LessonsInTR Holiday Wishlist

I’ve come across sooooo many good resources for adaptive and therapeutic riding instructors lately, that I wish I could make a separate post for each one! Unfortunately I can’t, but I can put them all together in one big holiday wishlist post. I’ll include some of the others I reviewed already, too, so they’re all in one place. I hope I’m not sharing these too late to put on your own wishlist this year 🙂 Enjoy!

p.s. I’m not paid to endorse any of these, they’re all my personal favorites! But some products (those with a link to a separate blog post review) I received a discounted price in exchange for a review, and all links to purchase on Amazon are through my affiliate accounts so I get a small kickback if you purchase it. It’s how I keep this website and its content hosted for free!

The PATH Intl. Instructor Education Guide

PATH Intl.’s description:

“Created by PATH Intl. and a team of industry experts, the PATH Intl. Instructor Education Guide is an excellent resource for your center and professionals. This handbook for novice and experienced therapeutic horsemanship professionals includes chapters on: the equine partner, tack and equipment, participants, teaching in a therapeutic setting, behavior and emotional regulation, volunteers, entering the ring, considerations for instructors, instructor development and a useful up-to-date glossary.”

My review:

I love love love this book! This is the book I wish I’d had when I first started instructor training! It is basically the old workshop manual made amazing and available for purchase. It’s got all the topics you need to know about when you’re learning to teach adaptive/therapeutic riding. It has lots of wonderful pictures and illustrations printed in crisp full color (this is probably why it costs so much)! I especially like the detailed goals and objectives section, the fully illustrated tack and equipment section, and that there is a chapter on behavior and emotional regulation. This book is particularly endearing to me personally because the barn in town I used to work at submitting a lot of old photos for the book, so there are many friendly faces of my old riders and volunteers that I would not have otherwise – and a complete surprise, I’m even on one of the pages!

To purchase:

Take a look at sample pages and click here to purchase as a digital download, or click here to purchase a hard copy print version (if you’re a PATH Intl. member, make sure to sign in to received a discount). If those links don’t work, go to the PATH Intl. Store and search for the title.

The Comprehensive Guide to Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies

Amazon description:

The Comprehensive Guide to Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies is a peer-reviewed must-have reference for educators, students, administrators, and professionals involved in the EAAT field. For the educator, the text offers an outline for curriculum; for the undergraduate, it provides complete, easy-to-follow information; for the administrator, it offers an understanding of the breadth and depth of the EAAT industry; and for the EAAT professional, it is simply an essential resource. This comprehensive, relevant, and timely text addresses the profession of equine-assisted activities and therapies in an educational and enjoyable fashion.

My review:

This is an amazing resource! First off, the authors are legit, professionals in all areas of the adaptive riding industry – see their website bios for the whole list of their accomplishments. Second, it IS comprehensive and covers all topics related to the EAAT industry! Chapter topics include: business principles, ethics, programs, human anatomy, all the disabilities and disorders, certifications, the instructor, the participant, lesson planning, teaching techniques and strategies, mounts and dismounts, volunteers, horse breeds, equine health, equine nutrition, equine conformation, equine behavior, the equine professional, selection/training/maintenance of the EAAT horse, grooming, tack, equipment, and barns. Third, they have really good quality color photos throughout, especially of the mounting section. They also have a column down the side of each page where they include definitions and pictures as needed – on some pages this is full, on other pages it is empty so you have room for your own notes (see the second pic above). Fourth, I LOVE their teaching strategies section, where each disability has a table that usually fits on one page and contains: description, characteristics, concerns, ways to improve equestrian skills, horse selection, tack selection, and reminders (see the third pic above). The only downside is that this book is so huge, but maybe you will gain muscle from carrying it, haha! I would say between this book and the PATH Intl. book above, new instructors have just about everything they need to know for starting their journey toward certification – and are 200% more prepared than I was starting out!

To purchase:

To buy off Amazon, click here! It’s textbook expensive, but on the day I write this post Amazon has it marked down $20!

To purchase off their website, click here!

The Equine Professional Manual – The Art of Teaching Riding

Description:

From the CHA website: “This 208 page manual is full of illustrations and photos that will help the professional riding instructor just starting out, as well as those that have been teaching for a long time. Learning styles, teaching styles, sample lessons plans and stretches for the rider are all included.  It is a comprehensive guide for all riding instructors.  A must have for any riding instructor’s library.” For a more detailed description of the book, see Stable Management’s article about it.

Sections include: riding programs, teaching techniques, the riding student (including types of learning, student body types, learning styles, the learning process, and more), communication, the horse, application of teaching techniques (lesson planning, progression, safety, and so on), risk management (rider, horse, facility, safety management, procedures, trainings, burnout, record keeping, liability release, incident reports, contracts, emergencies, and so on), horse management (health, nutrition, herd, pasture, and so on), appendix (forms, sample lesson plans, business plans)

My review:

I think this book is a great introduction to instructing riding lessons for the instructor in training, and a great resource for the instructor teaching riders without disabilities. It covers a broad range of topics, is very brief and to the point, and focuses on what I would call “typical” riders and riding programs. Since adaptive and therapeutic riding is basically adapting “typical” riding lessons, this book is a great background and foundation upon which to build your knowledge of EAAT. It also has additional helpful information that I haven’t seen in EAAT specific books, such as age factors, gender differences, body shapes, various learning style theories, developing your eye, and common rider problem troubleshooting, to name a few. I love the troubleshooting section, which contains root problems, common causes, their effects on the rider and horse, and remedies. I also love the arena management section, with illustrations of how to arrange the rider and instructor in the arena for different reasons and for group schooling movements. It has some good illustrations, but in general minimal black and white photos related to the content and rather large font. It has a lot of good example forms in the appendix, from class records to lesson plans to health records to very simple business plan outlines. If you have a CHA membership for a hefty discount, I’d say this book is worth the cost!

To purchase:

Click here to purchase from the CHA store. Click here to see two sample pages. CHA members get about half off.

The Intuitive Instructor Club

For a full review, click here to read by blog post!

Click here to go to the EAAT Curriculums website to purchase the “Ground Work Curriculum”!

As of 2019 the authors do several orders and fulfillments a year, so be aware of that when ordering. They’ve had enough interest lately that they are taking orders through Dec. 20th, to ship on or before Jan. 10th. So if you want one, now is the time to get it!

“Hooked: Lessons of the Heart From a Little Horse in Cabo”

For a full review of the book, click here for my blog post.

You can buy the book on Amazon here, or through my affiliate link here!

Adaptive/Therapeutic Riding (ATR) Webinar “In Case You’re Not A Doctor”

This webinar is by Esther Schlegel, in which she teaches human anatomy and physiology related to horseback riding, and explains many conditions and disabilities with their related considerations for horseback riding. It is a series of 5 modules which can be purchased together or individually. Each module includes a video that alternates between Esther teaching and showing powerpoint notes, a PDF handbook of the information in the video, a 5 question test at the end of the handbook, a certificate of completion, and an optional follow up phone call. The webinar is very detailed yet easy to follow. She provides excellent graphics, stretches for the muscle groups, a great introduction to disabilities and their considerations and adaptations. It’s a great introduction to working with riders with disabilities, and a great refresher for anyone who’s years into the industry.

The 5 modules of the ATR Webinar “In Case You’re Not A Doctor” can be purchased from Esther’s website here. You can buy them individually or all together at a discount.

Activities for Therapeutic Horseback Riding: A LessonsInTR.com Collection

Shameless plug for my own book! Click here for more information and to purchase.

(Note that sales are technically open until the end of this week, Dec. 20th, after that I will be unable to ship books until Jan 6 – you can still buy it, but I won’t ship until then.)

Note: This is not professional advice, this is a blog. I am not liable for what you do with or how you use this information. The activities explained in this blog may not be fit for every rider, riding instructor, or riding center depending on their current condition and resources. Use your best personal judgement! If you would like to contribute an activity or article, please contact me here, I would love to hear from you!