First Time Teaching Beginner Riders for longer then 15-30 mins need help - Western Riding - Western Riding - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 6/7/2010 9:26:33 AM

I am an intern instructor at the barn I work at. My boss has been having me teach cowpoke (riders on lead line young in age) riders which i just started to get the hang of. Its hard for me to get down to kid level and teach them from there or make the lesson fun. I can teach grooming and saddling. That is a piece of cake and the kids i teach remember what I taught but when it comes to teaching how to ride I become stumped.

Any ideas on how to make the lessons more fun? I have incorporated games into the mix. Like red light green light, Simon says, Australian pursuit, and touch wood. all those games besides touch wood need multiple players and at this point I am only teaching one student. i also put barrel patterns and weaving in and out of cones to teach about the natural riding aids. I have taught the hand aid and legs. I also just began to teach the rider to look where she is going especially when turning, circling and reversing.

Now my boss is having me teach a group of riders that are beginner riders but have been having lessons for a while. She tells me what to teach them but I am not exactly sure how to teach the things she has told me to teach. How can I teach beginner riders about position putting it at kid level? What about how to use there legs on a horse that has a personality of I wont go faster until you are ready or until you make me?

TanyaC97

Posted : 6/7/2010 2:44:14 PM

Heels down, toes straight ahead, sitting up straight.

Here is what my sons instructor tells him.
Heels down- pretend you have weights on your heels
pretend you have a stick on your back.

set up small cones around and have them stop at the cone, move to the left (side pass sort of) then to the right. stop, back up at the cones.

Have them drop their stir-up and do some excercises (post at a walk, for an example)

hunterseat

Posted : 6/7/2010 4:43:35 PM

If you trust your horses you can have them drop their reins and stand in the stirrups and balance with hands out straight (or wherever). You can put trot poles down and have them say a vegetable (or fruit, or state, or dog breed....whatever) over each pole. You can set up a course, using the whole ring and have them play follow the leader doing circles, trot poles, serpentines. You can have them pick up something off a barrel, pass it to someone who has to put it back. using teams, maybe? And pairs are fun to get them to move the horses slower or faster to match their partner and have them do "mirror image" moves on the opposite sides of the arena, like circles, halts, back ups, etc. You can do lots of fun stuff at a trot.

samsara

Posted : 6/8/2010 7:32:04 AM

When I was 7 I took riding lessons and the instructor always told me to "sit up pretty like a princess".
I also second the idea of follow the leader.
As an adult beginning rider I had an instructor constantly telling me to "use more leg"... to which I always thought "WTF?!" she finally got fed up enough to come over and physically move my leg into position and a light bulb clicked on.