The Pathway To Horse Ownership, Apprentice
Program is for students to experience the joys, the heartaches, and the drudgeries of horse ownership and the
ever-changing, day-to-day life on a horse farm. These lessons help insure the success of future horse owners and the
well-being of their horse(s). So often at busy, riding-lesson barns, there is no time for anything other than riding.
The future horseowner is left with a huge gap in their knowledge of horses. This Apprentice Program
helps fill that gap!
The weekly group
sessions are divided into:
WannaBees - children,
ages 8-15, with no horse experience
GonnaBees - children,
ages 8-15, with handling and riding experience (must pass a horse-handling competency test)
UsedToBees - adults with former or limited horse experience
Each student is assigned a horse for weekly grooming, and then we focus on some aspect of
horses or farm life. The subjects of this hands-on study vary by the season and by the need. We cover first-aid,
general health, conformation, suitability to use, nutrition, tack, fencing, pasture and weed management, stall cleaning, barn
safety, herd dynamics, etc. A bi-yearly, group mission project is also
included. The weekly sessions are approximately 2-3 hours long, depending on the time of year, at a cost of $40 per
session.
