The kids loved this activity. I finally found a tall cone to use and when I placed it on top of the box it was a pretty good height to reach from the horse.
This is two activities in one. They can stack the cones or place the rings. The kids can reach out of the base of support, go into two point stand and work on crossing midline to reach for the cones or hoops.
But to make it more interesting I created a noise making insert as shown below. In this way, I can squeeze to make it squeak and keep the children's attention.I bought a small dog toy that squeaks and inserted it inside the mesh bag that the onions came in. Then I taped it to the top of a tube with duct tape.
The tube shown above is sold in hardware stores. They hold florescent light bulbs. I cut a portion of the tube and covered the lower end with tape.
The tube just happened to fit inside the cracked opening on top of the cone.
Some kids might enjoy simply reaching over to squeak the ball. but most of the kids preferred reaching over to place the cones or hoops.
One child had such good balance he was able to stand on top of the horse to reach for the cones and then squat to place them over the large cone. We held onto his shoes and gave support at the gait belt.
Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L author of, The Recycling Occupational Therapist
Horseot.com
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