North America has a mental health crisis going on right now, and it’s leaking into equestrian barns. Sadly, the prevalence of mental health issues in all age groups continues to climb every year and currently one in five people in North America is currently living with a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or PTSD.
The current crisis is affecting young riders between the ages of 12-27 (those in Gen Z) disproportionally. In Gen Z the rates of poor mental health are higher than they have ever been in history, regardless of which study you look at. As an industry, we need to start paying attention to these Gen Z riders and find ways to help support them as members of our equestrian community and the future of our equestrian sports.
Roughly 65% of individuals in Gen Z report having poor mental health right now (predominantly anxiety symptoms), and 50% of those say they feel overwhelmed every single day. Jean Twenge, a researcher who analyzed generational data on mental health in the population from 1971 on, discovered that between 2008 and 2017 there was a very sharp increase in the number of Gen Z youths reporting serious psychological distress. In fact, it was a 71% increase!
The Myth of Multitasking
This dramatic spike in poor mental health happened to coincide with the rise of social media. Gen Z was the first generation in history to grow up immersed in social media. They have never known a world without cell phones, the internet, Instagram and TikTok, and they spend approximately 8-10 hours a day absorbing information through cell phone screens. When they are not on their cell phones they are on their laptops during what is called “fragmented attention” – which is when they are supposed to be focused on one thing, like schoolwork, but are bouncing back and forth between their iPhone and their homework, sometimes doing two or three things at once (homework, TikTok, Snapchat).
Fragmenting our attention into 10-second bites is especially bad for our human brains, and although we may tell ourselves we are great at multitasking, it is untrue. None of us is good at it, and it’s not good for us. It requires a lot more cognitive resources (brain energy) to do and it increases the body’s stress response, resulting in faster burnout and emotional overwhelm in individuals. It likely contributes to why today’s Gen Z youth are more stressed and anxious than previous generations. But multitasking isn’t the only stressor for Gen Z. They are also stressed about what they are consuming through their screens.
A lot of the visual information Gen Z is absorbing through their cell phones is aimed at convincing them that if they purchase X, or follow X, or try X, their life will be better and they will be more accepted, be able to attract a partner, get more likes and follows, etc. Today’s young riders spend roughly the equivalent of a 40-hour work week viewing carefully crafted material to remind them that they are not good enough as they are, and that others in the world are better, smarter, sexier, healthier, or more successful. In short, today’s youth are ingesting a steady diet of messaging telling them to “do better” and “be better”.
The Shame Game
In addition to providing all equestrians with more knowledge and options about horse care and training than ever before, the world of social media has increased the levels of conflict, criticism, judgment, and shame in equestrian sports to an astronomical degree. This has affected all horse people. However, no other generation in history has experienced this barrage of digital input to the extent that Gen Z has (except possibly the upcoming Polar Gen, also known as Alpha Gen, but we won’t know for awhile what the effects have been on them) and it has damaging effects –so much so that the American Psychological Association and the U.S. Surgeon General issued a health advisory on the use of social media by teens in May 2023 and warned the public about the risks.
Gen Z’s overall experience of their adolescence has been one of judgment, criticism, and sometimes public shame rather than a time for self-discovery, exploration of their interests and identity formation as many previous generations (such as Gen X and the Boomers) experienced it. As a result of this online public adolescence, many in Gen Z tend to be hypervigilant about presenting a positive image and doing things perfectly, leading to increased anxiety, self-esteem issues and depression symptoms.
As a group, Gen Z prefers text communication to in-person communication. Many report feeling very anxious about socializing in person. It’s not uncommon to see two Gen Z riders having a text conversation with each other while they sit right beside each other in the tack room! Difficulties with in-person communication in the barn can lead to miscommunication, conflict and hurt feelings, further heightening already high stress and anxiety symptoms for some of these young equestrians.
Young Gen Z riders may report to parents or instructors that they have performance anxiety, or they are afraid of making mistakes or looking foolish in front of others or they feel excessively stressed about doing things correctly because the thought of getting it wrong feels so overwhelming for them.
The ‘Sober Generation’
Many in Gen Z have become risk averse and overly cautious in life. It’s somewhat understandable when we remember that they were the generation of teens schooled in social isolation during a global pandemic, as well as the generation that has been most heavily supervised by parents and other adults to date. Many in Gen Z have never experienced playing outside unsupervised, solving a conflict on the playground by themselves, or walking home from school without an adult to accompany them. As a group, they are accustomed to constant supervision and direction from adults in their lives.
Gen Z is the generation least likely to experiment with alcohol, substances, or teen sex compared to all previous generations. While to many parents this probably sounds like a blessing, this increased cautiousness can spill over into other areas of a person’s life including education, friendships and the equestrian arena. When this happens, individuals may experience more fear and anxiety and be apprehensive about trying new skills, meeting new people or challenging themselves in equestrian lessons for example.
In addition to being named the “Sober Generation” by some researchers, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has also dubbed them the “The Anxious Generation”, and in his book by the same name he explains that Gen Z, unlike previous generations, grew up bombarded with a steady stream of crises and impending doom scenarios on social media. Receiving constant updates about violence, economic collapse, housing shortages, racism, healthcare inequalities, earthquakes, mass murders and climate change has resulted in many in Gen Z perceiving the world today as more dangerous and threatening than those of previous generations. A lot of Gen Z individuals today don’t believe they will be able to find a good job, own a home, or be able to adequately support themselves in the future, and anxiety about these has become chronic for many in Gen Z.
Poor Mental Health
When compared to other generational cohorts, it’s clear that the number of individuals reporting poor mental health has grown considerably over time. A study done in 2023 comparing the various cohorts reported the following:
65% of Gen Z report suffering from at least one mental health condition
51% of Millennials report suffering from at least one mental health condition
29% of Gen X’ers report suffering from at least one mental health condition
14% of Boomers report suffering from at least one mental health condition
Individuals who come into riding lessons with a heightened baseline level of anxiety and stress are often teetering on the brink of ‘fight or flight’ before they even get on a horse, and anything unexpected can easily push their nervous system up into a fear response. If instructors don’t understand this, and actively work to manage it, they are more likely to push anxious Gen Z riders into situations that cause intense fear and even accidents.
While it may have been common in the ’80’s or ’90’s to tell an anxious, fearful rider to go try tennis or golf instead of equestrian sports, this kind of attitude is no longer accepted in any sport or educational context in 2025. Instead, coaches and educators are required to have a basic understanding of mental health issues and how these can affect the learner and the learning environment, as well as the skills to instruct students with mental health challenges effectively.
With 65% of Gen Z riders suffering with some form of mental health issue, equestrian barns can’t ethically or financially afford to tell them all to take up tennis or golf instead of horseback riding. Equestrian coaches and instructors need to know how to teach and communicate with students in Gen Z and be able to adapt their teaching methods to work with these young riders.
How Coaches Can Help
The mental health crisis in North America is likely going to continue and if history is the best predictor of the future, then the upcoming Polar Generation (named by Jean Twenge for the polarizing political world they are growing up in) born between 2013-2029, may be even more anxious and stressed than Gen Z currently is. As an industry, equestrians might want to start preparing for these Polar Gens now by learning how best to support them and keep them in our equestrian sports long-term.
A few ways coaches and instructors can support these riders:
1. Become Trauma-Informed and Mental Health aware: Educate yourself on how these affect a rider’s ability to learn, perform and cope under pressure.
2. Cultivate an attitude of curiosity: Be curious before you get furious – ask riders what they are feeling and cultivate an interest in their experience. Never assume you know what someone else is thinking or feeling.
3. Focus on building a psychologically safe barn environment – make your stable a safe place for people to learn, make mistakes, and try new skills without shame or blame.
4. Take continuing education on instructing and coaching athletes of all ages and stages of development.
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Megan Pinfield PhD RCC RCAT is a registered clinical counsellor who specializes in working with equestrians. She is author of the book “It’s Not Just Riding Fear” due out in 2026 by Trafalgar Square Books.