More Road Safety.

I wanted to carry on with the road safety theme from the previous weeks riding sessions, this week I  introduced  the concept of a roundabout, I set the arena out as shown below.

 I used a circle of cones so as to make a 'roundabout' for the riders to ride around. I also made roads from poles that gave the opportunity for riders to chose which way they wanted to walk towards and around the roundabout.

I placed items in the buckets and on the uprights, giving riders the opportunity to stretch for things, helping to get a sensory feeling, this also helped the helpers interact with the riders by discussing the various items and also which way riders wanted to ride around the various 'roads'.




 

There were various ways that I used this layout depending on each riders ability.
Below are just a few ideas and examples of the different uses. Each of the exercises were done on both reins.

1.  Riders walked through the poles and  around the 'roundabout' then back through the poles.
2.  Riders halted through each set of poles while doing the above exercise.
3.  Riders collected an item from the upright and decide which 'road' to walk through, halted  at the bucket and dropped the item in, then carried on walking around the 'roundabout' and then back through the 'road'.
4.  Riders collected an item from the upright and decided which 'road' to walk through, walked around the 'roundabout' then halted at the bucket by the second 'road', then dropped the item in.
5. Riders halted at each cone of the 'roundabout' before walking through the second road.
6. Riders walked through the 'road', halted at a bucket, chose an item from it, walked around the 'roundabout' then dropped the item in the second bucket.
7. Riders collected a mug from the upright, walked through the 'roads', to the 'roundabout' and chose which cone to put the mug on.
8. Riders walked through the 'roads' and collected a mug from one of the cones in the 'roundabout', returning it back to the uprights.

As well as being fun for both riders and helpers, the exercises helped with interaction, communication, concentration and co-ordination.

  

Starting to do road safety.

This lesson plan I designed to start to introduce some road safety for the riders.

I used poles to make road junctions as in the previous riding sessions I had riders making their own choices in which way to turn their horses.

I placed a row of cones down one side as these are used to encourage riders to think and engage while the other riders are mounting, as riders don't get very much time to ride, I like them to start doing things as soon as they are mounted.

How the plan was used.

1. I got the riders to walk their horses through the poles going across the school. 

2. Then the riders were asked to turn at either 'A' or 'C', halt between the pole and then look both sides as if checking for traffic, then signal by putting their arm out to the side after deciding which way they wanted to go.

3. The riders turned to walk across the school through the poles and then had to decide if they wanted to walk straight across or turn to walk to either A or C, again signalling with their arms.

4. The riders were then asked to get something out of a bucket go through the poles deciding which way they wanted to go by signalling so as to put the item in the other bucket.

5. An extra thing riders did to the above was to steer through the cones after collecting an item.

6. Riders collected something from a tray and did the same as No 4.

7. Riders collected something from a tray and did the same as No 5.

8. Riders collected something from a tray and then turned by signalling through the poles to place the item in bucket.

9. Riders collected something from a bucket and then turned by signalling through the poles to place the item on a tray.

The riders were asked to do these exercises from both reins and some progressed to riding the exercises off the leading rein with someone walking beside them.

Encouraging Riders to make their own Decisions.

The following lesson plan I used at all my Rda sessions one week, I wanted to encourage the riders to chose where they wanted to ride and also interact with their helpers as at one of the Rda groups that I coach at, there's several riders that are on the autistic spectrum some of which find it difficult to interact with people.

I used poles to make a cross in the middle of the school, allowing enough distance between the pole for the riders and their helpers to walk between without walking on a pole. Each pair of  poles were a matching colour.

  I had an upright and a bucket by each set of poles with items in the buckets and on the uprights.

  I also had a row of cones down one side, I put cones out down a side in most riding sessions that I teach or coach in because while riders are mounting at the start of the sessions, riders already mounted can be steering through these cones or practice their halting by stopping at each cone, rather that just walking around the arena, this is a good way to stimulate riders while they are warming up and waiting for the session to commence.

I did various things with this plan.

1. To start with I got riders to ride their horses through the poles,first down the centre line and across the middle from 'B' to 'E'.
2. I then got them walk through a set of poles then to turn left or right when getting to 'X' and walk through a set of poles to leave the cross.
3. The riders then had to do the same again but this time they chose which colour poles to walk through into the cross and then chose which way to turn and go through the poles to come out of the cross.
4. I then asked the riders to halt between the poles that they walked through into and out of the cross.
5. Riders then collected something of a tray and walked through the poles at 'X' they chose whether to go straight on or turn either to the left or right, going through the poles before placing their item on the tray.
6. The riders did the same as above but this time chose something out a bucket and place it in another bucket.
7. I then got the riders to halt when they went through each set of poles, while they were taking an item.

The helpers encouraged riders to chose were they wanted to go and what item they wanted, The riders had to interact with the leader before the horses were allowed to go where the riders wanted.

Doing this sort of exercise allows me the opportunity to stand back and watch how the riders work with their helpers and to observe  how the rider is riding and if there is anything that needs to be addressed.

When doing this I get a lot of feedback from the helpers about the riders, another comment from helpers is that they feel that they can interact and work better with the riders, so feeling that they are valued.


 

A lesson Plan for when there's little equipment.

Looking through my lesson plans, I came across this plan that I had used for several sessions at various Rda Groups.
It's one to use if there isn't a lot of equipment available, which sometimes I come across when teaching at Rda Groups.

Poles.

I used 4 poles which I placed down the centre of the school,they were paced out with 6 paces between each pole, these I used in several ways.

1. The riders walked their horses over each pole, aiming to keep their horses walking a straight line using the coloured part of the pole in the middle to help guide them. This is useful to help ride a straight centre line in dressage tests.

Introducing the idea of Serpentines.

In this weeks riding session, I wanted the riders to work on turning and bending, carrying on with the same theme of steering from the week before. I wanted to introduce loops in the riding sessions with the idea of working toward doing serpentines.

I set the arena up with help from the helpers, as shown below.

I used this set up in a variety of ways depending on what the riders were able to do.

• I got the riders to bend in and out of the cones down each side of the arena, this was a good warming up exercise for both riders and the horses.
• To practise stopping, I got the riders to stop at a cone.
• The riders were then then asked when they got to either A or C to go around the first cone and then turn and go down through the poles,then go around the next cone which was before either B or E, before walking down through the next set of poles, then the riders were asked to walk around the next cone before coming down through the next set of poles. To finish of this exercise the riders walked around the last cone to go around to either C or A.
• Once the riders got the idea of this exercise, I got  them to stop between the poles.
• The riders had to stop through the first set of poles and collect something which had been placed on a tray then carrying on the loop around to the poles in the middle, stopping before placing the item in the bucket.
• The rider then did the opposite, stopping at a bucket and taking out an item and placing it back on to the tray.

Some other things that could be done with this are.

• When the riders were stopped between the poles, they could count to a number before walking on,or they could be asked a horse care question before carrying on.
• When the rides stop between the poles in the middle they could take something out of one bucket and place in the other bucket placing the object  into the other hand to drop it in.
• When the riders ride through the poles, after riding the third set of poles the riders could then carrying on around to come back down through the poles in the middle, then back down through the first pair of poles.
• The riders could walk a circle around each cone. 
• The riders could stop by each cone, either when they are walking down the long sides or when they are doing the loops around to the poles. again they could be asked to count to a number or be asked a horse care question.
• Riders could be taught how to do a figure of eight using the poles as markers.

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.

 

 

 

 





 

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.

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.                                                                                                                                                    

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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.
  

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

                                                                                  

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.