Saturday, June 30th, was a fun day here on the farm. We held a Summer Horse Camp 101 during the morning from 9:30-noon. Our six wranglers ranged in age from 5 to 11 years old. Some with horse experience others with none.
Three adults for the six wranglers worked very well for us. A close eye must be kept on everyone around horses.
Children and horses go well together, so long as the horse does not have a fractious disposition and is well handled. I have had horses over the years I would not trust with children. However, our animals are well child-proofed for they have been around children all their lives.
As my dear horse-owning friend says, “You can trust these horses, and you can’t trust these horses.” True, so true. Horses are a preyed upon animal and as such are naturally wary. They must be taught to trust humans. Children are terrific at teaching horses to trust us.
That being said, we must always have “our horse brain on” when working around these big strong animals that are able to spook faster than we can blink an eye. We must think like a horse instead of wanting/expecting our horses to think like a human.
Talking of these things while petting them, walking around them, and riding them seemed interesting to our wranglers. They enjoyed a brief bareback ride around the stalls, learning how to measure them in hands, learning the points of the horse and taping, with masking tape, the points directly on the horse.
Snacks fueled the wranglers for the last part of camp. Pony rides on High Hope and Duke, and painting the ponies!
One mom said if we were having another camp, they would come again. Perhaps we will!
one_local_gal 
What fun! I would have loved that as a child, and I actually paid a lot of money to send my daughter to horse camp when she was a child. Of course, I’ve never grown out of being horse crazy. 🙂
Horse crazy, we’ll never outgrow that,will we, Judy? 😂🐴 Does your daughter still like horses? I do believe the horses like it as much as we do. I just read Nancy’s Tuesday Tidbits—she’s a grandma! Yay! But she quoted you, Judy, saying the weather felt like a swamp. Here it feels like the desert. We are so hot and dry. 🥵 Thank you for stopping by, Judy, and your comments. 🙂
No, I won’t outgrow it at this age. 🙂 Yes, my daughter and granddaughter both love horses. We actually have stall space and land, but the fencing would be a major investment that isn’t wise at this time. So, I’ll enjoy your posts. It is so hot and humid here, it is just awful working outside. I got a load of compost that can’t be used without screening so I’ve been doing a few loads each morning, but when I come back inside I’m soaked to the skin. I don’t know which is worse – hot and humid or hot and dry. 🙂
I’m happy you enjoy my posts, Judy. My daughter loves horses too. She’s a good rider too. She’s busy with new baby right now though. Oh my, you must be careful out in this weather. Golly, I’m sorry you have to screen your compost. Go slow and easy. 🙂
what a fun day, love the pictures!
Wow! What fun these wranglers had! Because of this very cool summer camp, they have learned how to love and respect horses!
I would have enjoyed going to a horse camp as a kid. We went horseback riding a few years ago in the desert. It was fabulous.
I just remembered we took the boys horseback riding when they were little. The oldest boy just had a baby!
What a great memory your wranglers will have! Well done!
Thank you, Nancy. Horses are my life blood. I love sharing them with folks. We have had senior citizens out several times to meet them (and the chickens 😂) as well. As Winston Churchill said, “The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man”. Amen to that.
haha – Yes, looks like HAPPY to me, too! 😎
I’m so happy you think so too! 🙂