Being a rider while being visually impaired

First practiced exclusively by people with visual impairments, blind riding is now an activity that many riders practice even without being blind. Such riding is based on the horse's extraordinary instinct that gives it a skill that even the most skilled or talented rider could not teach it. What happens when you are a rider and you suffer from visual difficulties or blindness?

Confidence and serenity: key words for horse riding between the horse and the visually impaired rider

Horse riding between a horse and its visually impaired rider is practiced using a technique based on trust in the horse and serenity. In addition, a strong bond between the rider and the horse, a strong concentration of both and a constant gathering of information are required to succeed in this equestrian activity. It is a form of horse riding that requires balance, education and the horse's responsibility.

The initiation takes place in an arena in which the horse turns and overcomes obstacles by itself without the rider giving it the order. As for the rider, he will have to concentrate and perceive the horse's signals and send it messages while always remaining balanced. The visually impaired rider must always be ready to adapt to the movements made by the horse. Here, it will no longer be the rider who imposes himself on the horse. It is rather the horse who will trigger the rider's movement.

Horse riding between a horse and a visually impaired rider to develop a real bond between man and animal

The lack of sight for the rider is a real challenge. Far from being insurmountable, this challenge appears to be absolutely educational in addition to being a real source of new pleasures. Because without sight, the rider will learn to listen to his horse. He will also create at the same time the best conditions for the horse to make the choice to create, execute the movements and follow the lines. It is therefore a different perception that will allow more information to be collected than the sighted rider can capture.

Some riders who become victims of incidents while riding can use this discipline in order to experience a different approach to the relationship between the rider and the horse. They thus rediscover or acquire sensations that are the basis of riding. The blind rider therefore no longer has to impose himself in an authoritarian manner on his mount. He collaborates while respecting it.

Better still, riders who are blind can now participate in para-equestrian competitions such as disabled sports. Some riders even compete against other non-disabled riders in official competitions. This is thanks to the installation of an audio signal that allows riders to spot and overcome obstacles. Thus, even riders who have some difficulty seeing or who are completely blind have the opportunity to go horse riding. Some riders even manage to buy accessories for their horses with the help of their loved ones when they visit online stores such as La Sellerie Française .