a pony even if we could afford one and I definitely can't afford to board one! So lessons are a compromise that could have an excellent side benefit. There are numerous stables around us. (We're in Windham) and the closest is small but run by a special ed teacher in our district. A former coworker and her daughter ride there and love it. I have a friend who is a certified therapeutic riding instructor who has not worked in that field since she moved here. She has been to the farm herself and liked what she saw so she's started my homework for me. I am definitely going to check it out.
Karate is even more expensive than riding lessons here! We haven't ruled it out but it's not my first choice for him.

 

[Denim Deb]

Yeah, you don't want to get him that BB gun. He'll shoot his eye out.

 

[TanksHill]