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Easterseals Massachusetts Easterseals Massachusetts
3 groups of 3 people on horses with people standing guiding each horse

Equine Enrichment Weeks

Join us for school vacation weeks or select summer weeks to enjoy 1:1 horse time, design obstacle courses, create riding patterns to music, and even teach a horse a new skill!

Contact
equestriancenter@eastersealsma.org

Start each morning on the right hoof! Join us for school vacation and select summer weeks to have an immersive experience of feeding, caring for, riding, and training the horses. Enjoy lots of 1:1 animal time alongside our staff: Collaborate with your peers to design and ride your own obstacle course, create a riding pattern to a song of your choice, and train an animal to learn a new skill!

collage of 9 images in a 3 by 3 grid of people engaging with various horses
Our daily schedule helps participants build essential skills in caring for and riding horses. 
Beginner Sample Schedule
  • 8:30 a.m.: Welcome –  Exploring horse colors, breeds, and markings using puzzles/pictures/matching.
  • 8:45 a.m.: Horse nutrition – Designing our own obstacle course: colors, poles, cones, hula hoops.
  • 9:30 a.m.: Goat care – Walk the goats through obstacles and practice red light, green light for verbal and visual cues to the animals.
  • 10:00 a.m.: Horse care – Retrieve a horse from the pasture, halter, and walk it to the grooming stall. Sequencing and single/multistep instructions to groom horses. Sharing grooming tools with peers.
  • 10:15 a.m.: Horse riding – Games and steering on horseback. Pairing verbal/visual cues and 1:1 instruction with horse leaders. Red light, green light, blue light for scaffolded learning.
  • 10:45 a.m.: Horse care – Untack horses and return to stalls. This activity builds teamwork and step-by-step instruction to put tack away correctly with peers.
  • 11:00 a.m.: Craft – Use of color and manipulatives to create a horse photo frame.
  • 11:25 a.m.: Wrap up – Clean up, bathroom break, and overview of tomorrow’s agenda.
Intermediate-Advanced Sample Schedule
  • 8:30 a.m.: Welcome –  Exploring equine body language and comparing to our own.
  • 8:45 a.m.: Teambuilding – "Horse Speak" – Communication and conversations through our voices and actions.
  • 9:30 a.m.: Small Animals – Introducing Positive Reinforcement through clicker training (R+1) with the goats.
  • 10:00 a.m.: Horse Care – Transferring clicker training to horses; training with the mechanical lift for mounting and dismounting.
  • 10:15 a.m.: Horse Riding – Drill team practice and synchronized strides.
  • 10:45 a.m.: Horse Care – Bathing horses, cool-down regimen, and introducing mane braiding.
  • 11:25 a.m.: Wrap Up – Clean up, bathroom break, and overview of tomorrow’s agenda.