Tuesday 21 October 2014

Being In Control in The Sessions.

This week in the sessions I wanted to carry on with the idea of steering, I also wanted to get riders into the idea of holding the reins in one hand while doing something so as to be in control of the horse at the same time.
Because the riders and helpers enjoyed the cones being put in a zig zag down one side of the school I repeated it again this week.

I had the school set out like this.



I did a variety of things with this layout.
  • I got the riders to steer though the poles making sure that they didn't let their horses step over the poles.
  • The riders were asked to stop through a set of poles and count to a number before carrying on through the poles.
  • The riders had to stop and after putting their reins into one hand, they chose an item off the tray at the start of the poles, then after putting reins back into both hands they carried on walking through the poles and then stopped by the bucket, after again putting both reins into one hand they dropped the item into the bucket.
  • The riders had to stop between the bucket and upright, the riders then had to take an item off the tray making sure that they had put both reins in one hand, they then had to swap the item into the other hand so as to place the item into the bucket, the riders also had to think about swapping the reins over into the other hand so as to be able to do this.
  • The riders took an item off a tray making sure that they had put the reins into one hand before removing the item, then they steered through the cones before placing the item back on the other tray.
  • The riders were asked to stop by a cone/ cones and swap the item from one hand to the other hand.
The riders did these exercises on both reins.

They were also encouraged to use both hands to take the object off the tray and  place in the bucket or other tray. This proved to be a challenge for some of the riders, although with some help from their helpers managed to accomplish it. 
By the end of the sessions the riders were really getting the idea of holding the reins in one hand and swapping them over into the other hand while doing the activities.











 
 
 
 


 

Friday 15 August 2014

Steering Practice at East Devon RDA.

I wanted to encourage the riders to steer more at the riding sessions at East Devon RDA, so I had the equipment laid out in the school as shown in the plan below.




I had the cones placed out in a zig zag for a change, as it made it a little  more challenging for the riders, as they had to think about not only steering around the cones but also going from the track on to the 5m line and back to the track.

I used the layout in the following ways. The riders did all these exercises on both reins.
  • I got riders to steer through the cones, I also got the riders to stop by each cone and count to a number before walking on. Then I gave riders a number and they had to count the cones and then stop at the corresponding cone for that number.
  • I used the poles to get riders to steer through the poles off the track, they had to turn and go through the poles on the centre line and then back through the next pair of poles to re-join the track.
  • I got the riders stopping their ponies and horses through the poles, sometimes they were asked to count up to a number.
  • I had items placed on the uprights, so riders practised stopping between the uprights, then moved an item from one side to the other side.
  • Riders were also asked to carry an item from the uprights, through the cones and then through the poles before replacing it back on to the upright.
  • As well as weaving through the cones, I asked the riders to do a circle right around each cone before moving on to do the same at the next cone.

As well as steering being an aim of these sessions today, I wanted to get riders thinking of being aware of the other riders in the school and to look where they were going. They had to stop and wait while riders did the different obstacles if they had caught up before the rider in front of them had completed the set task.

Everyone enjoyed their riding today.
Having tea and biscuits with the helpers afterwards they said they were very impressed with how the rider that they were working with completed the various tasks.

Wednesday 13 August 2014

First Thursday as the Instructor at East Devon Group.

The first Thursday teaching as the Instructor at East Devon RDA, I decided to go over things that the riders had done before we stopped for the Easter break so I got the helpers to set the school up as shown below. The helpers are finding that using my layout plan sheet very good and it doesn't take very long for them to set out the school how I would like it to be set up.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
        I wanted to get the riders to do a lot of steering today and halting to improve their control of the horses.

 I used the above plan in these various ways. The riders did all these exercises on both reins.
  • I got the riders to steer through the cones which were down one side.
  • The poles were placed on the 5 m  line so the riders had to steer through 3 cones and then walk between the 2 poles. 
  •  I got the riders to stop between the poles, I asked them to count to a number before walking on and steering through the next set of 3 cones.
  •  The riders were asked to take an item from one upright while they were stopping between the poles and then walk around to the next set of poles and stop between those poles,placing the item on that upright. As well as going around on the track, riders were encouraged to go around in a circle.
  • The riders walked from a barrel to the poles on the 5m line and then back to the barrel in the corner, sometimes being asked to stop between the poles and count to a number.
  • The riders that are trotting were asked to trot from one barrel and then walk at the next barrel, this was good as the riders had to prepare to walk and trot.
  • The riders were also asked to collect an item from one barrel and steer through the poles and place the item on the other barrel.
  • Riders were asked to change direction by going down the centre line, sometimes stopping at the uprights which are placed at 'X' , some riders swapped items between the uprights.

The above exercises also incorporated several dressage movements.
  • 5m loops.
  • Riding down the centre line.
  • Halting at X.
  • 10m circles. 
  • Halting and immobility for 5 sec
All the riders enjoyed their riding today and did some very good steering though the obstacles and stopping, whether they were using their reins or just their body to control their horses.                                                                                                                                                    

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Riding and Road Safety.

On another visit to a group in which I was assessing one of the instructors , chatting with the instructor after the assessment, she told me that she had used poles to make a road system and how she used it in the riding session.

She was happy for me to share it on here for others to use.



Using poles set out a road system in the arena. a main road running down the centre line with 2 side roads coming off it works well.

This can be used for practising steering and transitions, stopping at junctions, trotting down the main road, turning off and giving hand signals.


                                  


If you have spare helpers these can be used as traffic to teach giving way, saying thank you and hazard awareness.


You could put in a couple of shops, maybe a food shop at one end and a saddlers selling grooming kit at the other end.
 






 


If you have a lot of  helpers, some could dress up as lollipop ladies or policemen!

Or you could make road signs/ traffic lights.

The possibilities are endless.

Sunday 8 June 2014

Instructor Assessing

As well as teaching at the groups over the last few weeks, I have been going around the RDA groups assessing new Instructors, which is a role I enjoy as it gives me the opportunity to see how the groups are getting on and I can help to sort out any problems that might have arisen since my last visit to the group.
It also gives me a chance to get some different idea's and see what equipment each group uses.

I recently visited the Burcott group which is near to Glastonbury, it is quite a journey for me as it takes about an hour and half to get there, the views across the Somerset levels as I drive to Glastonbury is wonderful and more than makes up for it. The weather on the day that I visited was nice as well which always helps as the riding is outside, it makes it all the more pleasant.

The Instructor that I was assessing had done a good layout and lesson plan which I drew as I thought I could share it on here.
She had made  three rows  of which each row had two buckets and cones and a upright pole which had rings on. Each row was a particular colour.





Her theme for the riding sessions was accuracy.

She used this layout in various ways.

1.She had them bending through the cones and buckets.
2.she also got them to stop by each bucket to drop the rings in, which first they had collected from the upright pole.
3.she also got the riders to place the rings on to the cones at both ends.
4. She got the riders to stop by each item making sure that their leg was above or by the item.
5. She also got the riders to replace the rings back on to the upright after they had been given the ring from the buckets by a helper.
6. She also got the riders to move items from one bucket to the next bucket depending on which way they were going.


I was really impress with her riding session, the idea's that she had used and how she controlled the session.
I recommended her for her RDA badge and certificate.

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Easter Rides at East Devon RDA.

The last week before Easter at East Devon RDA, I took both the Thursday and Friday riding sessions.
 Easter cakes  and Easter eggs were  brought in for every one to enjoy.


 

 



I designed a course of different things that the riders had done with me over the few weeks that I had been covering the riding sessions.






I even made a 'gate' using two blocks and a pole.
which I used to teach all the riders how to approach a gate and open it.

Once the riders had got on their horses and settled into their riding, we did all the obstacle's that I had put up in the arena.

The riders did the course once, then a lot of the riders that had been coming off the lead rein came off the leading rein for the second time of doing the course, they also had to look out for cardboard pictures of Easter eggs that were hidden in or on the obstacles, which they exchanged after they had got off their horses for an Easter egg and cake.

   




The course was.

First they had to bend around the cones and then stop between the uprights move a bean bag from one upright across  to the other upright.
Then they had to walk to the upright by A and pick out a coloured ball which they carried and placed it in the matching coloured bucket while walking towards C.
 
 The riders then walked through my 'road' and turned to either trot or do a nice walk from one block to the next block.
Then they walked to the 'gate' and asked for it to be opened ,the riders had to remember to say 'thank you' to the person opening the gate and wish them a 'Happy Easter'.

Everyone had a lot of fun and felt they had achieved a lot over the weeks.

On the Friday after the rides I was given an Easter egg to say thank you for coming and covering the rides over the previous weeks.
Over coffee I was asked if I would do the rides on a permament basis, I agreed to do the Thursday rides after Easter as I am able to move some other work around,Friday is a little difficult to do permanently.


 
 
 
 


Tuesday 22 April 2014

Friday riding sessions.


My third week of taking the Friday riding sessions at the East Devon RDA group I wanted to carry on with the same theme as the last couple of weeks using poles on the ground, I used a similar idea as I had done last week by putting poles on a  20m circle, this time I used both ends of the school so two riders could use one end and another two riders the other end.
I also used two uprights and some cones, as shown on the layout plan.

The helpers on the Friday sessions are not the same ones as that come on a Thursday so I was able to see if these helpers found my layout plan useful to use. They were impressed with it and all agreed it made setting up a lot quicker as everyone knew what was needed and where it was to go in the school.







I had bean bags and other items on the trays of the uprights.

The cones were set up down one side, these were used to warm up both the riders and horses.
We did some of the exercises over the poles that we had done over the last couple of weeks.

One of the exercises was to walk over the poles one way doing a whole circle,then walk to the upright and then stop collect an item off the tray and walk across the middle of the school to the other upright and stop,place the item on this tray and then when reaching the track turn and go the other way and over this circle of poles.
 For the last session where the riders are needing more of a challenge I got them to ride a small circle around each of the poles and then a circle around the outside of all the poles.






All the riders enjoyed their riding sessions and found these exercises quite challenging.

Some of the riders managed to ride off the lead rein towards the end of their session, which gave them a great sense of achievement.

The helpers enjoyed the sessions as they found it better than just walking around the outside track in the school.






Sunday 13 April 2014

More Relief Coaching.

I got a phone call from the chairman of the RDA group that I have been doing the relief Instructing for to see if I could take another session at very short notice as the Instructor was not able to take the session, luckily I was able to move some other work around and could do the sessions for them. 
I hadn't taken these sessions for a very long time so there wasn't any riders that I had instructed before, I knew also that there would be a lot of helpers that I wouldn't know and they wouldn't know how I work so I made up a riding session layout plan template that way I could design the layout of the school and they would be able to follow it and set up the arena for me.
They were very impressed  and it worked really well, so next time I see my instructors on group visits I'll be able to show them and see if they think they would find it useful.
 It certainly helped me with planning the sessions and allowed me to think of how I could adapt the various things to cater for all the riders, it also means I can save the plan for future use.

I kept the layout very simple for the riders as I wasn't sure of their ability.

I used barrels, cones, poles and uprights.

Here is the plan of the layout that I did.





I got the riders bending through the cones so they could practise their steering, some where able to do this without very much help.

I wanted to get the riders thinking about where they were riding so placing the two pole on the 5m line down the K H side, I got the riders to steer off the track and walk along side the poles and then re-join the track before the corner, this is the starting of getting them into the idea of 5m loops.

There were  items placed on the uprights, the riders had to stop by an upright and collect an item and walk through the 2 poles over X and place it on the other upright, this was good as they could change the rein when reaching either B or E. I added in a halt through the poles as well to create a more challenging exercise.

The barrels had items on, so riders had to collect something from a barrel and then either steer through the cones and place it on the next barrel, or steer of the track and walk along side the two poles, making the loop, then place the item on the next barrel.

I was very impressed with some of the riders as they did some very good steering and stopping, some even managed to do these exercises off the lead rein, the helpers all enjoyed the variety and thought it was a good with the loops as it made a change coming off the track around the arena. 


I got the thumbs up from the riders too as they all said they had enjoyed their ride and found it fun.

Sunday 6 April 2014

Relief coaching. Second week.

Accuracy

Relief teaching again the following week I wanted to carry on with the same theme of accuracy with the riders.
 So I use the poles in a very similar way to the previous week in that I placed them in a 20m circle using four of the poles and the other 4 poles I placed on a 10m circle inside the larger circle.

This time I placed the uprights with the trays on at the outer ends of the poles on the large circle.

The trays had various items on.







I used this layout in several different ways.

I first got the riders to walk around the outside of the large circle, then after they had done this, I got them to stand next to each pole, making sure that their leg was beside the upright.
Then the riders had to move an item from a tray to, first the next tray, then to a tray that I said.

The riders first walked over the large circle of poles and then over the small circle.
Making sure that the horse that they were riding went over the coloured part of the pole.
 
For some of the riders in  the last session, I brought in the idea of leg yielding using this layout, The riders walked over the centre of the pole, then they asked their horse to move away from the centre of the pole to the outer coloured part of the pole nearer to the outside of the circle by using the leg, they could see how well they got on by where they walked over the pole. 

For the first session riders, when they were walking around the outside of the large circle, I got them to count out how many strides that their horse had made till the next upright, they did this to each upright until they had gone all the way round the circle.
Some where the same and some had different number of strides.
This brought in the idea of rhythm and paces. Riders can be encouraged to ask their horses to make bigger or smaller steps so as to ride each segment with same number of paces.
All these exercises where done on both reins.

Although these riders only walked these exercises, trot could be incorporated by trotting round the outside circle, practising transitions from walk to trot, from 1/4 or 1/2 circle uprights, aiming to show the change of pace as the rider goes by the upright, (accuracy ).
Then progress to trot, walk and halt transitions doing this on both reins.

Thursday 20 March 2014

Relief Coaching.

Working on Accuracy

I was asked to cover at an RDA group the other day, it was with some riders that I hadn't taught for a long time and there was also some new riders in the sessions.

As I wasn't sure quite what they had been working on, I decided to work on accuracy using poles as this always seems to go down well and is stimulating for both riders and helpers.

I set the arena out  using 8 poles, 4 poles were set on a large circle and 4 poles were set on a small circle.

I also used trays on poles with items on, half way between the poles.

                          



    First I got the riders to walk around and over the poles on the large circle, the poles that I used had  a coloured centre section so I asked that the riders rode their horses over this and this helped them with being accurate over the poles, to look forward and plan where they wanted to go.
   Once happy with this, I asked that they rode over the middle of the poles on the smaller circle.
   Then to make it a bit more challenging for the riders I  asked them to ride first over a pole on the outer  circle, then on to a pole on the inner circle, then on to an outer pole.
   The exercise was repeated on the other rein.


       I then introduced the poles with trays that had items on. The riders had to walk over the poles and then ask their horses to stop beside the pole, as we were working on accuracy the horse had to stop so the rider's leg was right beside the pole, the rider then chose an item, then proceeded to walk over the next pole and place the object on the next tray.
       We started by walking over  the large circle of poles and then went on to walking over the small circle of poles.
       The riders were then told they had to walk over a set number of poles before putting the item on a tray.
        I also allowed the riders to chose whether they walked over the small circle of poles or the large circle of poles.
       The exercise was repeated on the other rein.


At the end of the sessions all the riders said they had thoroughly enjoyed their riding and had found these exercises quite challenging in various ways. Next session I shall carry on using a similar layout, to stimulate the riders, encourage more stretching and balance keeping with the idea of accuracy.
  

Thursday 13 March 2014

Activites at Acorns and squirrels.



                 We have been back a couple of weeks now at Acorn and squirrels RDA since half term, we were not able to ride just before half term because of the rain, winds and flooding around here, as not many helpers or riders could get to the stables.
                 We have had two new riders join us Rebecca and James, they have ridden before at a riding school and wanted to continue with their riding. One of their disabilities is that they are deaf, the carers that bring them to the sessions sign for them during the sessions so as to know what is going on and can participate in the riding session.
                 It has been quite a while since I had riders with hearing difficulties, so I need to work at remembering the signs to be able communicate with them, we have struck an agreement, I teach them riding and they teach me sign language.
                  I have been getting the riders to start to be more accurate in their halting and walking and turning, first while they are being led and then when they ride off the lead rein.
                  I have been setting out the school with buckets at the letters A,C,E and B, to start with I got the riders to stop at each bucket making sure that their leg and foot was above the bucket, then once they were happy with that they were given an item to place in the bucket when they stopped.
                I placed a pole with a tray on the top in a cone, I placed some items on each of the trays. The riders stopped by the pole collected an item and the placed it in the bucket.
                The riders were then asked to walk to a bucket of their choice as each of the buckets were a different colour, once they had done this and were happy about coming off the lead rein, they did. The riders did this in both directions.

                 I also got them to stop between the bucket and pole, take  an item off the tray and place it in the bucket on the opposite side.
                 This meant they had to put the reins into one hand ,then transfer the reins to the other hand so as to be able to place the item in the bucket.

This is good practice for organising the reins and using the fine motor skills.





 




There are  several different sign languages that are available, the ones that I have used for my riders are mainly Makaton  and Somerset total communication.

 

Thursday 6 March 2014

Traffic Lights.

                                                          


I came across this idea in an old RDA magazine and thought it might be useful to share here.








Its called Traffic lights.

The benefits are as follows:-

Practice stopping and starting on command.
Changing the rein.
Improved balance of the rider on the turn.
Increased attention of riders and helpers.




The game.

Have the riders on a 20m circle in the middle of the school, with the leaders on the outside.
The Instructor calls out at random red, green or amber. (If signing amber is orange).
When the rider hears red ,they halt.
When the rider hears green they walk on.
When the rider hears amber they walk round the leader who marks time, until they have changed the rein. Once the rider has the pony facing the other way the leader then changes to the outside and the game continues.


It can be adapted for what standard of riders you are teaching.
The ride can go around the arena rather than working on a circle and then chose where and how they change the rein when amber is called.




Monday 10 February 2014

Horse Care.

For riders wanting to take their proficiency tests for RDA, they have the opportunity to take horse care for each of the grades.

I have listed some ideas in which horse care can be included in a riding session, they can be adapted for what grade each rider is working towards.

Peg Game.

Make a set of labels which can be attached to pegs, if laminated they will last longer.
they can be colour coded to indicate which grade they are for.

Grade 1 - Blue.
Grade 2 - Red.
Grade 3 - Green.
Grade 4 - Yellow.

Write on the labels, points of the horse, parts of the tack that you are attempting to teach the riders. Use the lower case letters so the riders can read them.
On the reverse of the label put a picture or symbol for those riders that can not read.

Attach labels to hooks at the top of poles where riders can collect them, read them or identify the picture and attach them to their horse/pony in the right place.

There are points where you cant peg a label, i.e. Eyes, hocks, back but they can be pegged close by or onto the leader or side walker! this may cause some laughter if everyone gets covered in pegs.

This game helps not only to teach horse care while riding, it helps with literacy and dexterity.

Soft grip pegs are good for this and cable ties can be used to attach the labels to them.


Grooming kit.

Items of grooming kit can be used in lessons, helping riders to become familiar with them and they love to brush or comb their horse/ponies mane.

It is helpful if you can get sets of grooming kit in different colours this can really help riders to learn the names of everything.

Start with identifying the colours.
" Can you find all the green items and put them in the green bucket?"
" Can you bring me the Dandy brush? Its the yellow one."



Match the Colours.

Find some large clear pictures of different coloured horses.
Magazines,feed catalogues, old books and on line are all a good source.
Stick them on to brightly coloured pieces of A4 card, write the colour of the horse under the picture. Use lower case letters just make them as big and clear as possible.
If laminated they will last for a long time.

They can be pinned around the arena so the riders can see them. they can be used throughout the lesson.
E.g. " Change the rein from the bay to the palomino."
      " Halt by the Piebald pony."
      "Ride a 10m circle at the chestnut pony."
      "Find the picture that's the same colour as your  Horse/pony."


You could also have a set of smaller cards with pictures of different colour horses which can be used for a matching game, or even a game of colour snap on a rainy day.

Pictures tend to be of horses and ponies doing lots of different activities that riders may not be aware of . racing, jumping, rolling, circus or police horses. Try and find a good variety.

Other sets of cards could be.

1. The different markings on horses/ponies.
2. The grooming kit.
3. Different types of feeds.
4. Parts of the tack.
5. Parts of the horse/pony.
6. Different stable items.
7. Different types of bedding.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Numeracy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
I have listed some ideas to include numeracy into the therapy riding sessions, at the same time making the sessions fun.
 
Dice.


 
Using dice that are made from sponge.
Riders are able to roll the dice from the horse / pony.
The dice is rolled and the number is identified.
It could be done as a race to see who can get to the end first, if there is enough dice each rider could have one.
Two dice could be used and sums could be made up if the riders are more able.
i.e.
6 + 4 =  10.
3 + 5 =  8.
6 - 3  = 6.

If the riders are able then times table could be used.
i.e.
2 x 3 = 6.
3 x 4 = 12.

The possibilities endless.

How Many?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 This can be done while the ride is moving around the school.

"How many legs have you got.?"
"How many legs has your horse/pony got.?"
"How many legs have you got between you and your horse/pony.?"

"How many ears has your horse/pony got.?"
"How many ears on all the horses/ponies in the lesson.?"

Counting and adding leg,eyes,ears,tails,hooves,fingers and toes on horses/ponies,riders and helpers.
This not only helps with numeracy but also identifies the differences between people and horses.

Clock Game.

A large easy to read clock with movable hands can be made and put up in the school.

This can be used for counting steps.
Show the time of the riding session and when it finishes.
For the game of " What's the time mr. Wolf ?"


Counting strides to transitions.
 
Getting the riders to count strides then halt, starting with a number and then reducing it by 1 stride each time,or starting with 1 stride and then adding a stride.
i.e.
8 strides then halt,7 strides then halt, 6 strides then halt and so on.
1 stride then halt, 2 strides then halt,3 strides then halt and so on.

                                                                                  

Sunday 26 January 2014

Acorn and Squirrels RDA return after christmas break.

We have been back for a couple of riding sessions after the Christmas break at Acorn and squirrels RDA. This week I was again working on getting the riders to steer and stop their ponies on their own off the lead rein.
Last week being the first week back I just got the riders back into riding by doing simple exercises, stopping and starting, walking through cones. A couple of my riders, suffer from tight muscle tone, so not having been riding for several weeks, means they often get tired and their muscle hurt so very often they can't manage riding for the whole time, when this happens they tell us and we get them off the ponies. This week they managed the whole ride.

Sue, my fellow instructor at the group, who normally takes the first session, had been sorting out over Christmas and had found some apples which where fake, they had been used for one of the obstacles in the countryside challenge, this is an RDA competition. They had a loop of string attached so they could be hung on hooks, they look very realistic as shown by the teeth marks in them. I think they were florist  accessories ,they were I think quite expensive.
We placed them on poles that had hooks on, the riders had to remove the apples,this exercise was good in helping the riders with their fine motor skills.


key to picture.
Green triangles are cones.
3 sided squares are buckets.
The T shapes are the poles with rings on the top.


 
For a change today I set the arena out as shown in the picture, I got the riders working on going diagonally across the arena,on one diagonal they had to stop and remove a ring from the top of the pole and place it on the next pole, on the other diagonal they had to stop by a pole and remove an apple and then stop by a bucket and place the apple into it.

Once the riders had got use to doing this, I got the leaders to remove the lead reins so the riders did this exercise on their own, I also had a row of cones down one side so the riders could practice weaving through them. To finnish the session, the riders lined up at one end and had a couple of races, one was to put a ring in a bucket at the other end and another race we did was to drop one of the apples in the bucket.

Friday 24 January 2014

The Feely Game.


I have been clearing out my filing cabinet today and came across a clipping from an old RDA magazine from several years ago.
It is an article that an RDA Instructor had written about a game that she uses in her RDA sessions. So I thought I would share it here.

It is called The Feely Game. It helps to reinforces the knowledge needed for the proficiency tests.


Use a number of coloured buckets and in each put a different everyday object(s), e.g. slices of bread, pegs,feathers, water (always good for a squeal !). The buckets are spread out around the arena. The idea of the game is that the children ride up to a bucket with their eyes closed, their helper lifts up the bucket and the rider puts in a hand and feels (hence the name) what's in the bucket,(they can smell) and decide what's in the bucket.  That's the easy part done.
 They then have to think of a part of a pony, and/or a part of the tack, and/or marking of a pony, and /or colour of a pony, and /or a piece of grooming kit beginning with the same letter.

Some idea's are.

water      w      withers              waist.
bread       b      back                   bit                bay          blaze          body brush.
feathers   f   forelock, fetlock    flap.
pegs        p      poll                    pommel        piebald.
tissues     t       tail                     throat lash.
pine cones  c     crest                  cheek piece  chestnut.
straw       s       shoulder            stirrup skirt    skewbald    snip star.
hay          h       hock  hoof         headpiece.
grass        g                                 girth               grey.


The idea of using coloured buckets is that the riders can easily pick the next bucket they want to go to before closing their eyes again. Above are ideas for 8 buckets.
This game can be ridden in open order, this is one way of making the horse care part of RDA a little more fun.




Thursday 23 January 2014

Taking Chard RDA Monday evening sessions.

I was asked if it was possible that I could cover  the Chard RDA rides on a Monday evening for the last few sessions before they finished for the winter, as their normal Instructor had had an accident and wasn't going to be able to do these sessions.

This gave me the opportunity to work with Jackie,the trainee Instructor with that ride.
I started the riding sessions and then Jackie took over, I was then able to point out different things to watch out for during the riding sessions and also covered various scenarios that could happen and possible solutions that could be done.
 
I then got Jackie to think about what could be done to get the riders progressing. It was quite good as I have taught these riders when they were younger at Forde Abbey so I know their disabilities and what riding they have done.
 
With the first week we got the riders doing steering through blocks, stopping at buckets, placing items in them. We also laid out poles,making a zig zag road so the riders had to steer through them.
At the end of this session Jackie and I discussed what we could do next session, we thought that with a couple of the riders we could get them riding off the lead rein. I agreed that I would show Jackie the progression of getting riders off the lead rein.
 
At the second session a couple of weeks later, once the session started and the riders had settled into their riding, I explained to Jackie how we get riders gradually off the lead rein, I then showed her how the leaders should hold on to the lead rein through the various stages, until the lead rein is removed from the head collar. This not only showed Jackie what she would need to tell leaders, but helped to remind the leaders themselves.
 
We had set the school up in a similar pattern to the previous session,( as pictured above, the squares are the blocks to bend through, the circles are the buckets and the lines are the poles to walk through.) Jackie thought it was better to keep it simple for the riders. We got the riders going through the various obstacles once they were happy going through them, the leaders gradually let the riders ride more independently, until we were happy that they would manage to control the ponies off the lead rein.
       Then the big moment came for them to come off the lead rein, the leaders took the lead reins off and walked beside them so they could take over if the need arose the riders then did the obstacles which they managed to do without any major mishaps.
The expressions on their faces, knowing that they were riding on their own said it all.
As it was their last ride before Christmas it was nice that they could feel that they had achieved something.
We had got all the riders off the ponies and were just clearing away the equipment when I felt a tap on my side and turning around to see who it was,found it to be Ella,one of the riders,standing there with a small box of chocolates in her hand, she wished me a happy Christmas with a big smile on her face, I said that I didn't know if I should really be having these chocolates as I had only been instructing them for a couple of weeks, she replied that if I hadn't of come,she wouldn't have been able to ride so I did deserve them. So I smiled and said 'thank you' to her.

Sunday 19 January 2014

Grading riders for their Grade One Certificates.

I was asked just before Christmas to go to Taunton in Somerset to an  RDA group there to assess some riders for their RDA grade one proficiency tests, there was several riders to assess, some were hoping to do their horse care for the grade one,so I was there for most of the day.
The school had been set out in shapes using cones,poles. There was also a row of uprights for bending through down one side. There were four shapes, a circle,square,triangle and a rectangle.







 
The riders were asked to do various things using this layout.
 
1. They were asked to chose a shape and then go and stand in the shape.
2. They were asked to go to one shape and the go to the next shape and so go until they had been to all of them and also weaves through the uprights.
3. They were asked to walk around the outside of the shapes as close as they could without going over the poles.
4. When they stood in the shape they where asked a horse care question.
5. A bucket was placed in each shape and the riders were given an item to be placed in the bucket of the shape they were told to go to.
6. If the shapes were made using cones only, the riders could bend their horses through them.( The circle was made of cones.)

If there was pictures of different items,these could be put in the buckets and when the riders stop by the buckets in the shapes they could pick one out and say what it is.( This would be a good way of the riders showing that they know their horse care.)

All these helped show the riders were up to standard to pass the riding grade one.
Which was to sit happily and maintain a balanced position in walk,changes of direction and halting. They also need to be able to show a exercise that they knew.

Some of the riders were able to answer the horse care questions for grade one, those that I asked all knew the answers, there seemed to be a competition between some of them to see who could answer the questions the quickest.

All the riders passed their grade one and those taking their horse care also passed it.
 
All the riders received certificates and badges, their parents and carers were proud. There were lots of photo's taken with riders standing by their ponies.
 
I went the following week to grade the riders that were unable to be there this week.

Monday 13 January 2014

Relief Teaching.

I was asked to cover some RDA  sessions  at an RDA group that I don't normally teach at, for a couple of weeks because their usual Instructor was unable to take the sessions.
The last time I covered these sessions was at the beginning of the summer,so it was really nice to go back and see how the riders were doing and meet a couple of new riders that had started to ride there.

I set the arena out using poles and cones and some barrels and rings and toys.
Down one side I placed cones and two poles so  the riders could bend through the cones and walk between the poles.
  I used 6 other poles to make a square so the riders had to walk between the two poles, going around the square shape at the same time. I got them to stop between the poles and count to 5 before walking on to the next set of poles, this also involved the helpers encouraging the riders to count by holding up their fingers to help the riders count.
  Because the poles came across the middle of the arena, the riders were able to turn and come down the centre of the school and walk over the poles, this was ideal for some of the riders because of the severity of their disabilities, they need to do sensory work, they were able to feel the different movement of the horse as it picked up its feet to walk over the poles, this was shown by the change of expression on the face of these riders.

Down the other side of the arena I placed a barrel at either end, so riders had to stop and collect a ring or soft toy and walk to the other barrel and stop their horse and place the ring/toy on it.

To finish each session, the riders did an obstacle course, starting by bending through the cones, stopping through the poles ,counting to 5 before continuing through the cones, then turning down the middle and walking over the poles and then turning to walk and collecting a ring/toy and then walking to place it on the other barrel.

It was really nice at the end of the sessions one of the helpers came up and said he had
thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and how stimulating they had been for both riders and helpers alike.
This was really nice to hear as tending to focus on what the rider needs, sometimes making the helpers feel that they are doing a very important job can be overlooked.


 
Above is a sketch of the lay out that I did, the Triangles were the cones, the lines are poles and the circles are the barrels.