Quarter Horse, Jake gets a good brushing from his favorite student. “Learn to Try and Try to Learn”
In the last issue, I introduced you to the start of the Horse Club at Local District High School. I want to give you some examples of the learning that is happening among the young students that participate in the weekly lessons. The words “I can’t” are not part of the vocabulary of these students.
One young student with a disability is learning the importance of body language with horses. She gets along well with the horses because she does not challenge them by staring them in the face. However she experiences other difficulties such as tension and body stiffness. Each week she relaxes a bit more and becomes more aware of how her body language relays positive and negative messages to the horse. She has even taken on the chore of scooping horse manure as it is deposited in the arena during the lesson. This may seem like an insignificant task but compared to her aversion to horse manure in the beginning, it is like night and day. Her favorite horse is Flaxen, an eight year old Haflinger mare. I think her favorite activity is brushing and braiding the long white mane and tail. Every lesson ends with a hug for both student and horse.
Another student has loads of horse lesson experience but has a horse at home she cannot handle because she lacks confidence and ground working skills. She is learning to apply pressure and release with Fantasia, a six year old Haflinger mare with a spunky attitude. She is using her body presence and voice to control Fantasia’s habit of entering her own personal space. She is also advancing to ground driving and double lunging in preparation for driving. She loves to learn and Fantasia is the best at setting the bar a little higher each week. She is keenly interest in driving and these Haflinger horses are just the horses for this.
When a student says “I can’t” the response is “Yes, you can learn to try and you can try to learn”. We just have to be patient.
In the last issue, I introduced you to the start of the Horse Club at Local District High School. I want to give you some examples of the learning that is happening among the young students that participate in the weekly lessons. The words “I can’t” are not part of the vocabulary of these students.
One young student with a disability is learning the importance of body language with horses. She gets along well with the horses because she does not challenge them by staring them in the face. However she experiences other difficulties such as tension and body stiffness. Each week she relaxes a bit more and becomes more aware of how her body language relays positive and negative messages to the horse. She has even taken on the chore of scooping horse manure as it is deposited in the arena during the lesson. This may seem like an insignificant task but compared to her aversion to horse manure in the beginning, it is like night and day. Her favorite horse is Flaxen, an eight year old Haflinger mare. I think her favorite activity is brushing and braiding the long white mane and tail. Every lesson ends with a hug for both student and horse.
Another student has loads of horse lesson experience but has a horse at home she cannot handle because she lacks confidence and ground working skills. She is learning to apply pressure and release with Fantasia, a six year old Haflinger mare with a spunky attitude. She is using her body presence and voice to control Fantasia’s habit of entering her own personal space. She is also advancing to ground driving and double lunging in preparation for driving. She loves to learn and Fantasia is the best at setting the bar a little higher each week. She is keenly interest in driving and these Haflinger horses are just the horses for this.
When a student says “I can’t” the response is “Yes, you can learn to try and you can try to learn”. We just have to be patient.
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