[Chester]

Thought this might be a nice sharing thread. I am sure others are like me and get kids without any proper rider training to instruct at club. It can be hard to get them to understand basic concepts. These are the kids that have never gotten beyond pull left rein to go left, kick to walk, kick harder or smack horse with crop to go faster.

I try to get them all to use a half halt. I hate to see a horse get ripped in its mouth by an inexperienced rider because the horse has no idea that anything will be asked of it. I encourage them to use a half halt or 2 to gain control a bit more and give the horse warning.

I teach them off the horse to start with. I will set up a marker in my mind, say a tree, and ask them to run. When they get to the tree or such I will call stop. They all run a few strides past. I ask why they didn't stop and get the predicatable reply that they didn't know they were about to. I then get them to run again and give them a warning call before asking them to stop and they manage to stop on time.

I explain that this is a half halt, the warning call. We then practice just using a half a halt on the horse at a walk and trot. Not an entirely correct one but since that would be beyond many of them a half a halt works well for the horse. In one short lesson kids can get the general concept of it and get the horse treated that little bit kinder.

So how do you cope with kids that know nothing but are in your group for the day? How do you teach them something useful they can take away with them? What simple stratergies do you use?

[SaddleUp158]

I just wanted to say that your exercise of working with the kids on the ground to explain the use of the half halt is an excellent idea! I will have to file that one away for future use, should I ever need it.

[Taihoa]

I also love your idea of how to teach half halt to kiddies!! I never thought of that - man the number of times I've explained it too with little or no success

We use a dressage whip to explain how you make a horse round from behind instead of ramming its head down. Just gotta be careful to make the right shape with the whip or you end up shooting yourself in the foot

[tlwidener]

We play a lot of games with our kids. We play one called Obnoxious Rider. It teaches them about ring etiquette and safety. We put them on the rail and call for the different gaits and ask them to remember their spacing, etc. This game also teaches them how to pass correctly in a rail class. They are not to talk, giggle, wiggle etc. They are to ride with their best equitation. I get to be the obnoxious rider, telling jokes, getting in their way, going the opposite direction, stopping in front of them, speeding passed them. We slowly eliminate them based on their reactions to the obnoxious rider.

We also give them dollars and make them put the dollars under their thighs. We call for the different gaits. Whoever has their dollar the longest gets to keep all the dollars.

We ask them to critique (constructively) each other's tack for safety and regulations.

[pippy]

Hym - its a hard one, it depends on a couple of factors to me. What the horse is like and what the child is like.

If its a rampaging boy - I teach them the half halt as you do, and how to turn nicely for the horse, they at that age just aren't interested in going slow, or in learning the finer poitns of rider - making life better for the horse as SL described is all that you can normally achieve in one lesson.

If its a rampagin girl - I teach more tricky slower exercises to get them thinking and give them a aim and they have to come back to the next lesson better at it, the girls tend to thrive on new exciting "techinical" tricks, although not performed the greatest - they aren't rampaging around at speed. Also teach them about turning.

The kicker boy/girl on the slow pony - I poke with a whip the whole lesson at random will, then put a rope around his arm and randomly yank - they soon learn its not nice, and stop doing it to the horse. If they do it next lesson - they get off and run laps. Normally doesn't get to longer then 5 mins into lesson.
I then go on to teach how to keep the hands still, and make them grab mane when going up transitions - its normally the whacking in mouth at the same time the legs come down that stop the horse/pony going anywhere....

Also teach early on - how to control speed with body, normally start with walk halt, move hips, don't move hips - works nearly every time on every horse... creates wonder in the children that it is that easy, rinse repeat forever and then same trot to walk.


Neck straps are my friend.

[Chester]

I am glad if others are enjoying this thread or if they can take something from it to use with the kids they get in class. It can be challenging when you may get a child of 5 years old or one with autistic syndrome. They really do learn best, I think, if you can show them for themselves how things work.

Another thing I do with the kids who have a habit of doing things such as grab the rein and keep the yank whilst the horse drops its shoulder and goes in the direction it wants is try to teach them the benefit of outside leg and hand.

We will go for a walk down the paddock with me engaging them in a chat with their head turned towards me whilst I going off on a tangent the opposite way to their head is turned. This teaches them that they and their horses can go in one direction whilst their head is turned in another. It needs more than a head turned to get a horse in the direction you want.

The use of a hand on their rib cage or neck keeps them heading in the way that their head is turned.

They can then relate this to their riding and can easily understand what you are trying to tell them.

[jedy]

Do you guys use bitless? I just keep wondering how come small kids in our local school are allowed reins at all. How do you cope with first canter? How do you get them into the saddle in canter? (asking as a mother only, not instructor (as you realize he he))

[pippy]

Originally Posted by jedy

Do you guys use bitless? I just keep wondering how come small kids in our local school are allowed reins at all. How do you cope with first canter? How do you get them into the saddle in canter? (asking as a mother only, not instructor (as you realize he he))

on the lunge would be my preference.

if not neck strap is your friend, actually - one of the hardest one are those that are frightfully scared, because they seem to think they must have a death grip on the reins, hence the horse won't go anywhere.

[jedy]

Thanks! I always thought riding on experienced school ponies is the best thing for the child, now I'm edging towards buying him his own pony, having kids off the lunge on the pony who won't go to the instructors voice is just ridiculous! Time to look for different school I guess, pity to pull the child away from the environment he's feeling comfy in..
(sorry to divert the subject, I'm just frustrated, and reading how creative you guys are breaks my heart)

[Martini!]

When I had students who couldn't grasp why proper leg position was important, I would make them try to stand on the ground with their legs out in front of them or out behind them. Then they realized why it was important to keep their leg in alignment with their body...it's pretty darn hard to balance when it's not!