Individual small child lessons

[Countryangelnm]

I’ve been requested to instruct a busy body 5 year old child to ride. Her mother is barely competent on a horse and wants junior to learn to ride. At 5 and doing solo lessons I’m at a bit of a loss regarding what to have her doing so she’s learning, having fun and not bored. I’m accustomed to older, more experienced riders I can do more complex maneuvers and drills with.

Drills and game ideas welcomed. Help please.

 

[luckyoldme]

I’ve been requested to instruct a busy body 5 year old child to ride. Her mother is barely competent on a horse and wants junior to learn to ride. At 5 and doing solo lessons I’m at a bit of a loss regarding what to have her doing so she’s learning, having fun and not bored. I’m accustomed to older, more experienced riders I can do more complex maneuvers and drills with.

Drills and game ideas welcomed. Help please.

Do you think that it's a good job for you to undertake ?
You don't sound enthusiastic and that might run off into your client/pupil.

 

[Countryangelnm]

Do you think that it's a good job for you to undertake ?
You don't sound enthusiastic and that might run off into your client/pupil.

I don’t have an issue teaching wee children I’m just at a loss regarding starting her off. I didn’t ask for negativity I requested some ideas and help. Thank you though.

 

[Maryann]

Gymkhana races - with mother assisting. You can use the ones with running in to stop your student getting cold and bored. Aim for Handy Pony type level as opposed to Prince Philip Cup but hey, you never know.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Has the child got any previous riding experience ?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

After covid restrictions are lifted and teaching this close is allowed again, have look at various pony club instructor videos on You Tube

 

[View]

I really enjoy teaching this age group. Make it fun (but you need a saint of a pony). Games, games and more games. Find songs that match the rhythm of the pony in walk, trot and eventually canter - if the child is singing they can't tense up.

Just make sure that you have someone leading who can move fast enough when you get to canter ?

 

[JackFrost]

If you have dressage letters in the arena, go round making up words that start with the letter, maybe with a theme like foods or animals. When you get to a letter as you go round, you have to think of a new word.

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I don’t have an issue teaching wee children I’m just at a loss regarding starting her off. I didn’t ask for negativity I requested some ideas and help. Thank you though.

You didn't need to ask for negativity, you brought it yourself in your description of the child and their parent (aka your potential client).

Eta - I think it is right to have a think about whether or not to take this client on, you could have come at it with 'a novice parent has sought advice from me, a (presumably) competent/appropriately experienced person, to help get their child's riding off to a good start' but you chose 'busy body' (whatever that means for a 5 year old?!) and 'barely competent'.

 

[Chinchilla]

I also don't personally see what the mother's riding ability has to do with you teaching the child; this surely suggests she's aware of her own shortcomings as she's seeking someone else to teach her daughter? (Namely you.)

 

[View]

Mum is also very wise to ask someone else to teach child. Parents teaching riding or car driving or piano etc to offspring rarely works.

 

[Arzada]

I’ve been requested to instruct a busy body 5 year old child to ride.

What do you mean by a busybody child?

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Games. Just make it fun. If the child is a busy body type do different games on short segments to keep it interesting and ever changing.

Bending
Cup race (using the bending poles)
Ribbon game
Poles (ride over the blue stripe, next time ride over the white stripe)
Scavenger hunt to make them get on and off multiple times
Sack race - involves mounting, dismounting and leading
Cowboys (practicing moving from two reins to one)
Grandmothers footsteps

You will have a blast. These children are such fun.

 

[mariew]

If they haven't ridden at all it will be leadrein and very basics for a while. Also what is said child going to ride? Ideally something small and relatively bombproof. Plus at 5 they probably won't have great concentration span nor an amazing control of their body so maybe bear that in mind if it's something you can cope with. It's important for them to have fun and feel safe.

 

[Chappie]

I was a volunteer in a riding school (before covid... ) for 13 years and often the customers were this young. We would often do a 15min lesson in the school and short hack out.

I had a good book - can't remember the name but Google "riding lesson ideas for children -book" and I'm sure it will come up! It had a red cover - lent it to another volunteer and never got it back as they left a while after! I hadn't even read it all, annoying!

We used to do balance "exercises" where the kids would copy me putting my hand on my hat, shoulder, knee and toe then reaching forward and back to touch the ponies mane and tail, then a big circle of the arm in the air, on both reins, this is to improve balance. Trotting practise and moving a flag pole from one cone to another and bending in and out of jump stands in walk. Round the world and scissors. Putting feet back in stirrups without looking. A helper to lead or be along the other side, maybe hold their lower leg on other side when trotting. Practice holding the reins properly they will be holding onto saddle at first especially when trotting). Chatting to them about what ponies eat, what their daily routine is like, names of pieces of tack, also chatting about school/nursery, pets, brothers and sisters, what they are doing the rest of the day, to make them relaxed! On the hacks we would sing or play I-spy. I really miss it, kids say the funniest things!

Also they vary greatly, even within the same age and are very individual. A lot of how fast they will come on depends on how tall they are, whether they can follow direction, and how bold they are.

If it is a quiet suitable pony for starting riding (it will have to be!) and the mum is suitable to do so, she could handle the pony/mounting/dismounting/sort girth & stirrups and lead rein and you could teach from a distance. This is what happened at times last year at times when covid was not so bad, the summer. Masks still had to be worn and disinfecting hands and tack.

 

[AUB]

How familiar is the girl with riding? If you’re tracking her from scratch, just gaits and steering will be enough for a while, I think.

Then: Grooming, tacking etc. Transitions with no reins, only legs and weight. Slalom using only weight. Transitions in every corner. Poles and small jumps. Holding a cup of water in one hand and not spilling. Put a cone in each corner and have the kid ride their corners properly. Make a L with poles and have them reinback through it.
With you walking with or holding the horse: Sitting backwards in walk. Mounting and dismounting from the right. Standing on the horses back.

Also how to take a bridle apart, clean it and put it together. Kids seem to love doing that, so take advantage! Your tack and boots will never look better.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

COVID restrictions aren’t likely to be lifted very soon, and by then things might have changed for the child.

I wouldn’t sweat it - it is unlikely you would be able to legally and safely conduct that job until March/April.

 

[Shay]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Children-Ride-Handbook-Instuctors/dp/1872119433

I think this is the book Chappie reccommended - and I would second that. Great book for ideas for smaller ones. You'll have time to read it before you can teach that close anyway! Perhaps also think a bit about how you feel about both parent and child. Children pick up on the attitudes of those around them (so do adults of course) and I'm sure no-one wnats this child's experience of riding to be a negative one.

 

[Shilasdair]

If you are a qualified instructor, you would know how to teach a 5 year old child.
If you are not, you have no business doing so, particularly as you sound as if you dislike both the child and her mother.

Also - do you have a suitable pony/suitable school? Are you first aid qualified? Are you insured? These last two will matter greatly if the child falls off and breaks her neck...

 

[Wishfilly]

Are you in England? As I'm not sure this type of lesson would be allowed right now with the current restrictions? At five, with limited experience, you would likely need to be in very close contact with the child, which isn't really appropriate right now.

Who is supplying the pony? Do you all have appropriate insurance?

I agree with those who've suggested it might be better to find someone with enthusiasm and experience for the job!

 

[oldie48]

I did a bit with my neighbour's child who was five. I found the main thing was to keep it fairly short and make sure the child didn't get cold or bored. Initially we just did some short lead rein hacks in walk to get her used to the movement of the pony but I got her to look for things on the hack to keep her looking ahead and sitting up. Once in the arena I asked her to decide where she wanted go eg B to A with me leading her but we progressed onto her using the reins to guide the pony. We also did simple things like starting and stopping, walk to trot, little bursts of trot, we didn't worry about rising just did what i called a wobbly trot. It's easy to progress by putting cones and poles out etc. I felt it was all about gaining confidence and I quite enjoyed doing it but she lost interest and I realised it was her mum who wanted her to ride. What I did think though was she would probably have been better in a small group rather than on her own. Hope this helps.

 

[SEL]

I used to teach kids of this age on the lead rein with the parent walking next to them if they were wobbly. If the pony is good on the lunge then you can progress to being a bit further away while still in control.

A "busy" child will just need a lot of variety. I never tried to make anything too perfect, just fun. Cones, bending poles, little assault courses with poles etc. I would also split the lesson try and do a walk down the road. If the weather wasn't great then a bit of grooming helped.