Whether it's a rainy day, too hot to ride, a lesson horse came up lame, or your horses simply need a break, it's always a good idea to have a few horse-free activities in your back pocket. The following 5 activities have been a hit at our camps and are great for keeping the energy and learning going, even without a horse in sight.

​1. Disassemble & Reassemble Bridles

A great rainy day horse camp or rainy day riding lesson activity in disassembling and reassembling bridles. This is a wonderful opportunity to truly understand the gear we use every day. Riders really solidify their knowledge of what each part is called, and how all the pieces work together. For a fun challenge, you can turn this into a race to see which camper can reassemble theirs the fastest!

​2. Musical Water Buckets

​This is a classic game with a horse camp twist. Just set up some buckets in a circle, one fewer than the number of players. When the music plays, everyone walks around, and when it stops, you all find a bucket to sit on. It’s a fun, lighthearted game that reminds us to be quick on our feet. It's a great post-lunch energy break as well.

​3. Horse & Rider Challenge

​This activity is all about communication and trust and can really help heavy handed riders, even beginners, understand how important it is to be soft with the reins. Paired up, one camper acts as the "horse," holding a bit in their hands, while the other is the "rider," guiding them with reins from behind. Riders can practice guiding their partners through a simple pattern, which helps them understand how a horse and rider work as a team. We've seen some very uncooperative "horses" during this exercise! For an extra test of trust, the "horse" can try it blindfolded.

​4. Learn to Wrap

​Knowing how to properly wrap a horse's legs is a crucial skill for any horseman or woman. You can do a horse camp friendly version of this, where riders learn the basics by using a friend’s arm or leg to get the hang of it. It’s a great, low-pressure way to introduce the skill without risk to a horse. You can make this into a perfect game for horse camp by having riders wrap themselves together for a three-legged race!

​5. Measure in Hands

This is a fun activity to help campers understand the concept of hands and how horses are measured. Riders can have fun measuring each other and finding out how many hands they are. If you're looking for a variation on this activity, have each camper cut out paper hands and staple them together to create a chain that’s as tall as they are.

As horsemen, we all know that things don’t always go as planned—horses get sore, the weather turns, or the day just needs a reset. I’ve found that having a few of these horse-free activities tucked away makes all the difference. They keep campers engaged, give us space to teach important skills, and remind everyone that horsemanship is about so much more than riding. Sometimes these off-horse moments end up being the most memorable ones of all.

While it can be hard during the busyness of camp season, remember that some of the kids who get introduced to horses through a camp may go on to be the next generation of equestrians, so it is absolutely worth it to structure your camps around learning about horses. Horses + scholarship = horsemanship!