Ideas for taking a 7yr old riding?

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bex1984

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OH's niece is coming riding on my pony tonight. She is 7 and he is 14.1 so really he's much too big for her but she's had a few rides on him before and loves it. He is impeccably behaved for little kiddies.

She likes to walk and trot on the lead rein, and last time I had her doing Around The World, which she thought was brilliant.

Any idea for fun things I can get her doing this evening? I'm looking for ideas that will just be fun for her and build her confidence.
 
touching toes, ears, tail. bending is a good idea, figures of eight.it is a difficult age i must admot, my friends 6 yr old wantd to jump! so one day my sis let her, she soon learnt she had to learn how to ride before she could jump!

how about a little trundle down a lane?
 
I let the 8yro kid I teach do all the steering and breaks (or so he thinks!) by using a lungeline and being just that bit further away than a lead rope allows - makes him feel really big and clever! also have him playing 'simon says' (touch pony's ears, tail, his toes, head etc etc)
also have him doing gymkhana games such as crossing the bridge and putting the potato in the bucket. I find anything that makes him feel like he is telling the pony to do something be it halt, go or turn or something makes him feel really proud and confident.
 
How about riding round picking up balls or similar from a post and dropping them in a bucket. Bending 'races' and other gymkhana type stuff is fun too. Could you take her out for a lead-rein hack too ?

If she's competent enough and the pony sensible enough you could give her a lunge lesson
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Do a little handy pony course - trot poles, bending poles, through a maze of poles on the ground, pick up something from a barrel and carry it to another barrell, etc.
 
Someone suggested a brilliant game today which is to count the strides (walk or trot) between two fixed points and then see if you can get more or less strides next time.

I play cowboys with my little ones. We stand up in our stirrups and shade our eyes to look for cows, limber up our lasso arm with some spins then go 'exploring' over the mountain (two poles), over the bridge (between two poles) through the forest (in and out of cones). I vary it so they have to stand up and make splashing noises over the bridge etc. I love games like this.
 
ooo some great suggestions, am currently drinking a bottle of diet coke so I have the energy to run alongside ponio!! I can see me having an active evening.

I always put her on a lunge line attached to the bit so I can step away and let her do some steering and breaks "by herself" but know I ultimately have control. I can't really lunge them unfortunately as he turns in and stops!!

I think I may also take her for a little walk in the stubble field too if there's no one galloping about.
 
We used to play the train game a lot with the kids..... picking up parcels and dropping them off going through tunnels ( ducking down) running late ( going faster) running early ( going really slow) driver needing a break ( getting off ) they always seemed to enjoy it and you dont need much preparation.
 
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