HORSE CRAZY KIDS SOCIAL GROUP
Live, Online Class for Horse-Lovers - Meet Once a Week
If you live somewhere remote, are new to horses, or maybe just need more really GOOD friends who also love horses this is the group for you!
EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS FROM KIDS IN CLASS
So many fun questions to cover in class!
Question from Talia:
Q: Can horses climb stairs?
A: Yes! We watched two videos of guide horses. Guide dogs only live about 10 years so people have started to use guide horses, which live as much as 40 years. We saw horses guiding a person down a street, inside a house, inside an airport, and flying on a plane! Panda is a famous guide horse the kids can search for on YouTube.
Question from Linnea:
Q: Where did the first horse come from?
A: Horses originated in North America then walked across the Bearing Land Bridge to Mongolia. We looked at Pangea and how the continents spread into their current position. We looked at horse-like fossils showing how horses initially had 3 toes on the ground and eventually the toes became a hoof. We learned that equids are the only animals in the world that leave a hoof print versus a print showing toes.
Question from Aubrey:
Q: How fast do horses run?
A: Horses walk about the same speed as people do, so endurance races, which are 25-100 miles, the riders walk whenever the horse is walking. We looked at a chart that compared speeds of different animals and learned that horses and elk are similar, but most animals, like lions for example, are much slower.
Question from Alina:
Q: How long to horses live?
A: We learned that miniature horses can live 40 years, but full sized horses live around 27-32 years. We watched a video of my 26-year-old pony who nearly died two times this year, but is still cantering and jumping.
Question from Natalie:
Q: How do you put a saddle on a horse?
A: We watched a video of saddling English and Western. We learned that the belt that holds the saddle on is called a "girth" or "cinch". We also learned about saddle pads and saddle blankets, which keep the horse's sweat from damaging the saddle.
GREAT FOR KIDS!
This group is great for...
Kids who want more horse-crazy friends
Kids who just LOVE horses and want to spend more hours of their day talking about horses
Kids who need inspiration, motivation, or confidence for riding
Kids who are at a barn with snooty barn girls
Kids who ride in a discipline that is different than everyone else at their barn
Kids living in remote areas
Kids who need help with a tough pony or horse
Kids who want to learn more about riding and training
WHY PARENTS APPROVE
This group is great for…
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Parents who want their kids to be able to make positive, horse-loving friends around the world
Parents who want their kids to be able to bounce ideas off of a professional other than the trainers available locally
Parents who want their kids to be inspired, enthusiastic, and passionate about horses
Parents who want their kids to have a supportive network of horse friends
Parents who want their kids to be able to ask questions about horse behavior or lameness issues
Parents who want their kids to be able to participate more in horse culture, like horse memes, viral videos, and
Parents who want their kids to get to to hear about cool progress in the horse industry, like scientific discoveries in horse movement, cognition, or memory
Parents who want their kids to know about what resources are available on the internet to learn more
Parents who want their kids learn more about horses through play and socialization
FAQ's
Do I need to own a horse? Nope. We have a mix of students. Some students take weekly horse lessons. Some own horses. Some only get to ride a horse once a year on vacation.
How are kids grouped? We try to group kids together based on age and experience.
What classroom management do you do? We try to make sure everyone gets a chance to talk and that kids mute when there is background noise. More info can be found on our Parental Guidance page.
BRING YOUR VIDEOS TO SHARE IN CLASS!
Before class, you can email or text your video to the teacher, or post it online and send a link. Videos can be 15 seconds to 5 minutes long. They can be from multiple days of riding or just one lesson.
Example Class Summary 1:
Today we started by sharing stories about our favorite horses. Then we looked at the riding schools and camps that some of the students go to. We looked at some GoPro footage to experience what it is like to ride a horse on a cross country course. We also looked at footage from a few other disciplines, including Shetland racing and equestrian vaulting.
Example Class Summary 2:
Today we had a guest speaker, Robyn Hauck, who owns a riding school in Corvallis, Oregon. We looked at some photos of Robyn’s horses. She had a horse with no eye on one side so we learned a bit about horses and eye infections. We also learned about founder, which is a painful condition that happens when the horse gets too much sugar. Robyn has a few Appaloosas so we learned a bit about the Appaloosa breed. We then watched some videos of Roman Riding, trick riding, and vaulting. We learned some of the steps that go into teaching a horse to do Roman Riding, starting at the beginning with ponying. We saw Emma Massingale, who does Roman Riding with no reins or saddle, and watched a preview of a project she does training Connemara ponies at liberty, with no fences or halters.
Example Class Summary 3:
Today we talked about a BLM Mustang who went to Pony Finals. His name is Mr. Popper. We also reviewed some footage from different riders in class. Vivienne and Lainey, thanks so much for sharing your videos! Lainey has a bareback videos we can watch next time. It was so great that Sofia and Maya jumped in with questions at the end! Thanks for giving us some good material to chat about in class! Next week we are going to talk about buying or leasing a horse - what to do and what not to do :) For Camille - This is a link to a good supplement for your horse for more energy.