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Horse Treat Scavenger Hunt

A super fun game to practice steering where riders will reach for horse treats placed throughout the arena on jump standards, fence posts, etc at a walk or trot. 

This game can be played individually or in pairs/teams!                              


I love to use this game as a nice warm up for my riders - even adults!


What You Need:

- Horse treats of any kind (store bought, carrots, oatmeal cookies, etc)

- One bucket or box for treats for each team


Set Up:

Set up by placing horse treats through out the arena. Put them on top of jump standards, jump cups, fence posts, etc. I like to place the treats on different levels according to my riders levels, to allow riders to reach up higher or lower - not only eye level. *If you have a rider who is reaching down to grab a treat, make sure they keep their weight in their outside stirrup and not use their inside stirrup to lean on or it may cause the saddle to slip to the side!


How to Play:

Split riders into teams/pairs and each team has their own horse treat bucket/box placed somewhere in the arena. If playing individually, just use one bucket!


On your count, all at once, each rider will steer their horse to each treat spot, pick up the treat, and drop it off in their team's treat bucket before grabbing another one. Make sure riders are careful that their horse does not knock the treat buckets over! When all treats have been found, the team with the most treats in their bucket wins!

Save a couple of minutes after the dismount for the riders to treat their horses with some of the treats they gathered during the lesson.


Variations:

- Challenge riders by having them trot only during the whole game if the treats can be safely grabbed at a trot. 

- Allow riders to only grab treats from the horse's left or right side.


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