Introducing our new horseback riding level system for riders of all ages and abilities! Not only does the rider medals program help you understand where we think you are in terms of riding ability, it also helps us make sure there are no holes in your education and that we teach you everything we want you to know as you grow and progress in our riding lesson program.
There are also some neat prizes to go along with your learning and to track your achievements as you make progress in your riding!
How It Works
Every rider, no matter how long they have been riding, or their prior experience, starts at the first level. We award medals sequentially and riders may not skip levels. In order to get a medal, the rider must consistently show all level skills over four or more lessons. At the end of the month, our instructors will evaluate riders in our lesson program and consider them for a medal. Riders can request a medal evaluation from an instructor as often as once a month.
Interested in using rider medals in your own lesson program? Check out our getting started guide or head over to our FREE downloads section.
Level Philosophy
Our levels are a mix of mounted and unmounted learning. Each level is intending to build on to the previous information learned in the one before it as a progressive learning model. This helps break down the information as much as possible. The levels introduce broad concepts which gain more substance as they progress. We call this our rider training hierarchy.
Level 1: Horsemanship I
Medal: Bronze Star – Black Ribbon
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Assessments, Student Workbook
Rider shows unmounted skills. This level focuses on safety, an introduction to horse behavior, anatomy, basic parts of the tack and basic levels of care required to get a horse ready for a lesson.
Safety
- Standing to the side
- Identify blind spots
- Properly walk behind
- Don’t stand in front
- Turn toes parallel
- Give a treat
- Helmet fit and adjust it appropriately
Grooming and Care
- Curry comb
- Hard/medium brush
- Soft brush
- Mane and tail brush
- Pick hooves
Horse Behavior
- Ears forwards
- Ears back
- Ears pinned
Parts of the Horse
- Head, ears, eyes, nose, cheek, throat, mouth
- Leg, fetlock, hoof, frog
- Withers, neck, chest, back, butt
- Mane, poll, tail, dock
Parts of the Tack
- Saddle – pommel, cantle, billets, saddle flap, girth
- Bridle – bit, crown, noseband, throat latch, chin strap, reins
Riding Gear
- Shirt
- Riding pants
- Belt
- Paddock Boots
- Tall Boots
- Half-Chaps
- Helmet
Lesson Prep
- With help is okay
- Put halter on
- Hook cross ties
- Get all tack
- Put saddle pad on
- Put saddle on
- Put girth on
- Get helmet on
- Hold a lead rope
- Lead horse to arena by lead rope
- Lead a horse to the arena by bridle
- Tighten girth
- Pull down stirrups
- Clean tack
- Put away tack
- Clean the floor
Level 2: Beginner I
Medal: Bronze Horse – Gray
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Assessments, Student Workbook
Rider shows mounted skills. This level focuses on safety while riding, elementary riding skills, mounting/dismounting, starting/stopping and steering the horse. Rider is walking independently and beginning to develop balance in the saddle. Rider has started trotting on the lunge line.
Lesson Prep
- With help is okay
- Get horse ready in 20 minutes or less
Safety
- Check girth
- Check helmet
- Mount
- Dismount
- Emergency dismount
Riding
- Halt
- Hold reins correctly
- Around the world (youth only)
- Balance
- Drop and pickup stirrups
- Touch toe
- Touch poll
- Touch dock
- Posting
- Sits down gently
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Jumping position
- Crest release
- Touch toe
- One hand on head
- Walk
- Riding Position
- Sit up straight
- Shoulders back
- Heel under hip
- Leg against saddle
- Lower leg against horse
- Arms at sides
- Steering
- Opening rein
- Zig zag on the rail
- Weave through ground poles
- Circle
- Reverse direction
- Balance
- Drop and pickup stirrups
- Touch horse’s poll
- Touch horse’s dock
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Transitions
- Walk to a halt
- Halt at a specific spot
- Halt over ground pole
- Posting
- Sits down gently
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Jumping Position
- Proper form
- Crest release
- Riding Position
- Trot (on the lunge line)
- Eyes up
- Heels down
- Can use reins to halt
Level 3: Beginner II
Medal: Bronze Rider – Purple
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. This level focuses on developing the rider’s trot. Rider improves steering aids, balance, jumping position, posting rhythm and is developing a stable lower leg position at the trot. Riders can consistently keep heels down at a walk and may be trotting on a lunge line.
Lesson Prep
- Help with the bridle only
- Get horse ready in 20 minutes
Safety
- Can appropriately fit their helmet
- Checks girth without prompting
- Tightens girth with help
- Pulls down stirrups
- Runs up stirrups
- Mounts and dismounts on the correct side
Ride
- Halt
- Without yanking
- Elbows at side
- Pulls to belly button
- Leans back slightly
- Heels down
- Walk
- Riding Position
- Squeezes both legs to go forward
- Doesn’t pull reins asking to go forwards
- Properly hold a crop
- Proper crop usage
- Shortens reins properly
- Steering
- 20m circle
- 20m circle posting
- 20m circle jumping position
- Zig zag using legs
- Transitions
- Halt within 5 steps
- Jumping Position
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Halt at a specific spot
- Halt within 5 steps
- Halt over ground pole
- Touch toe
- Touch poll
- 2 laps without sitting down
- Emergency dismount
- Riding Position
- Trot
- Riding Position
- Doesn’t hold saddle or mane
- Balance
- Maintains rhythm
- Up up down
- Down down up
- Sit post jump
- Sitting trot
- Steering
- 20m circle
- 20m circle posting
- 20m circle jumping position
- Transitions
- Walk to trot
- Trot to walk
- Trot at a specific spot
- Walk within 5 steps
- Jumping Position
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Riding Position
Level 4: Beginner III
Medal: Bronze Jumper – Gold
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. This level focuses on improving the rider’s posting trot, understanding diagonals, steering, introducing ground poles and low jumps. Rider is no longer on a lunge line and can consistently keep heels down and a stable leg at a trot.
Lesson Prep
- No help necessary
- Get horse ready in 20 minutes or less
Safety
- Demonstrates proper arena etiquette
- On the Ground
- Safely fit helmet
- Tightens girth
- Adjust stirrups
- Mounts on the correct side
- Mounted
- Adjust stirrups
- Tightens girth
- Dismounts on the correct side
- Inside vs outside
Ride
- Walk
- Stable and correct lower leg
- Heels always down
- Steering
- Deep corners
- Zig zag using legs
- 20m circle
- 20m circle posting one hand on head
- 20m circle jumping position one hand on head
- Maintain horse’s speed and rhythm
- Reins Aids
- Direct
- Indirect
- Pulley
- Rein back
- Transitions
- Halt within 3 steps
- Posting
- One stirrup
- One stirrup one hand on head
- One stirrup airplane wings
- No stirrups
- No stirrups one hand on head
- No stirrups airplane wings
- 4 ground poles
- Jumping Position
- One stirrup
- One stirrup one hand on head
- One stirrup airplane wings
- No stirrups
- No stirrups one hand on head
- No stirrups airplane wings
- 4 ground poles
- Trot
- Rider position
- Doesn’t fall forwards or backwards
- Doesn’t balance on reins
- Doesn’t pinch at knee
- Heels down
- Steering
- 20m circle
- Figure 8
- Serpentine
- Reverse direction
- Half turn and reverse
- Horse maintains rhythm
- Diagonals
- Can describe the correct one
- Can change it
- Transitions
- Halt at a specific spot
- Walk within 3 steps
- Walk to trot within 5 steps
- Posting
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- 20m circle
- Ground pole
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- 6-8 trot poles
- Cavaletti
- Sitting
- One hand on head
- 20m circle
- Jumping Position
- 2 laps around arena without sitting down
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Touch poll
- 20m circle
- Ground pole
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Line of 6-8 ground poles
- Cavaletti
- Crest release
- Ground Pole Course
- 4 poles
- Jumping position over poles
- Good corners
- Straightness to poles
- Going over center of poles
- Rider position
Level 5: Horsemanship II
Medal: Silver Star – Green
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows unmounted skills. This level focuses on intermediate level horse care, more parts of the tack and horse, cleanliness, bandages, wound care, nutrition, blanketing and farrier.
Safety
- Fit a helmet properly
- Understand when a helmet needs replacing
- Leading through doorways and gates
- Safety rules in barn, pasture and arena
- Quick release knot
- Assess tack condition and safety
- Rider injuries from a fall
- Signs of a concussion
- Rider signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke
- How to care for an overheated rider
- How weather affects the rider
- How weather affects the horse
- Heat index
- Below freezing
Grooming and Care
- Bathe a horse
- Blanket a horse
- Remove blanket on a horse
- Understand different types of blankets
- Understand when to use a blanket
- Put a horse in/out of a stall properly
- Feed a horse
- Identify grooming tools
- Understand use of grooming tools
- Identify minor wounds, cuts and swelling
- Apply polo wraps
- Apply standing wraps
- Apply splint boots
- Understand effects of poor bandaging
- Types of body clipping
- Understand why to clip a horse
- Understand which clip a horse should get
- How to tell if a horse is dehydrated
Nutrition
- Understand feeding schedules
- Hay quality
- Grain quality
- Water quality
- How much water a horse drinks a day
- How much food a horse eats a day
- How workload and body condition affects horse nutrition
Stable Management
- Clean a stall
- Bedding types
- Bedding condition
- Clean water buckets
- Clean feed buckets
- Sweep aisle
- Turn off all lights when done
- Leave gates the way you found them
- Turn a horse out to pasture
- Catch a horse from the pasture
- Name 3 stable vices
- Understand when and why to quarantine
Horse Behavior
- Biting
- Kicking
- Stomping
- Neighing
- Snorting
- How they see
- Predator vs prey
- Flight instincts
- Dominance
- Understand what an alpha horse is
- Differences between a stallion and a gelding
- Wild horses versus tame horses
- Average lifespan of a horse
- Effects of domesticating horses
- Understand what a green horse means
- Understand in season/in heat
- Tail positions – up, down, swishing
- Leg positions – standing square, leg cocked, leg resting
- Head positions – up, level, down
Saddle
- Name all parts
- Understand saddle fit
- Understand proper saddle placement
- Know the basics of bits and how they function
- Clean and condition
- Understand a girth sour horse
- Identify and fix girth not through saddle pad keeper
- Identify and fix a girth too loose
- Understand what causes a saddle or saddle pad to slide
- Understand and fix the girth of a horse puffing its chest out
- Pull a horse’s front legs
Bridle
- Name all parts
- Put together a bridle
- Clean and condition
- Bit types and uses
- Understand head shy
- Identify and fix a bit too low
- Identify and fix a bit too high
- Identify and fix a loose throat latch
- Identify and fix an incorrectly buckled noseband
- Tie up the reins of the bridle
Anatomy, Breeds, Colors & Markings
- Name 20 parts of the body
- Name 15 breeds of horse
- Leg markings
- Face markings
- Body markings
- Coat colors
- Color breeds
- Leg conformation
- How leg conformation affects gaits
- Understand areas for common unsoundness
On the Ground
- Number of beats in each gait
- Halt
- Walk
- Trot
- Move the haunch
- Move the shoulder
- Back up
- Step forwards
Veterinary
- Reasons to call a vet
- Identify the signs and symptoms of:
- Colic
- Choke
- Laminitis
- Heaves
- Hives
- Ulcers
- Puncture wounds
- Deep lacerations
- Lameness
- Seasonal vaccinations
- Worming a horse
- Fecal egg count
- Preventing communicable diseases
- Coggins tests
- Treat minor wounds, cuts and swelling
Farrier
- Name all parts of the hoof
- Identify farrier tools
- Identify different types of horse shoes
- Steps to shoeing a horse
- Angles
- Common hoof issues
- How to identify bad shoeing
- Understand, identify, know prevention for:
- Thrush
- White line disease
- Cracking
- Abscesses
- Ring bone
Level 6: Intermediate I
Medal: Silver Horse – Pink
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. Riders have solid steering skills, maintain a good balance, demonstrate proper riding position and a steady lower leg at the walk and trot. Riders start cantering work, are introduced to higher level concepts and continue developing jumping skills.
Lesson Prep
- Get horse ready in 15 minutes or less
Concepts
- Importance of warm up and cool down
- Understanding all 5 aids
- Rein
- Legs
- Seat
- Voice
- Weight
- Rhythm
- Tempo
- Beats in each gait
- Responsiveness
- Suppleness
- Riding back to front
- Natural vs artificial aids
- Quality of gaits
- Traveling distances around the arena
- Center line
- Quarter line
- Small dressage arena letters
Ride
- Halt
- Standing square
- Walk
- Responsiveness
- Correcting unresponsive horse
- Identify gait quality
- Change gait quality
- Suppleness
- Bending at the poll
- On the rail
- 20m circle
- Shoulder fore
- On the rail
- 20m circle
- Haunches in
- On the rail
- 20m circle
- Bending at the poll
- Steering
- Track left
- Track right
- Rein Aids
- Inside rein for bending
- Outside rein for rating
- Half-halt
- Leg aids
- At the girth
- In front of the girth
- Behind the girth
- Seat aids
- Still seat
- Passive seat
- Driving seat
- Voice aids
- Stop
- Slow down
- Go forwards
- Weight aids
- Step in outside stirrup
- Step in inside stirrup
- Shifting weight on seat bones
- Responsiveness
- Trot
- Stable and correct lower leg
- Heels always down
- Diagonals
- Identify when on the incorrect diagonal
- Fix diagonal without looking
- Reins
- Half-halt
- Shortening stride
- Leg aids
- Zig zag with legs
- Lengthening stride
- Sitting
- One stirrup
- No stirrups
- 4 laps without stirrups
- Absorbs the motion
- Posting
- Stable lower leg
- Maintains steady rhythm
- 2 laps without stirrups
- Up up down
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Down down up
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Sit post jump
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Ground pole
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Jumping Position
- One stirrup
- No Stirrups
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Ground pole
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Cavaletti
- 6 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 4 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 1 canter distance pole to cavaletti
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jump 1’3
- Single jump
- Outside line
- Diagonal line
- Jump 1’6
- Single jump
- Outside line
- Diagonal line
- Jump 1’9
- Single jump
- Outside line
- Diagonal line
- Canter
- Successfully ask for a canter departure
- 1 lap without stopping
- Over a ground pole
- Canter out of a jump
Level 7: Intermediate II
Medal: Silver Rider – White
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. Riders start to develop solid cantering skills, put harder jump combinations together, are jumping higher, begin connection work and are introduced to adjusting and counting strides.
Lesson Prep
- Get horse ready in 15 minutes or less
- Can fit all tack correctly without need for any instructor adjustments
Concepts
- How to tell if a horse is sound
- Counting strides
- Connection and feel of the mouth
- Reaching for contact
- How a horse jumps
- Length of a stride
- Judging distance to a jump
- Chipping in
- Over jumping
Ride
- Warm up
- Create your own (with help is okay)
- Three exercises that warm up the rider
- Three exercises that warm up the horse
- Walk
- Adjust stirrups
- Tighten girth
- Bareback
- Adjusting walk steps between a set of poles
- Add steps
- Remove steps
- Free walk
- Maintains Contact
- Building Connection
- Trot
- Diagonals
- Fixes automatically or always picks up correctly
- Responsiveness
- Affecting the leg in motion
- Maintains consistent gait
- Transitions
- Halt to trot within 3 steps
- Trot to halt within 3 steps
- Posting
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- with one stirrup
- without stirrups
- with eyes closed (lunge line is okay)
- with hands on head
- with airplane wings
- 2 ground poles
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- Sitting
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- with one stirrup
- without stirrups
- with eyes closed (lunge line is okay)
- with hands on head
- with airplane wings
- 2 Ground poles
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- Jumping Position
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- with one stirrup
- without stirrups
- with eyes closed (lunge line is okay)
- with hands on head
- with airplane wings
- 2 Ground poles
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Cavaletti
- 6 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 4 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 1 canter distance pole to cavaletti
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- 4 laps with balance and rhythm
- Jumping
- Count 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 for takeoff rhythm
- Countdown strides to jump
- From 3
- From 5
- From 8
- Count strides between jumps
- Jumping 1’3
- 6 stride line
- 4 stride line
- 3 stride line
- 2 stride line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Broken line
- Jumping 1’6
- 6 stride line
- 4 stride line
- 3 stride line
- 2 stride line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Broken line
- Jumping 1’9
- 6 stride line
- 4 stride line
- 3 stride line
- 2 stride line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Broken line
- Course
- 4-6 jumps with at least one 2 jump line
- Maintains gait
- Doesn’t cut corners
- Jumps in the center of the jumps
- Diagonals
- Canter
- Stable and correct lower leg
- Heels always down
- 4 laps without stopping
- 20 meter circle
- Transitions
- Trot to canter within 3 trot steps
- Canter to trot within 5 canter steps
- Simple change
- Figure eight with simple change
- Ground Poles
- Over 4-5 ground poles
- Figure eight over a ground pole
- Canter into a single jump
- Trot into a line, cantering the second jump
Level 8: Intermediate III
Medal: Silver Jumper – Yellow
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. Riders are improving their ability to canter, ride a full course of low fences, developing contact and starting lateral movements.
Lesson Prep
- Get horse ready in 15 minutes or less
- Help a Beginner I or II student tack up in 20 minutes or less
Concepts
- How much pressure is in the rein
- Asking rein
- Holding rein
- On the bit
- Above the bit
- Fore quarters
- Hind quarters
- Lateral movement
- Faults in each gait
- On the forehand
- Hollow back
- Inverted back
- Stiff side
- Hollow side
- Affecting the leg in motion
- Phases of a jump
- Gridwork gymnastics
- Straightness
- Impulse
- Suppleness
- Bending
- Stillness
Ride
- Warm up
- Create your own without help
- An exercise that improves horse’s responsiveness
- An exercise that improves adjusting stride
- An exercise that improves the horse’s stiff side
- Walk
- Horse maintains a responsive walk most of the time
- Horse maintains a quality walk with impulse most of the time
- Horse demonstrates straightness within reason of horse’s ability
- Aids
- Applied consistently and with precision
- Applied with no big motions
- Engages seat during transitions
- Transitions
- Horse walks within 1 step
- Horse halts within 1 step
- Shoulder In
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Shoulder out
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Haunches in / travers
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Haunches out / renvers
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Leg yield
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle to 15m circle
- 15m circle to 20m circle
- Trot
- Drop and pickup stirrups
- Maintains contact
- Building connection
- Aids
- Asks with precision
- Applied with stillness, no big motions
- Transitions
- Trot to canter within 3 steps
- Canter to trot within 5 steps
- Posting
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- With both stirrups
- With one stirrup
- Without stirrups
- With eyes closed
- With hands on head
- With airplane wings
- 3 ground poles
- Add in 1 stride
- Add in 2 strides
- Add in 3 strides
- Add one, remove one
- Remove 1 stride
- Remove 2 strides
- Remove 3 strides
- Remove one, add one
- Sitting
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- With both stirrups
- With one stirrup
- Without stirrups
- With eyes closed
- With hands on head
- With airplane wings
- 3 Ground poles
- Add in 1 stride
- Add in 2 strides
- Add in 3 strides
- Add one, remove one
- Remove 1 stride
- Remove 2 strides
- Remove 3 strides
- Remove one, add one
- Jumping Position
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- With both stirrups
- With one stirrup
- Without stirrups
- With eyes closed
- With hands on head
- With airplane wings
- 3 Ground poles
- Add in 1 stride
- Add in 2 strides
- Add in 3 strides
- Add one, remove one
- Remove 1 stride
- Remove 2 strides
- Remove 3 strides
- Remove one, add one
- Cavaletti line
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jumping
- Can accurately guess number of strides between jumps before riding through most of the time
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- Jumping 1’3 line
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Rollback
- Trot in, canter out
- Jumping 1’6
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Rollback
- Trot in, canter out
- Jumping 1’9
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Rollback
- Trot in, canter out
- Jumping 2”
- 6 stride line
- 4 stride line
- 3 stride line
- 2 stride line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Broken line
- Course
- 6 jumps with at least two lines
- 6 jumps with at least one diagonal line
- 6 jumps with one 6 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 4 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 3 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 2 stride line
- 6 jumps with one in and out
- 6 jumps with one bounce
- 6 jumps with one broken line
- 4 jumps with one bending broken line
- 4 jumps with one rollback
- 8 jump course
- Canter
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- Following seat, doesn’t pump body
- Identifies if they have the correct canter lead
- 15 meter circle
- Leads
- Across the diagonal, simple change
- Across the diagonal, asks for flying change and corrects with simple change upon failure
- Transitions
- Trot to canter within 2 steps
- Canter to trot within 3 steps
- Walk to canter within 5 steps
- Canter to walk within 7 steps
- Cavaletti
- 6 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 4 trot distance poles to cavaletti
- 1 canter distance pole to cavaletti
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jumping
- Count 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 for takeoff rhythm
- Countdown strides to jump
- From 3
- From 5
- From 8
- Count strides between jumps
- Straightness to jumps
- Jumps the center of the jump
- Deep corners
- Identifies when they chipped in
- Identifies when they over jumped
- Identifies when they jumped ahead
- Identifies when they are left behind
- Jumping 1’3
- 6 stride line
- 4 stride line
- 3 stride line
- 2 stride line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Broken line
- Course
- 4-6 jump course
- 6-8 jump course
- 8 jump course with hunter circle
Level 9: Horsemanship III
Medal: Gold Star – Red
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows unmounted skills. Finances, buying or leasing a horse, stable and pasture management, herd dynamics, lunging, show prep, understands ownership costs, breeding and foaling.
Finances
- Cost of owning a horse
- Cost of going to a show
- Cost of farrier
- Cost of vet
Buying or Leasing A Horse
- Horse fit for rider
- Rider fit for horse
- Benefits and disadvantages of leasing a horse
- Benefits and disadvantages of buying a horse
- Pre-purchase exam
- Explain when and why you should do x-rays
Conformation
- Common faults for:
- Head
- Neck
- Shoulder
- Back
- Pasterns
- Conformation related to breed
- Angle of shoulder and how that affects horse
- Angle of hip and how that affects horse
- 5 qualities that you want in a mount
- 5 qualities and how they affect movement
- 5 qualities and how they affect soundness
- Describe the signs, symptoms and locate area of unsoundnesses:
- Splint
- Bowed tendon
- Ringbone
- Sidebone
- Navicular
- Thoroughpin
- Curb bone
- Bog spavin
Trailering
- Necessary items for horse
- Documents you need when traveling long distance or across state lines
- 5 items for truck safety
- 5 items for trailer safety
- Load a horse into a trailer
- Unload a horse from the trailer
- Documents required to travel with a horse in your state
Conditioning
- What is it
- Factors to consider
- progressive loading
- Peaking
- Rest
- Tapering
- Overloading
- Aerobic
- Anaerobic
Design
- Small, medium, large farm
- Mark all dressage letters
- Make a dressage test
- Make a jumping course
Horse Behavior
- Dominant or submissive
- Herd dynamics
- How to build trust
- How people become the alpha
- Desensitizing
Showing Prep
- Know all show ribbon colors
- Clean trailer
- Fill hay net
- Body clip a horse
- How to walk strides in a jump
- Setup jumps a certain number of strides
Ground Work
- Be able to properly lunge your horse
- On lunge line
- Free lunge
- Ground driving
- Turn on the haunch
- Turn on the forehand
- Side pass
Lunging
- Maintains forward movement
- Adjusts rhythm
- Horse demonstrates relaxation
- Horse demonstrates suppleness
Nutrition
- Supplements
- Grain
- Hay
- Body score
- Physical conditioning
- Identify the percentage of protein and fat in 3 different feed brands
- Identify 3 carbohydrates
- Identify 3 vitamins
- Identify a mineral
- Compare and contrast nutritional needs for:
- Foals
- Weanlings
- Yearlings
- Adults
- Seniors
- Compare and contrast nutritional needs for:
- Horse not in work
- Horse in light work
- Horse in normal work
- Horse in heavy work
Farm Management
- Pasture
- Turn out
- Manure
- Pasture safety
- Pasture fencing
- Emergency information
- Toxic plants
- Internal parasites
- External parasites
- Pest control
- Quarantine
Foaling
- Breeding
- Gestation
- Mare care
- Stallion care
- Teasing
- Artificial insemination
- Labor & delivery
- Common issues
- Handling
- Weaning
Veterinary
- Basic horse first aid
- TPR – Temperature, pulse, respiration
- When to call the vet
- Deworming
- Causes, signs, and preventative measures for:
- Tetanus
- Rabies
- Encephalomyelitis
- West Nile virus
- Scratches
- Rain rot
Dental
- Routine care
- Tooth removal
- Wolf teeth
- How teeth change with age
- Identify the age of the horse
Anatomy
- Mouth
- Teeth
- Muscle
- Skeletal
- Digestive
- Respiratory
- Cardiovascular
- Nervous
Green Horses
- Approaching
- Leading
- Tying
- Reinback
- Grooming
- Desensitization
- Ground work
- Lunging
- Starting under saddle
Emergency Preparedness
- Pre-planning
- Exit strategy
- Fire
- Flood
- Major storm
- Hurricane
- Tornado
- Emergency practice drill
Level 10: Advanced I
Medal: Gold Horse – Blue
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. Flying changes, impulse, bareback, advanced grid work, canter patterns, and cantering jumps.
Lesson Prep
- Show quality grooming of horse
- Help a beginner student tack up in 15 minutes or less
- Go through a checklist with a student on Horsemanship I level
Concepts
- Biomechanics
- What are they?
- The horse’s back
- Rollkur
- Saddle fit
- Too narrow
- Too wide
- Pommel or cantle high
- Ways to adjust fit
- Movement Issues
- Crookedness
- False Collection
- False Extension
Ride
- Warm up
- Can warm up their horse unassisted
- Rider correctly targets a problem area for the horse
- Horse show’s improvement in problem area following rider’s exercise
- Horse is listening to rider following warmup
- Horse is responsive to rider following warmup
- Walk
- Rein Aids
- Maintains appropriate pressure in reins
- Asking rein
- Holding rein
- Uses inside rein to outside leg
- Puts the horse on the bit
- Attempts to correct horse heavy on the forehand
- Correctly applies half-halts
- Effectively applies half-halts
- Identifies horse is
- Above the bit
- Reaching for the bit
- On the bit
- Impulse
- Can affect the leg in motion
- Applies leg aids before rein aids
- Bending
- Maintains in corners
- Maintains on the straight sides
- Suppling
- Can identify the horse’s stiff side
- Can identify the horse’s hollow side
- Exercises to improve the poll
- Exercises to improve the stiff side
- Transitions
- Uses a still seat to halt
- Halts horse standing square
- Halts horse straight
- Shoulder In
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- 15m circle
- Shoulder Out
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- 15m circle
- Haunches in / travers
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- 15m circle
- Haunches out / renvers
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- 15m circle
- Leg yield
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- Across the diagonal
- 15m circle to 10m circle
- 10m circle to 15m circle
- Half-pass
- From the quarter line to the rail
- From the center line to the quarter line
- From the center line to the rail
- Across the diagonal
- Bareback
- Balance
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Touch toe
- Touch poll
- Touch dock
- Posting
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Can lift seat from horse’s back
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- Jumping position
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Can lift seat from horse’s back
- Doesn’t fall forwards
- Doesn’t lean on hands
- Crest release
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- Balance
- Rein Aids
- Trot
- Horse maintains responsive trot at all times
- Horse maintains quality trot at all times
- Horse demonstrates straightness within reason of horse’s ability
- Aids
- Applied consistently and with precision
- Applied with no big motions
- Engages seat during transitions
- Transitions
- Horse trots within 1 step
- Horse halts within 3 steps
- Shoulder In
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Shoulder out
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Haunches in / travers
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Haunches out / renvers
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle
- Leg yield
- On the rail
- On the quarter line
- On the center line
- Across the diagonal
- 20m circle to 15m circle
- 15m circle to 20m circle
- One Stirrup
- Sitting
- Posting
- Up up down
- Down down up
- Jumping position
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- 4 laps around arena
- No Stirrups
- Sitting
- Posting
- Up up down
- Down down up
- Jumping position
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- 4 laps around arena
- Bareback
- Balance
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Touch toe
- Touch poll
- Touch dock
- Posting
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Can lift seat from horse’s back
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- Jumping position
- Jumping position
- Keeps leg in correct position
- Can lift seat from horse’s back
- Doesn’t fall forwards
- Doesn’t lean on hands
- Crest release
- Airplane wings
- Hands on head
- Balance
- Grid work
- Jump – ground pole – jump
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Ground pole – jump – ground pole – jump – ground pole
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Bounce – ground pole – bounce
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Ground pole – jump – stride – jump – ground pole
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jump stride bounce
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jump – 3 strides – jump – 2 strides – jump – 1 stride – jump
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Jump – 1 stride – jump – 2 strides – jump – 1 stride – jump – 2 strides – jump – 1 stride – jump
- With reins
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Y combination
- With reins
- Jumping position
- Touch toe
- Jump – ground pole – jump
- Canter
- Aids
- Maintains contact
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Asks with precision
- Applied with stillness, no big motions
- Building connection
- Half-halt
- Balance
- Touch poll
- Drop and pickup one stirrup
- Drop and pickup both stirrups
- Jumping position
- Post the canter
- 4 laps around the arena
- Maintains consistent balance
- With airplane wings
- With hands on head
- Leads
- Can identify lead horse is on
- Usually picks up correctly
- Across the diagonal, asks for flying change and corrects with simple change with only 2 trot steps upon failure
- Successfully gets a flying change
- Recognizes when a horse is cross cantering
- Patterns
- Zig zag on the rail
- Figure 8
- Serpentine
- Shorten strides in corners, lengthen on straight sides
- Transitions
- Trot to canter within 1 steps
- Canter to trot within 2 steps
- Walk to canter within 3 steps
- Canter to walk within 5 steps
- 3 ground poles
- Add in 1 stride
- Add in 2 strides
- Add one, remove one
- Remove 1 stride
- Remove 2 strides
- Remove one, add one
- Jumping
- Can guess number of strides between jumps before riding through most of the time
- Maintains consistent rhythm
- Maintains consistent balance
- Cavaletti
- 3 in a row grid
- 4 in a row grid
- 6 in a row grid
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Countdown strides to jump
- From 10
- From 12
- From 14
- Jumping 1’3
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Broken line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Rollback
- Jumping 1’6
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Broken line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Rollback
- Jumping 1’9
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Broken line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Rollback
- Jumping 2”
- One hand on head
- Airplane wings
- Both hands on head
- Touch toe
- Counting strides
- Adding strides
- Removing strides
- Bending broken line
- Broken line
- In and out
- Bounce
- Rollback
- Course
- 6 jumps with at least two lines
- 6 jumps with at least one diagonal line
- 6 jumps with one 6 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 4 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 3 stride line
- 6 jumps with one 2 stride line
- 6 jumps with one in and out
- 6 jumps with one bounce
- 6 jumps with one broken line
- 4 jumps with one bending broken line
- 4 jumps with one rollback
- 8 jump course
- 8 jump course with hunter circle
- Aids
Level 11: Advanced II
Medal: Gold Rider – Blue Stars
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. Larger jumps, more complex combinations, courses, collection, oxers, cross country jumps, riding in the open, trail riding, cantering and jumping bareback.
- Details coming soon!
Level 12: Advanced III
Medal: Gold Jumper – Red, White & Blue
Resources: Checklist, Lesson Plans, Worksheets
Rider shows mounted skills. This level focuses on riders who are intending to become riding instructors or horse trainers and want to further their overall horse education. Solid flying changes and counter canter. At all gaits perform travers, renvers, and half-pass. Start tempis and pirouettes, working green horses, jumping courses bareback, cross country courses, teaching riding lessons to beginner riders.
- Details coming soon!