Lansdowne Students at Brixton’s Ebony Horse Club

A selection of students from Lansdowne School are continuing with their visits to Ebony Horse Club in Brixton each week.

This is an amazing local facility. It provides access for the local community to learn horse riding skills, as well as practical experience in helping out around the stables. Class a teacher Miss Lisa helps to organise the visits.

We start each session by recapping the Lansdowne FRESH Rules. These are especially important when we are out in the community to help us keep safe.

All students are also aware of the Ebony Horse Club rules. These include don’t walk behind the horses, don’t approach a horse on our own, don’t feed a horse, and if we feel slightly uneasy then speak with an adult.

The current crop of Ebony students are now familiar with the routine once they arrive at the club. Our first task is to find a suitable hat and pair of riding boots. The students are asked to organise their kit independently.

It’s then time to choose our ride! The pupils are building up confidence as well as relationships with the different ponies and horses available.

We use the mounting blocks to climb into the saddle. The Ebony team are helping us to learn how each part of the horse riding tackle works.

One of the first riding tasks is for a gentle walk around the arena. Each rider has a walker who is able to offer support and extra safety.

The pupils are learning how to communicate with the horses. We have seen how a very gentle pulling of the reins lets the horse know that it is time to stop. We then squeeze our legs ever so slightly to signal that it’s time to go once again.

The activities also involve cones being laid out in the arena. The pupils use the reins to guide the horses to the left or right around the cones.

We have also advanced to carry out some trotting routines. This involves the riders adjusting their position as they confidently bounce along in the stirrups.

We would like to thank all team members at Every Horse Club for giving the Lansdowne pupils this amazing opportunity.

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