Which Approach is Right for You and Your Riders? As riding instructors, setting goals with our riders is a crucial part of helping them grow. In the equestrian world, there’s been a strong push toward using the SMART goal framework, but have you ever considered the PIE method as an alternative—or even a complement? Both approaches serve distinct…
Every rider experiences the world through a unique sensory lens. In adaptive and therapeutic riding, understanding a rider’s sensory processing profile is essential for building trust, promoting regulation, and creating meaningful, successful lessons. Riders MAY show patterns across multiple sensory systems: But, sensitivity can vary from sense to sense. Some riders may be hypersensitive…
Riding is all about communication—and most of that communication happens through pressure and release. Riders give signals to their horse using their hands, legs, seat, and (from the ground) with space. The challenge is that riders have different sensory sensitivities, meaning what feels “light” to one person may feel completely different to another! Horses also…
You want to connect with riders, but some feel unsure how to start a conversation with someone who communicates or moves differently I want to help you! The truth is — connection starts the same way for everyone: with respect, curiosity, and warmth. Here are a few tips to make those first moments count! Tips for…
Every rider has a favorite horse — or a few. We all have preferences. Sometimes it’s announced and known by everyone in the barn, and sometimes it’s just the one they light up around or ride with quiet confidence. As instructors, we might hear about these preferences in ways that make us a little defensive…
Every Instructors Nightmare… When A Lesson Horse Spooks Since Halloween if full of spooky things, it can be a great time to educate your riders (and families) on horses spooking. While it’s not something we want to talk about, understanding why and how horses spook and how to prevent it is an important part of…
You’re coaching a rider, you say, “Turn left at the cone, then trot down the long side.” They nod, but moments later, they blow straight by the cone instead of turning. The next lesson you’re focusing on having the rider look before the turn and their hands are down in the horse’s mane. You gently…
Teaching “Feel”: The Path to Intuitive Riding “Feel” is one of those elusive qualities we often talk about in the horse world—as if it’s something you either have or you don’t. But here’s the truth: feel is teachable. And as riding instructors, we can—and should—help our students develop it, step by step. In this post,…
“Predictability doesn’t mean doing the same thing each lesson – its about setting up a lesson structure that provides order to changes.” Autistic individuals often thrive in environments where they know what to expect. Predictability helps reduce anxiety, increase confidence, and create a sense of emotional safety—key ingredients for learning. But predictability is sometimes misunderstood…
Teaching a Proper Mount: It’s More Than Just Getting Up There When most people think about horseback riding lessons, the minds of both instructors and riders immediately jump to the action that takes place in the saddle. However, one crucial aspect of riding often gets overlooked: the mount. The process of getting on the horse…
