Junior Volunteer Training

Betty and I volunteer at Galloping Grace Youth Ranch. Over the last two years we have had a Junior Volunteer program where kids, 12 to 18, volunteer and help out the adults. This year we decided that we would devote Mondays to working with the Junior Volunteers to help them become better horse people.

We started last Monday with the basics - catching a horse, haltering, leading, grooming and saddling.

Yesterday, we reviewed the basics. Then we took them into the round pen and worked on some basic ground work to warm up the horses. They worked on some desensitizing, flexing the neck slightly, backing the horses up and moving the hindquarters.

Then we taught them how to mount correctly, maintaining control of the horse during the mounting process. We taught them how to do an emergency dismount. We taught them how to do a one-rein stop. And finally we taught them how to maintain control while safely dismounting. They all got to practice these with the horses - wearing helmets of course.

For most of them this was a first time experience and they did pretty well. The horses did pretty well considering how windy it was - see the trees bending in the picture above.

Next week, we'll start teaching them how to ride properly at the walk and then the trot. It's a fun experience.