Something the PATH certification process stressed was to give specific praises. Don’t say “Good Job,” say “Good job using your legs,” etc. Because the student needs to know exactly what they’re doing right. And because when someone just tells you “Good Job” over and over, you start to dismiss it. It’s also nice to switch … Continue reading
Hierarchy of Prompts
What is a prompting? Freedictionary.com says: To move to act; spur; incite To give rise to; inspire To assist with a reminder; remind. To assist (an actor or reciter) by providing the next words of a forgotten passage; cue. For the therapeutic horseback riding instructor, prompting is what we do to encourage our students to perform a … Continue reading
Fun Video Friday: Stuff Riders Say
Every so often on Friday I post some video I find funny or interesting, and that probably has nothing to do with Therapeutic Riding except that it makes you smile, and smiling is therapeutic 🙂 Today’s video is “Stuff Riders Say”. How often have you heard this said at your barn? Enjoy! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cun1Y6kN0Tc&sns=fb] Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cun1Y6kN0Tc&sns=fb … Continue reading
Halloween Games
Better late than never, right? Here are some Halloween Games! The numbers in parenthesis coincide with the source the activity quotes or is inspired by. Note: before using any game in your lesson, make sure the horses are desensitized to all items used! (source) GAMES Trick or treat – set up volunteers around the arena … Continue reading
Autumn Games
The leaves are changing colors, the weather is crisp, the apples are ripe…it’s Fall! Spice up your lessons by putting an Autumn twist on your activities. The following is a list I’ve compiled of Autumn games you can use to practice riding skills. Some can take up a whole lesson, others can be used as … Continue reading
How to Lesson Plan and Create Game Ideas
When I first started writing lesson plans I easily got overwhelmed – how do I decide what to teach? Where do I start? Here are some tips from my own experience as a perfectionist, easily-overwhelmed, and not-good-on-the-fly person. But first off, why lesson plan? It’s professional. You can show their parents you’re thinking about each … Continue reading
Rings Games
Rings are one of the “must have” items for every instructor’s toolkit! There are 1001 things you can do with rings, and more. This is just a short list of games I’ve come across, and with a little imagination I’m sure you’ll come up with more. Please add to the list by posting in the … Continue reading
Lesson Plan: Direct Rein Steering
This is an example lesson plan that my group came up with at my certification workshop. These were the made-up students (I forget their exact medical diagnosis): Bob – left side hemiplegia, can walk and steer independently, needs a leader spotting and 2 sidewalkers with ankle holds Lisa – fatigues easily, needs to learn to … Continue reading
Lesson Plan: Posting Trot
This is an example lesson plan they taught us at my certification workshop. They really emphasized everything having a reason, which hopefully shows in these notes, like why you mount which kid first. PLAN Objective: The rider will perform the posting trot down the long side of the arena 2x in each direction, with a … Continue reading
The Dice Game I
(source) There are many different ways to use a dice in TR. This is one game I recently learned! Supplies: 2 big dice (such as the ones above, found by googling “big dice”) Game: Have both students woah at one end of the arena, facing down the centerline, side by side. (They will be “racing” … Continue reading