This is a collaborative post
Many children love to have a pet they can look after and spend time with. Deep and meaningful bonds can be established through these experiences.
Of course, some animals are easier to connect with than others. Horses tend to draw the affection of many teenagers, as they can be social and affectionate creatures. Your kids may even feel like they’ve found a kindred spirit with them.
Still, buying a horse is a serious commitment, and many parents can be on the fence about making the purchase. If you’re among them, know there are ways to counter your concerns and be reassured that buying a horse for your teenager can be the right decision.
What are the main reasons to buy a horse for your teenager? Read on for our musings.
Buying Supplies Comfortably
The expense around horse ownership can be nerve-wracking during a cost-of-living crisis. However, there are ways to make these situations easier on your wallet.
By purchasing horse supplies with Equi Supermarket, you can get free delivery on orders of £25 or more. All the goods you need can be found here and are competitively priced, from food and supplements to bedding and rider equipment. Deliveries are also reliable, so you can be sure the stock you receive is of fine quality and won’t need replacing.
As a parent, services like these make the logistics of buying a horse for your teenager much more straightforward. You shouldn’t feel out of your depth, nor like you need to persistently shop around for good deals.
Teaching Discipline
Horses can be incredibly dangerous if they’re mistreated. While that might understandably make you hesitate to purchase one for your child, this knowledge can be useful to your teenager.
A sense of maturity is needed to handle horses properly. They will understand this, and no doubt be at an age where they’re eager to prove that they’re no longer a young, reckless child. It’s the best time to teach them anything, including the respect and responsibility needed to look after a horse and treat it properly.
It can also bring your teenager’s attention back to road safety, helping them look at these matters differently than if they were learning to drive at 17. Many horse riders join road safety events to spread awareness of the care and caution that drivers and horse riders need. Ultimately, sometimes it’s helpful to look at life through a different lens, and buying a horse could do that early for your teenager.
A Chance to Learn Something New
Horses are unlike most pets a person can have. The care they require is quite elaborate but enormously fun and stimulating for those passionate about the creatures.
After all, teenagers spend a lot of time learning about their school and college subjects. However, the chance to enrich their minds outside of that can be a different flavour to their life. It’s a chance to temporarily break away from academia and fill their heads with other things for a moment. Nurturing these genuine interests will help them feel like they have something in their life that’s for them only.
The entire learning curve can be amazing for your teenager experience. There are nuances to the horse’s behaviour they may wish to study more, from the sensitivity required in training to finding the right paddock for their horse. They can also be deterred from unknowingly practising more harmful behaviours toward their horse.
Knowledge can create confidence. Once your teenager feels more certain about what they’re doing, they’ll surely enjoy the experience of horse ownership all the more.
Improving Their Lifestyle
Some pets can be owned almost passively. Of course, horses cannot be and require you and your teenager to get up and be proactive each day.
Horse riding can be a mood-boosting activity. Instead of your teenager being shut away on their phone or playing video games, they’ll be outside in the fresh air and exert physical effort in caring for their horse. It’ll help them establish a routine and realise the value of seeing through their commitments. From there, their quality of life will improve enormously.
It’s always a good idea for teenagers to make friends outside the circle of friends at school. Horses can be a stepping stone to expanding your teenager’s social circle. After all, many people house their horses in communal stables and paddocks, often a commercial endeavour run by a community group. Not only does the horse get to interact with its peers this way, but it can also introduce you and your teenager to an onslaught of new names and faces.
Conclusion
There are many wonderful reasons to buy a horse for your teenager. You’re not just buying a creature, but a new way of life, something your child could be desperately craving if they’re bored or wishing for a better social life. So much personal enrichment can be experienced from horse ownership, and help is available too. So, if you and your child are willing to embark on this adventure together, you likely won’t regret it.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post