Program Idea Exchange

I’ll give you my ideas if you send me yours!!! 

Therapeutic Riding Games and Activities
These games are divided by categories: riding skills, team building, outdoor games, just for fun, low functioning. They are written with little description on purpose.  Every center has a different situation that makes it hard to prepackage a lesson.  It is my intention to create a framework or give a place to start that you can mold to fit your needs and the needs of your rider.  Be creative!!!!  Creating your own version will not only make a better experience for your riders but will give you and your instructors a greater sense of ownership and a deeper connection to the work.   If you have any specific questions about how to adapt a lesson I will be happy to help you or if you are a visual person and want some ideas on how to set up the arena, I can send drawings.  If you are having trouble coming up with an activity or game for a particular rider, I will be more than happy to help inspire some ideas.  As usual I don’t charge for help or ideas but I ask in return that you send us any creative game or lessons that have worked for you to add to the list.  Imagine what kind of database we could create if we shared!!!!!!  Contact Blair for help.

*****These activities have come from over 10 years of planning children’s programs.  I do my best to give credit if I an idea came from a book or another programmer.  Please forgive me if I have missed one and let me know so I can correct it.Riding Skills

Red Light Green Light

Hold a green ball riders walk on, hold the red ball all riders whoa.  Instead of a player being out they have to draw from the consequence bag, act out what it says on the card and then they are still in the game.  Always challenge by choice.

Saddle up

Have a paper shape of the saddle on the wall and each child gets a sheet of colored stickers.  Instructor gives a part of the riders body and child has to place sticker where the body part is on the saddle.  Ie: where do your feet go?  Sticker is on the stirrups.  Variation:  use the stickers to identify parts of the saddle or horse anatomy.

Groom Box Relay

Have an empty groom box on a barrel one for each rider on another barrel at other end have a pile of grooming supplies mixed with unrelated objects.  Riders have to take their groom box down to the barrel and fill it with only the supplies that belong then bring it back and use each tool in the correct way on their horse.  Variation: mix the grooming supplies with people grooming supplies have two buckets one for horsey things and one for human things.  Have children race down and pick up the object that fits what the instructor has asked for and they have to bring it back and placeit in the correct bucket.

Anatomy Relay

Can be done with horse parts, human parts, or tack parts.  Have paper cut outs of the different parts spread around the arena on the wall.  ie:  have a leg on one side and a head down on the other end and a body on a barrel in the middle.  Child has to pick up a body part and decide where it goes.  Goal is to build a complete horse or saddle or person.

But Board

Place a bean bag lap top on horses back side and have child ride backwards.  Use felt cut out of a horse, bridle and saddle.  Child had to put all of the parts together to form a completed tacked up horse.

Square Dancin

Play music and call out different actions based on the skills or the riders.  This is more fun if you get into it.  Call circle to right or left, call for spiral or for horses to do si do (or circle each other in the middle of arena), call for whoa or walk on, reverse or freeze when music stops.  If child is still moving when music stops they can do a challenge to stay in.

Streets and Alleys

Easy,  caller yells streets and riders have to weave up and down cones, caller yells alleys and they have to switch to serpentine between poles across the arena .  Don’t bump into other drivers.

City and Country Driving

Clear out the arena.  Each rider has a small hoop which is their steering wheel the way they turn their wheel is the direction the leader will lead the horse.  The caller yells country driving and the riders steer quietly and calmly making nice quiet and controlled turns at a slow walk.  Caller yells city driving and you speed up to a faster walk and take sharper turns honk a lot, reverse a lot and do circles to right and left making sure there is a ton of room between riders.  Variation: with higher skills caller yells drag race and horses have to line up at one end of a straight away on opposite long sides of arena and trot to the other end. (no playing chicken!)

Compass

The points of a compass are labeled on the four sides of the arena.  The riders face the caller in the center of the arena.  The caller will yell out North south east or west and the riders have to run in that direction.  To make it more challenging the caller can also call two point and have them turn their horse directions while in two point. Variation would be to give each rider a map and they have to follow a treasure map by following the directions to get to the treasure.

Broom Relay

Off the horse done in the barn as a way to clean up.  All volunteers and riders get into two teams one team at one end of the isle and the other team at the other end.  There is a broom with a pile of trash or road apples with one team.  The first member of that team sweeps it to the other end and passes off  the broom to the other side and that person sweeps it back down and passes it off to the next person in line.  This goes until all members have swept the isle.

Danger Danger

Use large red and green circles that have tape on the back of them.  Have the students place the green circles on areas that are safe to stand by on the horse (ie. front shoulder) and place the red circles on areas that are a danger to stand by (ie. back side).  Great for visual learners.  Use the red and green circles to demonstrate safe and danger areas all over the barn.

Board Game

This takes a bit of set up but is fun for the riders.  Draw a grid of squares in the sand of the arena sand.  Squares the size of a stall work well.  4 rows of 5 depending on the size of your arena.  It is also good to use landscaper paint for a visual line.  Play your favorite board game such aschutes and ladders or sorry or get really complicated and play a watered down version of monopoly.  Each student rolls the dice and moves their horse from one square to the next until the game is over. 

Knights Challenge

This is one of my favorite lessons.  You can create so many variations to fit all skill levels.  Set up a three stage obstacle course.  Begine by telling the studetns that today they will become knights of they can pass 3 tests.  The first challeneg would be a test of riding skill.  This could be weaving cones or following a pattern depending on skill level.  The next challenge would be a test of arms or jousting.  We use short would dowel rods painted colors that the student will try and put through a ring hanging off of an upright pole.  This can be done at a walk or stop. The third challeneg is a test of bravery.  The student would have to find our resident dragon (stuffed animal or puppet) and bring it back to the King (instructor). The dragon would be hidden in the arena and the rider would go over poles and around cones to get there and bring it back. After they completed the challenges we dressed the riders in a tunic and put something to match on their horse.  Our horses were fine with a matching fabric that draped over their hindquarters.  We would knight them and present them with a shield.  If you have a classroom portion like for a school group, having them design their own shield and crest is a cool adjunct to the lesson.  I have had students make a shield in the next lesson going from barrle to barrel picking up cut out shape to paste on it.  We would take a poloroid at the end of the lesson to take home.  It would be easy to turn this into an entire series of lessons. 

 

Lion Hunt

This lesson is fun for kids of all functioning levels.  Set up an elaborate onstacle course with cones set in a circle to be a mountain, ground poles outlining a river, up right poles to represent a forest, and a stuffed animal or volunteer hiding behind  barrels like a cave.  Sing the song "Goin on a lion hunt, gonna catch a big one.  I'm not afraid, but what's that up ahead?"  We would sing the repeat after me song while walking to the next obstacle then stop and shout out whatever we were calling it.  "It's a big ragin river of marshmellow fluff!  Can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go through it"  The students guide their horses through the ground poles while volunteers and instructors make the noises of what it sounds like to swim through a river of marshmellow fluff.  they would go around the giant purple mountain, through the deep dark forest, etc.  Repeating the song before each obstacle.  In a small arean you do lots of circles!  Then they reach the group of barrel where most of our horses were fine with a person or animal standing behind them.  Make sure they see it first.  They pretent to walk in the "Deep, dark scary cave" , see the monster then walk back through the obstacle course in the spirit of the song. 

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