'Ponypainting' Therapy Effective For Children With ADHD

There is a new, fun therapy for improving one's mental health. It involves painting ponies and is aptly called the "Ponypaint." 

Yahoo News reported that "ponypaint" is being offered at a place called Equine Therapy Wales in the UK. Children with mental anxiety disorders seem to be the ones benefiting from the therapy the most. 

According to ITV, children with ADHD benefit from pony painting because they find peace through this artistic expression of their feelings and thoughts. A mother of a child with ADHD who experienced the therapy said her child has become less unpredictable. "Day to day it's a nightmare. We don't know when it's going to kick off next," the mother said. "By people down here it does help. Before he was really quiet, he wouldn't open up at all."

Children who undergo ponypaint use nontoxic paint to paint the ponies. The paints are made from natural dyes and chalks that are safe for the children and the ponies themselves.

"In the world of dog grooming, they've always done the creative coloring, the nail polish and everything, so I've tried to introduce it into the horse world," Michelle explained to ITV. "You get people saying that it's cruel, but everything that's made is completely non-toxic. It's made for horses, and they don't care. They just want to be pampered."

The concept behind ponypaint is not novel. A search through Instagram will reveal that there are already various businesses espousing the same. Paint My Pony UK offers the same services so that a stronger bond can be formed between humans and their horses. There is also a website that sells ponypaint. 

The news is timely after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that the best treatment for children with ADHD is not  taking medicines but undergoing therapy, as reported by Live Science. 

Ponypaint therapy is yet to become mainstream. Moreover, animal welfare groups caution against this practice. They are worried thatt this might make people view horses as accessories.