CALENDAR
Our seventh Keepers meeting was about horses. We have several older girls that own their own horses or have taken riding lessons for a long time. So, I assigned three of them a different area to talk about. It worked out really well. Our day went along like so:
We started off singing our Keepers song and working on our memory verse. 4 of the girls came in with the verse memorized this week (yea) for the rest we said the verse a few times as I erased bits and parts of it from the white board. ( way to go Indi, Katrina, Esther & Addison)
Today Indi started off out storytelling on a book she has read & enjoyed about horses. Katrina also told us the story of Black Beauty … that great horse classic. Both girls did a GREAT job of sharing! Thanks so much for being willing!
What little girls doesn’t love horses? All the ones in our group do, that’s for sure! It was time to learn about a few different breeds. First up was Jess. She had printed off pictures of five breeds of horses and as she went though the pictures she noted all the characteristic of each breed. The breeds Jess chose to tell us about were: Shetland Pony, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Thoroughbred and Shire. I think we could all pick those horses out now that Jess did such a good job of showing us the differences.
Next was to learn a few terms associated with horses: warm blooded, cold blooded and hands. Thanks to Katarina and Nikola we now know what those terms mean and how they are applied to horses.
After we learned about some breeds and some terms it was time for Haley to fill us in on the way horses move. Haley taught us:
WALK
A 4-beat gait averaging at around 4mph.
Only one leg is ever raised at a time, and the sequence is: left hind leg, left front leg, right hind, right front.
TROT
The trot is a 2-beat gait, also known as a jog.
The legs move diagonally, differentiating it from a pace, where both legs on one side move at once, which is used for harness racing.
In a trot, there is a split second where the horse is completely airborne. Edvard Muybridge proved this theory.
CANTER
A canter is a 3-beat gait also known as a lope.
One leg always leads the gait.
Once you hear the three beats, there is a pause, as if the horse is airborne, yet one hoof is always on the ground.
GALLOP
A 4-beat gait, averaging at around 25-30mph.
I finished up the sharing part of today by reading a few facts from Jonathan Parks episode Show Down at Twin Bridges, where they talk about horses.
We followed this up with our afternoon tea courtesy of Francesca and Lorenze. Once everyone had their fill it was time to load into the cars and drive the short distance to see Jessica’s horse. After the initial surprise at so many people crowded around her fence of the paddock, Rosie settled right down and all of the girls were able to feed her, pat her, check out her hooves and to see those characteristics of a quarter horse up close. All of the girls had a great time experiencing Rosie. for some of us you might even say the afternoon was electrifying. ( note to self stay away from electric fences- they pack a punch)
I am working on arranging some private horseback riding lessons for the families that have expressed and interest so the girls can work on their practical riding skills needed for the badge. Private group lessons or semi private lessons are available.
So girls, get those pages filled in your handbook pages parts 1 & 2 on pages 270-272 then you can work on part 3 & 4 at your leisure.
A big thanks to Jess for sharing Rosie with us!
