|
RIDING LESSONS
Through
working with horses, the students of Sunnyside farm can learn life
skills that initiate change. All aspects of horses and horsemanship are
used in our program: bareback riding; Western riding; English riding;
driving; grooming; safety; care and health; anatomy; and young horse
training. Horsemanship skills are integrated with team building
projects, experiments, creative thinking and horse related art.
Combined, these elements provide a unique program with endless
possibilities.
In riding lessons,
we focus on gaining riding skills, developing confidence, balance,
assertiveness, and a mastery of horsemanship. While we do teach
students how to ride and work with horses, Sunnyside’s focus is a bit
more vast. We focus on helping students gain life skills, such as:
positive communication, trust, honesty, values, congruent behavior, and
anger management. In addition, we reach into the realm of education and
learning such things as: reading, writing, geometry, mathematics, and
drawing. We believe that a student’s horsemanship skills will grow as a
natural result of growth in these other areas.
In general, we
believe that there is something very special about the horse. Small
children who have never seen horses may spend hours drawing horses,
pretending to be horses, and “playing horse”. For reasons that may
forever remain unknown, the horse holds a special captivation and power
that we may never out-grow. If a picture of a horse has the power to
emotionally move us, we can imagine the strength and effect of an actual
interaction. Horses have a natural healing power that has been proven
effective in physical, mental, and emotional well being of humans.
Through lessons, therapeutic riding and simple quiet time, we often see
marked changes in the wellness of our students.
CHILDREN AND
HORSES
Children
who learn to ride and care for a horse or pony develop an understanding
of the rich relationships that can exist between humans and animals.
A horse can often be a child’s best friend. In the past, the
native ponies of northern Europe were used as pack animals and for
general farm work, and then when a particularly docile pony was too old
to work, it was given to a small child for the first riding lessons.
In those ties, almost everyone knew how to handle a horse. Today,
fewer people learn to ride and even fewer have a pony of their own.
FOR THOSE WHO DO, it is a most rewarding experience.
At
Sunnyside farm, we base our future on past experiences. WE learn
to look ahead and move forward with grace. WE teach about and with
horses in a positive, supportive attitude; with an incremental approach
emphasizing rewards and praise. We focus on safety, balance,
confidence and a strong base of knowledge. We exhibit humane and
loving attitudes towards the horse. We are approachable, and willing
with special warmth towards the beginners who need to absorb it all.
Our
horses are big, and they are small, but the size of their hearts is
consistent to us all! We teach with and about Clydesdales and
Norwegian fjords. Their warm hearts and gentle temperaments make
them outstanding schooling horses. Our horses are highly
socialized, consistent, stable, confident, gentle, and friendly.
It’s a Sunnyside lesson horse that makes a perfect family companion! |
