It can be difficult for young children to really benefit from their riding lessons. Anyone who has a young child can tell you that moods, growth spurts, time of day and even what they ate last can tremendously affect a child’s ability to learn and focus from one day to the next. Instructors can easily tell which students live, eat and breathe horses all week long from those who only think about riding one hour per week during their lesson, at which time they may not always be on their A-game. However, most parents don’t have a pony at home for the child to practice on throughout the week. There are some things we can do during the week to encourage our child to mentally revisit their lesson and physically build them up to the demands of riding.
Keep Riding Fresh In Their Minds
Every parent knows that young children learn from repetition better than anything else. That is why we find ourselves repeating the same phrases endlessly day after day. So, try to pay attention during your child’s riding lessons. What are they working on? Why? What pony are they riding? Try to learn details about the pony such as gender, color, height, or any quirks or personality traits. As you are going through your daily life – driving to school or the grocery store, while waiting in line at the checkout, impatiently waiting for dinner to be ready, etc – occupy your child with chit-chat about their last lesson or what their most recent horsey aspirations are. Your child will see and appreciate your interest in their activity and you can use it to help your young rider recall details about their most recent rides.
Encouraging imagination about subjects we approve of is also a good way to quietly keep little minds busy. Toys, coloring books, reading books, and movies on related topics can go a very long way with building our children’s interests. After all, what children admire is what they play pretend about and they often become what they pretend to be.
Keep Your Child Active
Riding is a very physically demanding sport and the demands begin from the very first lesson no matter your starting age. Even amongst young children, active children will inevitably be more coordinated and balanced than inactive children. Taking your child to the park can be a fabulous outlet for extra energy but also an excellent place for them to naturally use their bodies and build self-awareness.
Some additional exercises you can offer at home are:
- The Penguin walk. Challenge your child to walk around the house on their heels like a penguin while wearing sneakers. For a single child, ask them to count how many seconds they can stay balanced on their heels. If you have multiple children, you could facilitate a penguin race down the hallway. “Why”, you may ask? If you ever hear the instructor say, “Put your heels down,” what they really mean is, “Pull your toes up.” This is contrary to how we walk every day and requires us to tighten the small muscles along our shins and lengthen our calf muscles. Penguin walking helps to build these muscles correctly for riding and develop balance with weight in our heels.
- Use an exercise ball as a chair. Having an exercise ball in the house to use instead of a chair while watching TV or coloring can engage core muscles more frequently.
- Don’t trust your household with a 25 inch bouncy ball? I get it! How about a balance board instead? While watching TV or other down time, having a balance board lying around for use can be a great way to channel extra energy within limited space while also building balance.
Final Thoughts
Horseback riding can be a tremendous character builder in our young ones. It is one of the few sports that children can get involved in and continue actively participating in for a lifetime. It can be frustrating for students, parents and instructors alike when progress is slow. But even without access to your own horses between lessons, there are still plenty of ways to support your child’s interest so they get as much out of each riding lesson as they possibly can! For more information about Starting Your Toddler To Ride, click here.
If you like what you are seeing leave a comment below and sign up to receive new posts as they arrive!
About The Author
