When was your last touchpoint with your rider’s family outside of their lesson time?

As a riding instructor for individuals with special needs, regular communication with families, caretakers, and caregivers is critical. Open communication helps establish trust with the family and allows you to collaborate on goal setting to individualize your support. It also makes addressing concerns and challenges more comfortable for everyone. Plus, the best part of maintaining open communication is sharing achievements! A simple note or photo can extend the rider’s celebration and provide great publicity when shared on social media.

Benefits of Open Communication 

Maintaining open communication is helpful for: 

• Celebrating the successes: Helps highlight achievements
• Keeping Up with the Rider’s Interests: Helps make lessons fun and motivating.
• Monitoring Health or Wellness Changes: Ensures lessons are tailored to current needs.
• Tracking Social Changes: Keeps you informed of any social dynamics that may affect the rider.

A recipe for success 

For open communication I suggest you start by reviewing all the information provided by the rider evaluation and completed forms. This includes researching their diagnosis to understand as much as possible. A thorough evaluation process and asking the right questions are key to understanding the rider’s starting point. It still blows my mind that there are instructors that are not reviewing this information carefully. 

You might think it’s overwhelming to maintain communication, but I use a simple system that works whether you have 5 riders or 60 riders. The key is creating your own templates. 

Here are some template ideas:

First time to the barn

Your template should set the tone of your establishment and include specifics of what to expect. Since some families may have never visited a barn before, your email should support them through the new experience, including where to go, what to wear, and what to bring. You could also ask if there are any sensory avoidance behaviors to be aware of or if there is anything that you can provide to make everyone feel comfortable. 

First Ride Template 

After the first lesson, send an email to establish open communication: “It was so nice meeting you and [Rider Name] for the first lesson. I really enjoyed how [Rider Name] [insert action] with [Horse Name]. I look forward to [future activity].” Then you can add in any additional questions that you may have.

Weekly Emails 

Bulk weekly emails to riders’ families can save time and keep everyone informed. Share the lesson topics or themes for the week, a few notes on the skills being focused on and why they are important, and any news about the barn. Including photos and short videos can help families understand what happens during lessons. Think about it, many family members know very little about riding, this is your opportunity to share a little info! This way they don’t look at your lessons and think their riders are getting a pony ride. 

Situational Emails

If you encounter challenges with a rider, send an email to the family asking for ideas. The best way to do that is by using a compliment sandwich: 
“[Rider Name] has been doing such a great job finding a balanced seat with an engaged core. Now that they are sitting so great in the saddle, we will want to build on some rein aids to work towards independence.
In working with reins, I have noticed that after about 2 minutes he/she sets them down. Is that representative of what you would expect? I would love to help her increase the duration and have tried offering different types of reins, setting realistic time goals, and rewarding efforts, but the results seem consistent. Can you think of anything [Rider Name] like to hold that we may be able to incorporate? Something small like a straw, playdough, or a small stuffed animal? Or do you have any other ideas we could try?
Even though we are slightly limited by the time holding the reins, he/she continues to remain engaged and happy. He/She always puts a smile on the faces of everyone in the ring and we always hear giggles each time we trot!”
Important Note: Don’t always expect families to have answers. Sometimes they are struggling the same way at home, which is another reason why open communication is so important!

Achievement emails

Send a note or an email when there is an achievement! Celebrate it! Even if you said it to them at the end of the lesson you can highlight it once more! Share what it took for them to get there and what the achievement means for riding!

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Now you have an idea of how effective communication between coaches and families is essential for supporting the holistic development and well-being of individuals with special needs. Start making more touchpoints with your riders families and foster collaboration, understanding, and empowerment, to create a supportive environment where individuals can thrive and reach their full potential.