Horseplay not Mall play

Parenthood is most probably the most difficult task of modern life. The economical and social strive place tremendous stress on both parent and child. Long gone are the days where kids were raised on farms in the 24 hour presence of their parents, instead today parents are expected to raise children whith confidence, discipline, good social skills and the strength to resist all temptations in the short time slots available. Mark Haupt believes horses to be the best medium to bring warmth, tolerance, discipline, patience, and most important of all good social skills to the minds and hearts of our children, let us see why?

As Mark explains it is much more difficult to expect understanding of another human being from a child than to entice the child to understand the working of the horses mind. Children can easily associate with fear, flight, herd instinct and the importance of body language in communication when these subjects are brought to them in “horse language” and then related to human social life.

With horseplay for kids Mark completely changes the traditional riding lesson concept. The main objective is to first create an interest and then a controlled passion where the child becomes willing to commit to the physical, mental and intellectual effort required to become a good “horser”. With Mark your child spend time on understanding the horse’s mind, both through theoretical lessons and what is called groundwork where the child learns to control the horse from the ground while the horse is completely free. Children get involved in basic horse care of feeding, grooming and even cleaning stables. An equine vet, Duncan Prinsloo also joins in to explain horse anatomy and basic illnesses. In this way, riding is taught from a fundamental level to form a basis for any discipline the child might want to specialise in at a later stage in life, whether it be show jumping, dressage or endurance rides.

The biggest favour you can do any child is to create opportunities to gain self-esteem. Horseplay, as a start of being safe around horses, focus on creating an environment of control for your child. As you will see, it is tremendously fulfilling to see how children develop focus because they experience a sense of power by being able to teach the big animals something.