Tips & Quips: for Basic Riding Skills

Last year I took some lessons at Cross Winds Farms, a hunter/jumper barn, and learned some great tips & quips from some of their teachers that I want to share. Keep them in your back pocket for when you need them! One teacher would quiz me on the first few basics while walking around the … Continue reading →

TR Games Book – “Games for All Seasons”

I just became aware of a new book of games for TR instructors, check it out! It looks great! Click below. “Games for All Seasons: designed for use in therapeutic riding lessons” by Nancy Hohmann (Author), Andrew Ellis (Illustrator) **************** Note: This is not professional advice, this is a blog. I am not liable for what … Continue reading →

Instructor Scholarship!

What a great way to start off the New Year! PATH Intl.’s What Is New page just announced that they are partnering with the American Paint Horse Foundation “to benefit potential instructors… this alliance will provide scholarship assistance to potential instructors of therapeutic riding“!!! PATH reports that “The average cost of registration for a PATH Intl. … Continue reading →

2012 Wrap Up

 (source) To celebrate the end of the year, my blog host WordPress.com sent me a report on how this blog did in 2012 (it’s first year running!). I am sharing it with you in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it did me! Assuming that the majority of people who visited this site are involved in … Continue reading →

Warm Ups

This guide to warm ups is a combination of lots of resources I have. More detailed descriptions for various exercises can be found in the resources listed at the end. What A warm up is an activity that prepares the student for their riding lesson by warming up both their upper and lower body and … Continue reading →

Watching A Therapeutic Riding Lesson

You can learn a lot watching someone else teach a lesson, especially if you know what to look for! The following is a list of questions to ask yourself after watching another instructor’s lesson, taken from PATH’s instructor book and my own thoughts. Starting out, I recommend answering these while the instructor is teaching the … Continue reading →

Ring Stretches + A Good Example of Teaching

I have a video to share with you today! First, this video is a good example of a stretching activity using rings. The ring exercise is an easy one you can use during warm up to work on stretching, core muscle strengthening, and motor planning. Second, it is a good example of an instructor working with a student. The … Continue reading →

Christmas Games on Horseback

(source) (That was me, every year). Here is a list of Christmas games you can use in your lessons. Most of them are activities I looked up online and adapted to horses. They are in no particular order. This is just a start, please add to the list in the comments! Christmas Games on Horseback … Continue reading →

Resources from the Special Olympics website

I love these resources, so I’m pointing them out in a post! (They are also listed on my Resources page). Equestrian Special Olympics Coaching Guide – explains how to train a student over several months for competing aka lesson planning, various skills and riding information the student needs to know, warm up exercises, stretching and strengthening, correct body … Continue reading →