Horse Games That You Can Play Offline

Relay Races

• Create relay races using stick horses. Mark a starting line and run-to line 25 feet apart. Divide the children into two teams and have them line up at the starting line. Give the first player in each team line a stick horse. When you say "Race," the children have to ride the stick horse to the run-to line and back to the starting line. The players must pass it off to the next player in line who must do the same thing. The first team to finish wins the horse race. Make the course more difficult by adding foam blocks (bushes) for the "horses" to jump over while running to and from the run-to line. For a variation, have the children "gallop" or skip like horses.

Guessing Games

• Fill a clear jar with gummy horseshoes and horses, which are available online and at some candy stores. Have each child guess how many gummies are in the jar. The child who guesses closest to the correct number wins the jar of horse gummies to take home or share with his friends. For another guessing game, put a spin on the classic "Pin the tail on the donkey" with a game of "Pin the tail on the horse." The child who pins the tail closest to the correct spot wins the game.

Tossing Games

• Play a game of horseshoes using wooden dowels and plastic horseshoes. The first child to earn 21 points wins the game. The children can also play the game in pairs. For another tossing game, allow the children to toss one of a horse's favorite snacks, sugar cubes, into small buckets. You can also tape a poster or picture of a horse's head on the bottom of a cardboard box and cut out the mouth. Let the children try to toss the sugar cubes into the horse's mouth.

Plastic Horse Games

• Have the children sit in a circle and hand one player a large toy horse. Play music and have the children pass the horse around the circle. When the music stops, the player holding the horse is out of the game. Eliminate one player each round and the last player in the game wins the toy horse. Another offline horse game is to have a horse hunt. Hide several plastic horses all over the play area. The child who finds the most horses wins a prize and each child can keep the toy horses she finds to take home.