L’s preschool class recently went on a field trip to a nearby horse farm. L.(3) was very excited. He had never seen a horse “up close and personal,” and was sure that playing with the horses was going to be wonderful. The kids even had the option of taking a brief “riding lesson,” something L. was eager to do.
Now, L. won’t even ride on his own dad’s shoulders because it’s “too high” and he is sure he’s “going to fall!!!!” so we weren’t sure how the whole horse-riding thing was going to go. But we figured we’d just encourage him and give him the opportunity and see what happened.
First up, they learned all about horses and the fact that they need four things: 1) Safety, 2) Comfort, 3) Food, and 4) Play. Next, they had a chance to feed the horses some hay. Each child got a “flake” of hay to put into the field.
One horse happened to take interest in L. and when L. pushed his hay through the fence, the horse was right there to dig in. L. was highly impressed with the horse’s size.
The kids explored a horse trailer, checked out indoor and outdoor riding/performing areas, and had some lunch. Then came: The Riding Lessons. L. was still gung-ho about getting up on a horse, so after a few of his friends had their lessons, L.’s turn arrived. The horse was big. This wasn’t a pony or a miniature horse. It was a Horse. L. climbed up some steps to prepare to mount, and before long he was situated, feet in stirrups, on Knobby the horse.
Miss Pam, the instructor, led Knobby around the arena and taught L. about his “inside rein” and his “outside rein.” The idea was to learn to raise and pull on the appropriate rein in order to get Knobby to turn left or right. But L. was too busy using a Death Grip on the edge of the saddle. His eyes remained focused on Knobby’s neck and I could tell that all his energy was being funneled into Not Falling and Not Yelling.
He did a great job. And by the end of his lesson, with Miss Pam’s help and patience, he was much more comfortable and even willing to raise the reins a bit.
L. told me that riding the horse was “Great!!” but “a little scary and pretty bumpy.” But that he was “very brave” and loved riding Knobby.
Oh that is so cute and it sounds like he had a fabulous time, too! What a great experience! I particularly loved the picture of L hauling the hay out. ha!
Very fun!
That is the cutest thing. Made my day turn better too.
Very special day. I think the farmer-boy with hay is a very good picture.
I’m so glad he was able to do that. Next time won’t be so scary.
Very cute. I’m thinking of taking my girl to a place near her that does “pony education and pony ride” this summer when she turns 4 this summer, so it was good to read about how this went.
How brave he is. You can tell from the picture he was scared, but did it anyway. Good for him. My 10 year old would have turn tail and run or climb on the horse, then have an emotional outburst afterwards. He says he wants to try out riding a horse, we’ll see if it happens.
Great job, L., conquering one of those bothersome fears that muck up a good time on the farm.
I think that you have a fighten’ chance at shaking off “city kid” status!
How fun and adorable! It’s neat to see our kids taking chances and trying new things.
.-= Jennifer, Snapshot´s last post ..My Nightstand — April =-.
Great pictures!!
I remember riding a `Shetland` as a child, never a horse.
`L` is very brave.
Looks like someone might be giving a lot more shoulder rides now.
That’s great that he was willing to try–on my daughter’s school field trip yesterday, she, my two year old, and one other kid were the only ones in a group of 26 willing to touch any of the snakes or lizards during the nature talk!
What a risk taker. I am proud of him and he’s not even my kid. Glad to see him face his fears and enjoy the horse experience. Something for him to look back on later and say, “Hey, I did that and I was afraid, so I can do this.”
Just love these pictures. I keep coming back to look at them. What a wonderful personality he has. Both my grandsons are unique w/great personalities, and I love seeing the changes.
Love,
Mom