Some of my favorite horse quotes come from Franz Maringer’s book “Horses Are Made To Be Horses”. They have influenced the way I ride and work with horses, so I thought I’d share. I grouped them into 3 key principles. Enjoy! 1. Preserve the horse’s natural way of moving. “I want you to see that … 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
Intake Assessment II
Recently we started doing a new Intake Assessment process, and I really like it, so as usual wanted to share. These are the assessment activities my current barn now use for new riders and again throughout the year to determine progression in areas of functional ability, based on a nationally published assessment test that one of our … Continue reading
Patterns and Stations
This is a neat way to do things shared to me by Ashley of NTRC at the Advanced Workshop I attended. Most of her lessons have lots of riders so this is the format she often uses. Arena Setup Set up the arena into 3 stations, each with a pattern and activity Here we have: 1 … Continue reading
Fun Video Friday: How to Use Your Seat to Ride
How to Use Your Seat to Ride **************** 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 … Continue reading
Bending at the Walk: Lesson Plan for Group with Physical Disabilities
I am excited to share that the instructors at the Advanced Workshop I attended at Heartland Therapeutic Riding have agreed to let me post their lesson plans! This one is from Courtney Mellor, equine manager at Heartland, who did this as a practice mock advanced level lesson, and received feedback from the instructor/evaluator Sandy Webster, as well as … Continue reading
Should I get Certified?
I’ve had several recent inquiries regarding whether or not to get certified, so I decided to share my thoughts. The questions came from people with tons of experience with horses, and teaching both able-bodied and disabled riders, who are wondering if they should get certified. Their concerns include: Is it legal to teach therapeutic riding … Continue reading
Stride Lengthening at the Walk: Lesson Plan for Group with Physical Disabilities
I am excited to share that the instructors at the Advanced Workshop I attended at Heartland Therapeutic Riding have agreed to let me post their lesson plans! This one is from Martia Wassman, program director of Ride On St. Louis, Inc., who did this as a practice mock advanced level lesson, and received feedback from the instructor/evaluator Sandy … Continue reading
Gone on Vacation
FYI I will be gone on vaction in Europe until the end of August! Had I been on top of things, I would have asked a few people to make some “guest posts” for me while I’m gone… But I didn’t think of that until now, so if there are any volunteers out there who would … Continue reading
Leg Yield: Lesson Plan for Group with Physical Disabilities
I am excited to share that the instructors at the Advanced Workshop I attended at Heartland Therapeutic Riding have agreed to let me post their lesson plans! This one is from Sandy Webster of Gaits of Change, our phenomenal workshop instructor, who made this lesson plan and then taught it to riders as an example of an … Continue reading