Horse Riding, Archery, Mental Health & the Discipline of Emotions
What is it about horse riding?
I’m not entirely sure.
But, one of the classical Islamic scholars mentioned that just as archery shapes a person, riding a horse has a direct effect on the nafs/ ego.
It trains you to control desire and develop detachment from certain bad emotions / desires.
Archery, in that sense, disciplines the ʿaql (the faculty of restraint and discernment). It sharpens focus, steadies impulse, and strengthens inner control.
Maybe that’s it.
Or maybe there’s a deeper secret in the act itself.
In Islamic psychology, the Sunnah sports aren’t random. They’re channels for disciplining the self and unlocking internal blocks.
Riding a horse isn’t like driving a car. Swimming isn’t just exercise , being immersed in water does something to you.
I can’t fully articulate it.
But I don’t believe anything from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) even things outside direct revelation, like shepherding was accidental.
There must be something about these embodied practices that shapes the human being in a good way.
Dr.Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre & Shaykh Shadee Elmasry.
Moro Blanco 
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