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Summer 2008
Video
Horses For Sale

 A Typical Day

KY Gaits to Growth
Caerindoll Farm
2421 Dry Ridge Road
Versailles, KY 40383
(859) 873-0422
Twelve children from a local school arrive. They check out the "word for the day" which is "teamwork." They know that the concept of teamwork will be the common thread in everything they do for the next three hours.

Today's session begins in the barn. Because this is their fourth visit, the children have mastered the basics of safely leading and interacting with their horses and proper grooming techniques. They arrive ready to "get to work!"

Each child is assigned a human partner for horse activities so the pair join up and prepare their horse's stall. They fill water buckets, ensure that there is sufficient hay, and gather grooming supplies. When all is ready, they grab a lead rope and go to the paddock to bring in their assigned horse partner. Then the pair grooms their horse from its forelock to the tip of its tail.
The clean horses get a chance to relax and munch hay while the kids move to the classroom for a lesson. The lesson will involve a discussion of the word for the day and a related classroom exercise. This discussion will focus on what teamwork is and how it is already at work in the children's lives. We get into the nitty-gritty of building effective teams - teaching them the steps one by one.

For the related classroom exercise, two teams are formed and given a specific task. Each team is challenged to build a bridge strong enough to hold a large can of soup using only newspaper and masking tape. As the teams work, the facilitators watch and give guidance; i.e., do you know what your goal is, does everyone know what their role in the team is. When the bridges are built, each team gets a chance to talk about what worked on their team and what could have gone better.

Now it's time to continue our teamwork theme with the horses in the arena. The task today is to get a horse to join the students' "human herd". Sound easy? It's not! Horses are herd animals and will only join a herd (team) which is cohesive and has a definite leader. Watching the horse's behavior gives a strong indication of what is working in the team and what is not.
If time permits, each student may get a chance to ride his/her horse. While EGE is not a riding program, occasional riding time is built in - sometimes being led bareback by a partner and sometimes in complete tack. Although the riding time is not a LESSON per se; the children are taught the proper way to mount, dismount, walk and trot their horses. Children love to ride and learning to control a large powerful animal is a great confidence builder.
Following arena time, the students lead their horses back to the stalls. Based on the feeding chart in the feed room, they give their horses the correct type and amount of feed for their afternoon meal. While the horses eat, grooming supplies and tack are put away and the barn aisle is swept. When the horses are done, they are led to their paddocks and goodbye hugs and pats are given. The children empty water buckets and muck stalls. Strangely enough, the kids love barn chores!
The Gaits session is ended and the children reluctantly head off for their rides back to home or school. It has been three hours packed with fun, work and progress. Each session is a building block and, with every one, we see the children incorporate more and more of what they are learning into their projects, exercises, and interactions with one another.