Brilliant, thanks.
8-legged-pony, I forgot that we also have a big dice - it doesn't sound as good as yours though, ours just has dots on it for numbers. Still something different to do though.
I like the idea of allocating riders a colour as well.
and anything to keep your leaders alert is a good thing - I tend to gauge how good my lessons are by keeping an eye on how interested my leaders are by the end of it - if they're walking around in another world, chances are that my riders are equally bored.
8-legged-pony and I's dice really wasn't anything special to start with. We got an old cardboard box, and cut the sides down til it shut as a square not a rectangle, then glued it all shut. We then bought some cheap kids paints and painted each side a different colour. Once that dried we painted black dots on each side. I can't remember whether we mixed PVA glue with the paint to give a shiny finish or if we coated it in PVA once all the paint was dry. A
fter that we cut up those plastic wallets for ringbinders and attached a pocket to each side. We then cut another cardboard box up into squares slightly smaller than each pocket, and designed the different labels (as Jess described) on the computer, printed them off and stuck them onto the cards. The cards then slot into the pockets, though a bit of blu-tack is advisable as they sometimes drop out when violently shaken.
The great thing is that if we have a new idea for the dice we just print new images and stick them to card. I can't think how old our dice is, but we made it in Sixth Form and I'm in my third year at Uni...and it's still going strong!! It's stood up to riders shaking/throwing etc etc and it's been kicked by the odd pony...if fact I think we also left it out in the rain for a few days too!
I completely agree with the leaders thing...mostly if your leaders are bored then it's not a good sign! Though there are cases with riders with learning difficulties who require (and enjoy) mind-numbing repetition. We have a little girl who really struggles to learn her stable management, but is so keen. You end up getting so sick of your own voice - "Where are the pony's ears? Well done. Can you point to the pony's ears? Oo not quite, here they are. Can you show me where the pony's ears are? Good girl. What part of the pony am I pointing to? Oo no that's not her tail, they are her ears. Can you point to her ears?"
She has to learn the response to all possible ways you could phrase the question, she can't seem to transfer the information...I'm sure her helpers would like to shoot me in the lead up to Grade exams, but it works and she passes! She's passed Grade 2 now so allt he slogging away with things like ears was well worth it!
As for more ideas...anything off the new Countryside Challenge course could be fun. For riders who understand, we jazz up simple exercises by making them into some kind of story/game. For example we have a 2ft high cuddly-toy crocodile from a boot sale and we use him as the 'big bad croc' who will gobble up ponies if riders don't steer safely round the obstacles. Gives everyone a giggle and our helpers get nicely into role, brightening up things like cones and going over poles!
We have grooming kit races...grooming boxes slot onto our fencing so we hang two at each end and riders race to transfer all the kit from one to the other (in walk or w/t). For less mentally able riders it familiarises them with the all the equipment, for more mentally able riders we put 'decoys' in the box such as bits/browbands/gloves and they have to choose the right things.
Just reminded me of another fun game....dress the helper. Basically we collected a lovely assortment of fetching clothing and hung it over the fence at one end (not for a windy day and we had to show the wimpy ponies first!) and the riders either worked as a whole group team or competed to dress one/two helpers in the most silly outfit possible by riding down, choosing something and bringing it back for that person to put on.
Grandmother's footsteps is a standard game for us and we do quite a bit of Simon Says but without the 'simon says' as many of our riders don't understand it. Another good variation is what I can 'Follow the leader'. You start of walking in front of the ride, and riders have to copy the person in front (ie you) then after a while you 'circle to the rear' and the leadfile rider as now in charge...riding circles etc or doing things like hands on head, toes etc...and everyone copies them, including you. Some riders really struggle to be the one thinking of things at first, which is why it's so good for them. Obv. it's not suitable for some riders.
I seem to have written a novel...I do apologise...people really shouldn't get me started!
) and also helps untrain the horses from just going to the back of the ride after one lap.
