Recently a coworker lent me her master’s project from a few years ago, a binder full of Therapeutic Riding Exercises and Activities and Equine Facilitated Learning Activities, to use as a resource for this blog! First I want to share her warm ups and stretching exercises, which include the “how” and the “why” for each one. … Continue reading
Obstacle Course + Grooming Tools
This is a nice activity I did with my students this week: Arena setup: 2 barrels 1 bucket with grooming tools on the first barrel 1 bucket empty on the second barrel 1 ground pole (or more if desired) 4 weaving cones Woah at the barrel. Get a grooming tool. Have rider take a grooming … Continue reading
Rainy Day Activities
I just found a wealth of resources at the Virginia 4-H extension website! I have listed all the ones for Rainy Day Activity idea here for you. Puzzling Horse Parts A Horse of a Different Color (horse colors) Do You Have Horse Sense (horse body language) Eat Like a Horse (horse feeds) Horses Wear Clothes, Too … Continue reading
Horse Parts Games
I just found this gem of a handout by the Virgiana 4-H extension. There’s some good horse parts game ideas AND a puzzle already drawn for you, all you need to do is print it! I imagine hiding the pieces around the arena and having the rider find them then put the puzzle together on … Continue reading
Extraordinary Horses
A new reader linked to my blog from her website, so I figured I’d return the favor! Check it out: Extraordinary Horses at http://www.extraordinaryhorses.org/ This website promotes the therapeutic benefits of horses, gives a great overview of Equine Therapies, Charities, Horses, Donkeys, Grants and Research – in both the US and Australia – and the home/blog … Continue reading
Nan’s Games and Activities
A sweet reader from Australia sent me a collection of riding games and activities she put together. She gave me permission to post them all, along with pictures, and I am SO excited to share them with you! Without further ado, I present to you… “Games & Activities on Horseback, For Nervous and Beginning … Continue reading
Fun Video Friday: Getting your horse to lower its head
It’s been a while since I posted a Fun Video Friday, but with spring in the air and tiny blood sucking flies in your horses’ ears, this one seems fitting. I use the same technique with touching/cleaning my horse’s ears and now she puts her nose to the ground. Enjoy! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N3KLRGFUzg] Sometimes on Friday I … Continue reading
Token System Lesson Plan
What is the token system? The Token Economy System is a behavior modification system based on the positive reinforcement of targeted behaviors. You give the students tokens for the desired behavior, which they can later trade in for a reward. It can be used to reward students who already show good behavior and to motivate … Continue reading
Groundwork Activities for Grooming, Tacking and Leading
My barn used these groundwork activities for a special group of Big Brothers/Big Sisters they just had in and I thought they were great. The organizer based them off camp games and adapted them to horses. They’re good for incorporating horse skills into teaching life lessons and social skills. Grooming Gab Need: horses, leaders for … Continue reading
Horse Parts Puzzle
How to Make the Puzzle find a large image of a horse off Google and print it out on firm paper cut the image up into pieces that can be used to teach horse parts (above you see the tail, legs, hooves, barrel, mane, eyes and ears, and nose) Examples of using the Puzzle Short … Continue reading