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Welcome to the Bookmark Farms
Equine Educational Centre.
Parents have a lot of choices these days
when it comes to deciding which summer
programs are best for their children.
Sports camps are great at building team
spirit, and arts camps build skills in
creative expression. Some camps are
designed to simply “babysit” kids for
busy parents.
Horse camps and riding lessons offer the
benefit of building relationships with
animals.
During horse camp, children often form
strong “partnerships” with particular
horses, and their hearts are opened to a
new kind of relationship with the
natural world.
There is a lot of discussion these days
of “going green”. It is important
to teach our children to take care of
the environment. Learning to care for a
horse builds awareness in your kids’
lives of how animals rely on us. Some
animals, like horses, dogs and cats,
rely on us to feed and shelter them.
Most animals, those that are wild, rely
on us simply to preserve their natural
environment. Children often extend their
care for horses to to care for
other animals, including wild animals.
From there, it is a short leap to
understanding the importance of taking
care of the environment.
In short, the empathy for animals a
child learns at horse back riding camp
goes a long way in raising a “green”
child.
At Bookmark Farms, our summer camp
program emphasizes safety by showing
children how their body language affects
the horses’ reactions. Children get a
sense of “otherness”; that how they act,
affects others. The payoff is that the
horses, in turn, respond well to the
children for their efforts.
Paradoxically, the children receive a
sense of accomplishment in seeing how to
“control” the horse by practicing their
own self-control. While the children
think they’re “at the barn riding
horses”, we know they’re also learning
valuable lessons to carry home.
Next week, I’ll talk about why our day
camp is the best way to start your kids
in horse back riding, and how children
can learn self-confidence at the horse
barn. In the meantime, if you have any
particular questions about how horse
back riding camp may benefit your
children, please email me at
bookmarkfarms@aol.com.
If you’re a first time visitor, take
some time to read about our fantastic
lesson and training program, or our
boarding services. Thanks for visiting!
We hope to hear from you.
Joan,
Owner/Director, Bookmark Farms
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