This will be a work in progress. It would be lovely to make a spreadsheet for each child to track their progress. I am going to wait on that goal tracking until the goals are more settled. I will also spend time searching for a checklist that is already made (no need to reinvent the wheel). However, most checklists are for basic riding skills, which so many barns move right into the child riding a horse and slowly teach the other things (or don’t teach the other things). As a wannabe therapeutic barn, it is all the work done on the ground that is so important.

A few goals of nature club are listed below. The child should understand and be able to describe the background and importance of the following:

Safety:

• Correct way to approach a horse and maintain a calm presence at all times

• Do not open stall doors or gates without permission

• Which horses can receive treats and which cannot?

• Closed toed shoes are required at Cheyne Ranch

• Helmets are required anytime a child is mounted on a horse

• What are some body language signs a horse does when it is expressing irritation or fear or general dislike for the current moment?

Grooming:

• Correct way to approach a horse and what to look for before and during grooming

• List of brushes / tools to use on horse

• Why do we groom horses?

• When do we groom horses?

Caring (cleaning barn and stalls):

• How to muck out a stall and/or the run-outs, and where to put the soiled shavings and horse poop

• How to check and refill water buckets in stalls (check to make sure they aren’t full of yuckiness and should be emptied out)

• Take horses’ empty beet pulp buckets to the wash stall so they can get rinsed out and put away to dry

• Put shovels, muck rakes and brooms back where they belong

• Sweeping concrete aisle in barn

• Keep tack room and hay room door closed so when horses get out, they can’t go poop in the hay room or the tack room

Haltering / Walking / Leading a horse:

• Correct way to approach a horse and let them know you are going to put their halter on

• Put the halter on the horse correctly (chin snap halters, over the head halters & rope halters)

• Where to keep your body when haltering the horse

• Walking the horse to the center aisle for grooming & tacking up

• How to clip the cross-ties to the horse’s halter

• Letting the horse know you are going to go for a walk

• Leading the horse on the walk, how is your body positioned?

• How to hold the lead rope and lead the horse.

Tacking up a horse with a Western saddle:

• Know which saddle the specific horse uses

• What else does the horse need? a half pad? a foam riser?

• more

• more

• more

• more

Tacking up a horse with an English saddle:

• Know which saddle the specific horse uses

• What else does the horse need? a half pad? a foam riser?

• more

• more

• more

• more

Mounting a horse:

• Which side is the “correct” side to mount a horse?

• What are some signs to look for to know the horse is ready for the rider?

Horse Anatomy

Horse Breeds

Horse Colors

Horses in great literature

Famous horses in history

Horse first aid

Horse bathing

Horse health & illness