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.