Small Animal Care Week Two

We are finally at the end of another phenomenal week here at Day Camp and I am happy to report that our first Small Animal Care week of the summer was a great success! It was challenge thanks to the weather report, but we overcame the rain with lots of fun horse science lessons, group games and countless other excellent additions. Here are just a few photos from our fabulous week here. I hope the campers had as much fun as the staff! 

Ellie the Golden Retriever came for a visit on Monday. She and Autumn, the Small Animal Care instructor, had a blast teaching the kids about canines and all they entail.

The children practiced teaching each other dog tricks in the same fashion a dog learns- when asking them to sit, they had to shout words like banana and use their body language to explain the trick since dogs don't generally speak English.  

We finally saw the sun once again on Thursday afternoon and got to get reacquainted with our beloved Ring 3 riding arena. 

Josh, our Sports master for the week, had a blast teaching the girls all sorts of fun exercises and games.

 
Just a few photos of our animal friends here at Hoofbeat: our three kid dairy goats, two of our new bunnies and the most recent addition- our Rhode Island Red chickens!

The children had a blast learning about horses hooves using cookies, frosting and starburst!

Regardless of the rain, we still managed to get in time for lots of fun hands-on horse activities like grooming and, of course, riding!

Teko toting Seth around the indoor.

Alla and Cody preparing for a half circle and reverse in the Indoor.

Lacy assisting a camper cut Lightning across the arena. 

Angela's Arabians group struck a pose before getting their grooming on.

We were so pleasantly surprised by the sunny day, we had to take a picture and capture the moment.

Laura assisting some excited Fallabellas all about work on their art projects.

The ponies Jill and Jack came for a visit and decided they should take a group picture with Megan's Shetlands group during Small Animal Care. 

Water Games on the upper athletic field were a big splash on Thursday afternoon.

Even in Horse Science there's time for some silliness! Here are the Arabians showing off their funny faces.

Thanks again for a great week everyone and have an amazing summer! Feel free to "like" our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Hoofbeat) for more pictures and camp updates. 

Horse Lover's Week One

Horse Lovers during week one of Day Camp was a blast! The week was full of fun events with everything from relay races to steal the carrot in the riding arena, and sock ponies to tie dye at the arts and crafts table. The kids stayed entertained during all their downhill activities, including Nature and Sports, but of course were most excited about their horse related activities. The highlight of riding this week was our trail riding and bareback spectacular on Thursday. 

After a lovely first week at Day Camp, we got to spend our final day on a rather wet note. Despite the unruly weather, we all still found a load of exciting and fun things to do with our last day on week one. Here are some photos's from our morning rotations. Enjoy and thanks for joining in the fun!

The Arabians group enjoyed some group games in the Day Camp Barn

Making gimp lanyards is, as usual, a fan favorite

More group games with the Quarter Horses in the Lodge

They seemed to think smiles were overrated and showed us their funny side

The Morgans were thrilled to check out the candy stash in Trading Post

Looks like Josh and Megan the counselor were just as excited

One of our Morgans showed us how she really felt about the rain

Annie assisted one of our younger riders with Taffy during a morning lesson in the Indoor

The Shetlands posed for a picture in the Barn Lounge with Autumn

A good photo-op isn't much without a little humor

Annie came to join the Shetlands for their super fun Horse Fun lesson

The Fallabellas showed me their best smiles in the Upper Barn Lounge before Horse Science

More funny faces to entertain you on this rainy day

Chloe showing off her true wonder pony skills in the Indoor Arena

Lightning led the charge down the center line for a little pole bending

Our classy mother of two Teko was wonderful as usual in the ring

The Quarter Horses were all smiles right before their Horse Fun lesson

Although it was a disappointment that our campers couldn't head over to the Mazomanie Pool today, we all had a splendid time with our morning rotations and enjoyed learning a little bit about overcoming diversity while watching the movie Racing Stripes this afternoon. All in all, Horse Lover's was quite the success! Thanks for joining us and hope to see you again soon up on the Ridge!