11/17/2025
Did you know that reading to an animal builds confidence, develops fluency, and reduces stress?
Many people think about reading to a dog. But did you know that you can read to a horse, too?
Reading to horses is a FANTASTIC way to read aloud a book.
Even if you’re not decoding the words, but retelling the story using the pictures like this little girl, it counts as prereading and develops the child’s literacy skills!
Organizations such as The Right Step provide a safe space for children to build trust with a horse, develop speech, and practice storytelling.
Others doing this important work in equine-supported literacy nonprofits include:
- Saddle Up and Read Saddle Up And Read
- Horse Powered Reading
- Humane Colorado Humane Colorado
- Hand, Hoof, and Heart Hand, Hoof and Heart
The benefits of reading to any animal are immeasurable! Melissa Taylor wrote this article for Brightly about even more animals kids can read to. https://www.readbrightly.com/the-many-benefits-of-reading-with-animals/
Do you know a child who would love to read to a horse at The Right Step, Inc. ?
Support the work we do at The Right Step by volunteering https://www.therightstepinc.org/become-a-volunteer.html or donating today! https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/TheRightStep-co .
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