The Program
This is a fun class for parent and child to work as a team, as they gain an understanding of how horses can become our friends for life! Our goal is for our toddler students to learn the foundations of safety, care and communication with horses, and for our parent students to become confident communicators and leaders, who will be able to step into the shoes of (well supervised!) handlers — and ground support, when it comes to riding! — as their pair progresses through our curriculum!
The first four sessions are all grounded; we then start to sprinkle in some riding as well!
contagious excitement
Learning areas and teaching style
Here are the learning areas for our toddlers and parents:
– safety: everywhere and always, for humans and horses
– reading the horse’s subtle communication and signals and learning to honor them
– horse care: cooperative grooming, body-scans, and anything that may arise
– communication from the ground, with halter and lead rope, through natural horsemanship
– communication from the ground, at liberty, with positive reinforcement
– tack
– riding: connection-based riding, parents learning to be ground support and also a bit of team-riding with their children
We present all of our activities as fun and interactive games, and we commit to creating a no-pressure environment for our little ones. Learning with and about horses can at times be overwhelming (they are biiiig)! Opting out is always allowed, and we have found that role modeling (on our side and the parents’) and inspiring are the quickest way back to engagement, even on funky days 🙂
Example of liberty activity with positive reinforcement
Note! Since this tot-parent pair are Italian-speaking, as is our instructor Giorgia, their lessons are in Italian. Yours don’t have to be 😛
Logistics
Time/Day
Each session is 75min long.
Where to start
We ask any new Tot-Parent pair to start from a 4 week “intensive” orientation ($320). It takes place within the weekly classes so you’ll be able to meet your fellow students immediately.
Orientation is purely grounded (no riding involved).
If you’ve had your FREE Consultation Call with us already, this is exactly where to start!
Frequency
We have set up the first four sessions to be a weekly intensive.
After those, we still suggest a weekly attendance, since we have found that continuity facilitates learning at the deepest level.
Knowing that life can get in the way though, we also leave room for a few absences! The 5 pack expires after 8 weeks and the 10 pack after 14 weeks.
Enrolment
Our Tots and Parents weekly class is currently maxed out! Click on the link below to join the waitlist, and we’ll notify you first of any changes!