Lessons on a hot day

Saturday August 15 was another excellent lesson and learning day at High Ridge. We had 10 students (divided into 5 groups) and 4 volunteers who braved the hottest day of the summer.

Slick, Willard and Rocky did the lion's share of the mounted work; and Smurf was the pony ambassador for one student who was not ready to ride.

I have no formal training with riders with disabilities; but I am finding that it is pretty much the same as working with a more average rider. What is different is not making assumptions about what the person can or cannot easily do - and coming up with a way to break down each lesson into manageable bits so that the individual student can understand and make real progress. For me it is a puzzle to see where the person needs to make an improvement, and how to communicate what is needed.

I worked with one student, and discovered that she could not easily follow directions about steering the horse. Part of the problem was that loosening her hands on the reins was a challenge for her - so this became something we could begin to have "a conversation" about, and a focus for me to find a creative way to help her make a change.