Teaching little ones..

[Keirrapringle]

I'm currently 15 and a very close family friend has asked if I could teach her 3 year old daughter. Course I have said yes I work on a yard weekends and teach but because this isn't work related I want to make it very enjoyable and fun for myself and her daughter. I was just wondering if anyone can suggest anything and what to aim for as she is still so little. She has her own pony and they have a amazing bond but she has only just got her saddle and etc but she only walks and done a little bit of trotting. Can anybody give me some advice please thank you x

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Keep it fun. At 3 I doubt she has that much concentration so I'd keep sessions fairly short maybe half hour max and have a plan to work on a few different things. When I taught my neice who was about 10 I got her warming up in walk by changing the rein lots of different ways whilst focusing on her riding position and contact and aids for turning, then she tried a few circles which she found hard and had a trot round the edge of the arena which she struggled to both trot and turn the corners. We finished with some walking over poles and weaving in and out of cones. It's good for them to do stuff that they're good at because it boosts their confidence. If you have a field with scenery and hills a short hack round there with you walking alongside might be appreciated.

 

[Fiona]

I agree totally with above poster, also bending 'races' , throwing a beanbag into a bucket 'races'. Going for a 'hack' and picking blackberries, the traffic light game (red halt, orange walk, green trot) and riding for v short periods with hands on head, on hips. Also round the world and scissors...

Good luck..

My LO is 4 and still has a short attention span, so just walking and trotting round doesn't keep him interested at all...

We can do all of the above in a 1/2 hr session.

Fiona