One of the best seminars I attended at the 2014 PATH Intl Conference was “Preventing Instructor Burnout” on the Community Connections Day. I wanted to share a list of ideas from the discussion in hopes that it will help everyone everywhere struggling with these issues. (Source) From “Interactive Forum for Preventing Instructor Burnout” by Jennifer E. Donahue, MST, PATH Intl … Continue reading
Filed under Teaching Tips …
Observing & Developing your eye
When I started out teaching I often didn’t know what to say, because I didn’t know how to observe and respond accordingly. This post was inspired by a handout I came across a while ago and a recent book I’ve been reading that would have helped me back then! Enjoy! OBSERVATION ob·ser·va·tion – noun : … Continue reading
The Silent Stop
I was reminded recently of this technique I’ve seen several therapists use during hippotherapy, and wanted to share, because I forgot how much I love it! The Silent Stop Silently ask the leader to stop the horse with a little stopping motion of your hand. Give the rider a few moments to realize what has … Continue reading
The importance of waiting
Last week I attended the PATH Intl 2014 Conference in San Diego! Never been to a conference before + husband did his undergrad in San Diego = a good reason to go. On top of that, I met a bunch of great people, have lots of notes for future blog posts, and missed the midwest’s … Continue reading
Teaching tips: Beginners
Tonight I enjoyed this post at Theridinginstructor.net about teaching beginners and the first three lessons. The full post can be found here but I’ve summarized the key points below for us all – I confess I’m a note-taker! Teaching beginners is not for beginners! You are establishing a foundation and confidence. Take that seriously. Repetition Everything … Continue reading
Teach to the Highest Level
Today’s Teaching Tip comes from the Advanced Workshop I attended, regarding teaching to groups with very different functioning levels of riders: Teach to the Highest Level, Then Adapt. (As opposed to teaching to the lowest level of rider ability in group.) The reasoning behind this is that by teaching to the highest level, the lower … Continue reading
Clips for Exercises and Steering
Clips, clothespins, and barrettes – oh my! Clips, clothespins, and barrettes are great tools to use in lessons! For exercises you can have the rider put them on their horse’s mane or on the saddle pad, then take them back off. Here is a picture of clips in a mini’s mane (imagine it on … Continue reading
Helping Students Focus
This is a great idea my coworker recently tried out on one of our more talkative clients. This rider wants to share everything that comes to her mind, to the extent that she doesn’t want to focus on riding, and if it gets too out of control will pout when asked to focus again, or … Continue reading
“PATH Intl’s What, Why and How Method” Handout
This is a lovely handout for teaching the Whats, Hows, and Whys that my friend and coworker Annie Cornett made and let me post! There’s a link at the end to download the Word Doc. Enjoy! PATH Intl’s What, Why and How Method What What: What do you want the client to do specifically? What … Continue reading
Straddle the Horse
I love this… “we tend to think of being on a horse as “sitting” on a horse, when in reality, we actually straddle the horse. If you were straddling something, lets say a small ditch, you would instinctively use your legs to hold your pelvis and upper body directly above your feet, even if you … Continue reading