Today, all of the members were able to ride for 1 hour with Jenna, who made them work extremely hard on Balance by riding without stirrups. This enables the rider to get their weight down in the saddle and aids their balance. Jenna also worked on their fitness. Riding is not just a pastime, but is also a sport, and, as with any other sportsperson, they have to be fit. So Jenna did a lot of work with them in the light seat (Taking their weight off the seat of the saddle and into both their heels and their stirrups). This strengthens the legs, stomach and back of the rider as well as their ‘core’ muscles. They also rode around the track and were able to relax a bit. Jenna’s most improved rider this week was Honey. Well done!
The other hour was spent with June who did a variety of different things with them. We started out with the life-cycle of Butterflies & Moths. We learned about the some of the differences between Butterflies & Moths and followed one type (The Red Admiral) from egg through to Adult Butterfly in pictures. Most knowledgeable however was Madison who has already reared her own Red Admiral butterflies.
We then moved into the yard where we did some grooming, learned various points of the horse, studied horse behaviour and body language a bit, mucked out a stable & Poo picked a paddock. Everyone worked hard and all were very interested in the butterflies & moths. Eryn showed excellent horse handling skills and each of the the 2 hour sessions just sped by and before we knew it, it was time to leave for another week. I hope everybody learnt lots but also had a super time, I know I did!
No comments:
Post a Comment