Which learning style should be used to teach a rider to identify the correct lead at a canter?
f) a, b, and c
LESSON PLAN 1
Topic
Recognizing Leads
Materials Required
Tacked up horse, 2 different colored leg wraps or boots, lunge line and whip if necessary
Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will:
• Recognize a horse cantering on the correct and incorrect lead from the ground.
• Recognize when the horse they are riding is on the correct or incorrect lead.
Activities
Visual:
The most time honored method of teaching someone when they’re on the correct lead generally involves (at least initially) having the student “look down” to see if the horse’s inside leg is reaching out further. We’ve all seen students begin to canter and then lean way over to “look” at the horse’s foreleg. Unfortunately, we often forget to have them look at the outside leg for comparison. A visual learner might benefit from first watching the horse canter on a lunge line. Wrap the horse’s forelegs with different colored wraps and have the student actually SEE the horse moving on the correct lead. Then have a teen leader ride the horse on the correct and incorrect lead and have the students identify when the horse is correct and incorrect. Finally have the student canter their horse and “look for” the proper lead.
Auditory:
After the visual exercises, continue to describe to the student what the correct lead should look like from the top of the horse. Have them focus on the horse’s shoulders as they listen to you describe the correct lead. Then ask them “what they see”. Have them tell you what they see (whether it’s the correct lead or not). Encourage them to talk about what they’re seeing and/or feeling.
Kinesthetic:
Once you’ve addressed leads in the context of visual and auditory learning styles, see if you can get the students to “feel” the correct lead. This is ultimately what we’re shooting for, regardless, but some students may pick up the skill much quicker by starting out this way. Lunge your students (wearing helmets!) on a safe horse, at the canter. When they feel comfortable have them close their eyes and feel what happens to their body when the horse canters on the proper lead. Their inside hip should drop further than the outside. Their inside leg may feel like it’s “going further” than the outside. Don’t force students to close their eyes if they aren’t comfortable! The exercise works with eyes open, as well, and is also useful when helping students learn to sit the canter.
Evaluation
Students will identify when a horse is on the correct lead from both the ground and when riding.
To read the article Using Learning Style Preferences to Teach More Effective Riding Lessons go to our Archived October 2008 e-Tips.