Although dogs reign as man’s best friend, for numerous centuries, horses played an essential part in man’s life. They stood beside men during wars, helped on farms, transported people from one location to another, and won many hearts with their grace and beauty in real life and stories. These hooved, majestic beasts offer many redeeming qualities that made and continue to make them one of the most helpful animals on the planet. Here are three different ways horses benefit people and communities.
Sports and Entertainment Experiences
From races to stunt shows, horses provide entertainment in numerous forms. They even make it onto TV screens and into cinemas, diving into one of the largest entertainment industries. Many successful and critically acclaimed movies like Seabiscuit, War Horse, and Secretariat star horses as the lead, further showing their great influence on society. Nowadays, entertainment plays a huge role in communities and people’s lives, especially in the Western world. It creates distractions from menial daily tasks and brings a little joy into people’s lives. Horses and their myriad contributions to entertainment aid the importance of pasttime pleasure in societies.
Health Support and Innovation
Horse riding offers more than just a hobby or skilled sport. It also provides an array of health benefits, from increased flexibility to improved posture. Over recent years, equine therapy has grown in popularity, using the motions of horses to help large populations of people, including those with cerebral palsy, autism, and stroke recoveries. On top of providing equine therapy, horses’ influence in the health industry also includes providing mental support, easing people’s emotions with their kinesthetic empathy, and stimulation of serotonin.
Ecological Benefits and Preservation
Raising horses requires a lot of open land. Horses’ large structure and athletic nature demand plenty of wide-open space to graze, gallop, and stretch their legs. Pastures kept for caring for horses force people to leave some greenery in communities, saving the planet from more industrial pollution and cemented landscapes. It preserves basic ecological systems, allowing other wildlife to benefit from the preserved grassy grounds and fresh air.
Horses benefit people and communities in numerous ways. Even as technology advances, horses continue to play an ever-present role in society, from recreating historical or fantastical stories to influencing the innovation of alternative therapy forms. Although people no longer need horses to adventure off into the world or haul carts, these hooved beings still influence society in countless ways.