I heard this quote this morning, attributed to Harry Truman, “How do you get kid’s to do what you want? Find out what they want to do and ask them to do that.”
It’s important as parents that we know what our kids are good at – you can bet they will be good at things they enjoy doing – and that we make sure we give them ample opportunity to explore all the wonderful things the world has to offer.
A child who likes jumping around and is in constant motion may be an ideal candidate for Zumba or tap dancing or track and field.
Remember the great outdoors – a child who hears every little sound may enjoy learning to identify bird calls.
Even if it seems that all your child likes to do is watch TV, they can learn to write a script and hold a video camera.
There’s art and nature and sports and so much more that children should be exposed to so that they can discover what makes them happy. 
And when they are happy, they are more likely to be cooperative and willing to do the other things that may not be fun. Plus you now have leverage! We all have to work to earn the things we want – this may include doing chores before going to guitar lessons, or getting good grades before participating on the track team – and using the “carrot” of doing things we enjoy is so much more effective than using the “stick” of any kind of punishment.
And to be honest this is true of our work with horses too! Some horses are ‘energizer bunnies’ – they enjoy nothing better than going fast. When you work with a horse like this, 
they have to complete the rest of their work before they earn the reward of a quick zip around the arena. Maybe they are a more laid back kind of horse and once their work is done, they enjoy a walk around the property. 
Knowing your horse/child will help you create a schedule and routine that gets the job done, but also allows your horse/child to do the things they love.
We would love to introduce you to our wonderful horses, both the exuberant, high-energy ones and the more laid back ones. Give us a call to schedule a visit. We’ll show you around, make the introductions and share more about how our program works.