Posts for parents of horse lovers; riders, teachers, home schoolers, and significant others
We horse lovers are a gregarious sort and social distancing sure crimps our style. Take heart. With all the options for education and interaction, students and instructors need not worry about staying connected. Today I’ll share some of my favorite places to visit. Forums Forums and discussion boards are great places to make friends and […]
As a professional, I’ve always taught Pony Club Clinics and even helped form a club in the 70s, but I didn’t become fully immersed in Pony Club until 2000 when my daughters became members. 2018 One of my adult daughters has been training for a management position. We joked around about how it seemed that […]
If you teach beginners you know the importance of developing a safe riding program. Safety is the number one requirement for beginners, but how can you tell if a program is safe for both students and horses? There are no guarantees, but the following is a basic list of signs that can help determine if […]
I commend The Chronicle of the Horse for the articles in the April 9 & 16, 2018 issue which speak out against sexual abuse in the horse industry. They’ve been doing a terrific job of enlightening us with a number of sensitive subjects in the past year. The brave women that spoke out in the […]
I love the fact that riding horses is a healthy physical outdoor activity, but the life skills learned through supervised horsemanship carry farther than becoming fit. By supervised horsemanship I mean a riding lesson program that encompasses horse care as well as riding. Even better is a good riding lesson program that supports Pony Club […]
Ask any horseman and they will tell you the character building benefits to a child who becomes a horseman over flow the feed bucket. The character building benefits your child will gain partially depends on how you approach their horsemanship education. Approach with the goal of becoming a star and winning blue ribbons and you’ve reduced […]
Teaching beginner riders seems like it should be easy, right? After all, what do you teach? A few safety rules, how to lead a horse, how to mount/dismount, stopping, starting, how to steer – there’s nothing to it, right? I wish it was that easy, but it’s not the way I see it.
What do you do when a student or your child says “I want a horse”? Buying the first horse can feel like jumping into a crater lake when you only know how to dog paddle. Buying one too soon can be a disaster, while buying the right horse at the right time can increase skills and […]
Group riding lessons used to be the most common form of riding instruction, but factors today have developed a private and semi private riding culture. I believe group riding lessons have tremendous value causing beginner and intermediate riders, in particular, to advance more quickly. Here’s why: Social Horse Lovers One of the reasons soccer is […]
Ask- Don’t Assume Before you hand over money to a riding instructor for your child’s first riding lesson find out what their policy is regarding your presence during lessons. Never assume that a riding instructor thinks like you think. Some instructors would like parents to watch every lesson, particularly with small children and beginners. Other […]
