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 in our field.

I’ve noticed that some instructors view predictability and routine as being at odds with growth and progress. In reality, it’s not about doing the same thing every week—it’s about creating a familiar structure so that new challenges can be introduced in a way that feels manageable and safe.

Here’s how we can design lessons that are both predictable and growth-oriented.

How To Establish Predictability

Predictability isn’t just in what you do—it’s in how you prepare your students for what’s next.

1. Consistent Routines and Procedures

Start every lesson with a familiar rhythm.

Think about things like:

• A consistent greeting
• A standard mounting routine
• A warm-up activity
• A review of the lesson plan
• Utilizing a social story or a visual schedule

Then make sure your lesson has a similar flow from week to week.

• Warm-up
• Skill development
• Game or challenge
• Cool-down
• Wrap-up/reflection

3. Predictable Instructor Behavior

Be consistent in how you speak, how you give feedback, and how you respond to behaviors or questions. This builds trust.
Avoid figurative or ambiguous language like:

• Idioms (“hold your horses”)
• Sarcasm
• Vague timeframes (“we’ll do that later”)

Use clear, measurable goals:
“Today our goal is to hold 2-point for 10 seconds before we play the game.”

Check in with the riders frequently to offer reassurance and make sure they’re following along.

4. Thoughtful Transitions

Transitions are everywhere in a riding lesson—from the parking lot to the mounting block, from walking to trotting, from one activity to another. For autistic riders, these can be particularly stressful.

Help smooth transitions by:

• Giving advance notice (“In 2 laps, we’ll start our trot work.”)
• Using consistent verbal or visual cues
• Talking them through what’s happening and what to expect
• Introducing new concepts slowly and in context (“Next week we’ll start learning how to post. Today, I’ll show you what it looks like.”)

How To Foster Growth

1. Practice a Growth Mindset

Celebrate effort over perfection. Reinforce the value of trying, adapting, and learning—even when things don’t go as planned.
Encourage reflection with prompts like:

• “What part of that felt easy or fun?”
• “Was anything tricky?”
• “What do you want to work on next time?”

Set incremental goals that build confidence and make progress visible.

2. Design Engaging, Challenging Activities with Choice

Growth doesn’t require chaos—it just needs intentional stretch. Present riders with a choice of challenge levels:

• Think Easy: Sitting trot 2 steps
• Think Medium: Sitting trot 5 steps
• Think Hard: Sitting trot the full long side

Let them choose—and support them through it.

Offer variety and challenge within the predictable structure.
The lesson flow stays the same, but the game changes, the props are new, or the skill target evolves.

“You have done an amazing job halting your horse to collect the cars. Should we collect halt in the outdoor arena or collect cars on the trail next week?”

3. Include Feedback and Reflection

Build moments of reflection into the end of each lesson. Ask:

• “What’s something you’re proud of today?”
• “What would you like to try next time?”

Use this input to shape future lessons, increasing rider ownership and motivation.

When the Unexpected Happens

Riding involves unpredictability. A horse might trip. A halt might not come when asked. These moments can be unsettling—especially for a rider who leans on predictability for emotional regulation.

In these moments, your relationship matters most.

• Acknowledge what happened
• Explain why it might have occurred (in rider-appropriate language)
• Offer a strategy or choice: “Let’s walk for a bit and talk about it, or we can try again with a helper close by.”

Support the rider by naming the “what,” explaining the “why,” and working together on the “how.”

Additionally, unexpected events happen when we might need to make changes to the riders mount, tack, riding location, time, volunteers etc. For any change reflect how this might impact the rider and communicate the changes to them as early as possible. As you communicate these changes to them, invite their feedback and thoughts so that you can support their concerns with the change to the best of your ability.

Final Thoughts

When we structure our lessons around clear routines and consistent expectations, we create space for real growth. Predictability provides the comfort in knowing what to expect. As riding instructors we can create predictability and expect growth!