How-to: Learning About Horses for Kids

The strength, beauty and majestic profile of horses make them a fascination to young and old alike. Children, in particular, are enamored of horses, and it is often a childhood dream of many a young girl to own her own pony. Although horses do not play as much of a part in our everyday lives as they once did, there are still many aspects about them that can be discussed with children on an educational level.

  1. Identifying Horses

    • Draw a large picture of horse, but deliberately leave out key features such as the tail, the mane and the hooves. Pin the picture to a wall in an area that is easily accessible for children. On separate pieces of paper, draw out parts of the horse to scale and cut around them so that they will easily integrate into the main picture when they are used. Involve young children by holding up the parts of a horse and telling them what they are called. Once the part has been identified, allow the children to stick the parts onto the horse with double-sided tape. Discuss how colors and sizes allow us to identify different breeds of horses and allow them decorate the picture with a view to narrowing down color use so a particular type of horse is easily identifiable.

    How Are Horses Used?

    • Consider taking children to a museum to find out how horses were used in the past. Explain that horses were used before the motor car was invented for transporting goods to different locations. By looking back further into history, investigate how horses were used in battle. Find situations of horses being used in a working environment in the modern age by using Third World countries, farms and agriculture as examples. Clarify how horses have grown in popularity for recreational and sporting events in recent times.

    Visit a Horse Center

    • Arrange a trip to horse center so the children can see the animals at close quarters. There are many "rest homes" for horses throughout the United States that are moderately inexpensive to visit, and all entrance fees are used to pay for the horses' upkeep. Let the children touch the horses and, as long as it is permissible, let them feed the horses as well. Explain how the horses grind their food so it can be more easily digested. Reinforce things that children have already learned by getting them to visually identify features of a horse. Let the children ask questions to find out what retired horses used to do in their working lives.

    Riding Schools

    • Children who have shown a particular interest in the subject of horses may enjoy being enrolled in a riding course. Spend some preparation time explaining safety aspects of horseback riding so the children will already be familiar with them by the time they take part in the riding course. Visiting a riding school offers a fun and entertaining way of finishing horse education and, for many participants, it may actually instill a love of horses for the rest of their lives.