Whether as a sport or as a hobby, the contact with the horse in a natural environment is the best psychotherapy. The emotion, the sense of freedom and the tranquility offered by horse riding are not easily described in words. A trial will convince you!
It benefits body and soul
If you want to decompress from stress and tension of your everyday life, there are healthy outlets that can benefit the body and at the same time feed your soul. The surest solution, is to get as close as possible to nature. For even better results, be in nature with animals. Especially with the horses! One of the most faithful and precious companions of man for thousands of years. Really, how many of you have "flirted" with the idea of horse riding, but have not dared yet?
Riding: a sport for all
Horse riding is an acknowledged sport since 1912, when it was first included in the Olympic Games. It is divided into categories such as obstacle jumping, dressage and equestrian endurance. Nothing, however, compares to the emotion, the sense of freedom and the tranquility that free riding offers. Recently, therapeutic horse riding, has also developed, where the horse is used as a means of healing both for people with psychological problems and for people with disabilities and movement problems.
Nature is the most suitable environment for horses
Nature, either mountain or sea, is the most suitable environment for horses. Horses work together and feel much better in their natural environment than in the stable or at the track. In addition to training hours, one of the best ways, to get to know your horse and the horse habituate to you, is horse riding in nature. The animal accepts to work with you gladly in its natural environment. Without chasing best performances or judging you for your athletic presence, you help to improve your horse's muscular condition and develop its right equilibrium. And by saying equilibrium, we mean how the horse distributes his weight while stepping on the right or left leg, which helps when it has to jump obstacles and in the dressage. Furthermore, in your free ride, you are able to develop many more techniques than you already know.
Free riding in Attica!
Free riding on your horse back, crossing endless plains and beautiful paths covered with flowers, plants and trees, alone or with company, galloping through endless fields in Greek`s mountain beauties, is a once in a lifetime experience, that you have to try. It is an amazing feeling,holding in control this big beauty and watching how these animals behave as a herd. Or you may prefer galloping by the sea, where you can experience the reactions of your horse when it is first afraid to approach something that is unknown to it and how excited it is after his first steps into the water. It comes from joy to joy! And this joy and the freedom that the animal feels are transmitted to you as if your cells are communicating with each other. Would you like to ride a horse without a saddle or even without a bit, only with its halter?
Ultimately, none of these are as difficult or as distant as you might think. You do not necessarily need to be outside of Athens to experience such an experience. El Paso riding school is in Vari, just after the Evelpidon School. It is a place where you can get your first horse riding lessons, the necessary horseback riding instructions, which will enable you to guide a horse in nature and then you can gradually follow to their weekly standard mountain and sea rides, depending on the season. And, of course, for those who want to do sports, El Paso also offers this opportunity, since the aim of the school is to come as close as possible to the horse, with love and respect, in whatever way we choose.
More information: http://www.elpaso.com.gr/
Text & Photos: Lina Vitantzaki
