Cole Acres is a barn for very serious equestrians. Just ask my adult group from this morning 😉
Thank you ladies for making me belly laugh your entire hour. No one was safe from game-week antics this week! Kim was our egg & spoon victor and all three rocked bag toss- even at the trot. Too fun!
Don’t forget to have fun on your horses, people!
The adult session on Saturdays is one of my favorite hours of the week!
The theme this week was groundwork and we worked through a series of stations targeted at different groundwork functions. Lunging from a hula hoop (personal space/shoulder control), lunging figure-8’s with barrels (drive/draw), and the single pole
challenge (fine tuning body control on the ground/proprioception/fabulous stretch.)
Thank you ladies for being game for all of the things!
I always look through pictures and videos from the week’s lessons when going to post an update, and these two deserve a shoutout! (There is an update below, so hang with me!)
Gaia & Big Max are developing a pretty awesome partnership. Max shines in walk-only lessons because he plows around slow and steady, helping to teach new riders the basics of their steering wheel. However, he’s considered a “step-up” ride for intermediate kiddos, because his trot can be a bit of a surprise if you’re used to the slow western jog of most of our mounts. Every horse has something to teach us, and here he’s teaching her how to help him find balance and rhythm in his big stride. Nicely done you two!
Date Reminders:
-Day Camp Friday, October 11th 9 am-3 pm
-Last day(s) Homeschool Learning Series parties 10/23 & 10/24
-Winter tuition due Friday, Nov 1st
-Thanksgiving Break Day Camp Monday, November 25th 9 am-3 pm
Lately at Cole Acres ✨ New-to-us horses, first trots, games of pick-up-sticks, steering while backing, and so much more. The fall semester is flying by- we’re already halfway through!
Week #3 is all about backing! Beginner students learned the basics of backing: why we may need to back, and how to cue the back. Intermediate students got a refresher on the cues, and then we worked on troubleshooting areas of resistance or confusion in the back, as well as backing through chutes.
A special shoutout to this pair! Our sweet big Max had really struggled with backing. He’d often get bracey, gaping his mouth and avoiding the bit. When he would back, it felt like a fight which didn’t feel good to him or his rider.
I’m bummed I missed the beginning, but this kiddo worked really hard to help him soften up (main thing here was slowing down, and rewarding his smallest tries.) Within a few minutes they were cruising through this little chute effortlessly! While not perfect (still a bit of gaping), the improvement is worth a celebration! 🎉
Rained-out arenas call for creative ground lessons! Tonight we played a game of “herd the horses.” The goal is to learn to use your own body and body language to direct your horse without any ropes or halters attached.
The girls started by herding me (Miss Molly!), then practiced herding each-other (that always gets a laugh), then finally got to try it with their horses.
It’s pretty amazing just how tuned in our horses are to each step we take, the angle of our body, and the vocal cues we give.
By the end the girls were able to be given destinations and they’d guide their horse there. This clip is of the end, where Casper figured out that staying with Jules was the easiest way to get to where they were going! 💕🐴
