Ms. Ritter is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and the Educational Consultant at Sebastian Riding Associates, Collegeville, Pennsylvania. When people think of appropriate physical activities for blind and visually impaired children, horseback riding is usually not one that comes to mind.
Riders typically function through their visual sense to steer and cue their horse.
Imagine a child with low or no vision controlling a 1,000 to 1,300 pound animal. They must move through space on the back of this large horse without the aid of a cane or the feel of solid ground beneath their feet. However, at Sebastian Riding Associates, we have found horseback riding to be a wonderful activity for visually impaired children. A blind rider does not have an over dependence on vision, and can therefore move into the feeling and tactile aspects of riding more quickly. A goal for all riders is to advance to an ability to operate through touch and feel.