Scouting Badges

Girl Scout Badge

$35/person

Our program is two hours long. The first hour is spent in the barn for a hands-on discussion followed with an hour of a structured riding lesson.

The program will cover the following:

  1. What is involved in the care of the horse? What kind of food does a horse eat? How do you care for a horse? How often is a horse shod and why?
  2. Examine the tools used to groom a horse.   Learn the purpose and how to use the tools. Discover safe practices around horses.
  3. Learn how to lead a horse.  Learn to mount and dismount, start, stop, steer, and ride at a walk and maybe progress to a trot.
  4. Know safe riding rules, good riding manners, safe clothing, and gear for English or Western riding.
  5. Learn the parts of a saddle and bridle.  Learn how to take care of tack.
  6. Watch a horse being saddled and bridled.  Learn the use of each piece of tack.

We will teach the basics of proper posture, communication with a horse, and rhythm skills. Our first concern is always to teach control and safety. The scouts may learn to trot their horses, but that is left to the discretion of the instructor. We will not canter. If your troop has been through our basic Horse Scouting Badge program and is interested in learning the skills for a higher badge, please contact our office.

Boy Scout Badge
$45.00/person

Our program is three hours long.  The first two hours will be spent in a classroom setting covering the first ten requirements.  The last hour will be spent in the arena for a lesson covering the eleventh requirement.  Our instructor may modify some of the requirements at her discretion to the ability level of the students.  Safety is our primary concern. 

The program will cover the following:

1) Do the following:
    A) Describe the safety precautions you should take when handling and caring for a horse.
    B) Explain and demonstrate how to approach and lead a horse safely from a stall,  corral,  or field and how to tie the horse securely.
    C) Demonstrate how to safely mount and ride a horse and how to safely dismount the                         horse after your ride. 
2) Name 15 main parts of a horse. 
3) Name four leading breeds of horses.  Explain the special features for which each breed is          known. 
4) Show how to care for a Western and English saddle and bridle.  Name 10 parts of the saddle and bridle that you will use. 
5) Show how to groom, pick out hooves, prepare a horse for a ride, and care for a horse after a ride. 
6) Describe the symptoms of colic.  Describe four other horse health problems.  
7) Name three main conformation faults of the feet and legs, and explain how to detect them.  Explain the difference between lameness and unsoundness. 
8) Explain how to trim and shoe a horse’s foot and how to make adjustments according to its conformation, the season of the year, and the riding conditions. 
9) Explain the correct way to feed a horse.  Explain how you determined what and how much to feed the horse and why the amount and kind of feed will be changed according to activity level and the kind of horse it is. 
10) Show how to saddle and bridle a horse. 
11) On level ground, continuously do the following movements.  Do them correctly, at ease, and in harmony with the horse:             

              A) Mount
              B) Walk horse in a straight line for 60 feet
              C) Make a half circle of not more than 16 feet in radius
              D) Trot or jog in a straight line for at least 60 feet*
              E) Make a half circle of not more than 30 feet in radius at a jog or trot
              F) Halt straight
              G) Back up straight four paces
              H) Halt and dismount

*At the discretion of the instructor.

 

Leader’s Checklist

  1. Make a reservation at LEAST two weeks in advance. Send in a deposit check or hold the reservation on a credit card.
  2. Distribute liability waiver forms (permission slips) for parents to sign.
  3. Call Girl/Boy Scout Council to rent helmets.
  4. Inform participants of appropriate apparel (solid-soled shoes or boots and long pants; hat, gloves, and warm coats for winter rides).
  5. Give parents detailed directions and instructions to arrive twenty minutes early and meet you.
  6. Pick up helmets from Council (unless you are part of the Greater Minneapolis Girl Scout Council. We store their helmets at the Stable.).
  7. For the day of the ride:
    1. Be sure to arrive BEFORE your troop.
    2. Gather permission slips and payment.
    3. Check in at the office at least twenty minutes before the ride.
    4. We need the total number of riders and payment balance in one lump sum (cash, check, or credit card).