Horse-Related Games for Seven-Year-Olds

Guessing Games

• Purchase a bag of gummy horseshoes and horses, which are available online and at many candy stores. Count up the gummies and write the number down before filling a clear jar with the candies. Give each child a slip of paper and a pencil. Ask them to write down their names and guess how many candies they think are in the jar. The child who guesses closest to the correct amount wins the jar of candies. For another guessing game, fill the jar with small plastic horses instead of gummy candies.

Memory Games

• Print out pictures of horses (two of each) on sheets of paper. Cut the pictures into the same size squares and laminate each one to make them last longer. Place the pictures face down on a table and let the kids play a game of memory. If a player finds a pair, she can go again. The player with the most pairs at the end of the game wins. For another memory game, place several horse-related items, such as a horseshoe, a plush horse and a small toy saddle, on a tray. Show the children the tray then take it out of the room. Remove one of the items and show the tray to the children again. The first child who guesses which item is missing from the tray wins a prize.

Hay Hunts

• Scatter a bale of hay in the yard and hide several plastic horse toys in the hay. Give each player a horse-themed bag. When you say "Hunt," the players must dig through the hay to find as many horses as they can. The player who finds the most horses wins a prize. For an added bonus, make a dot on some of the horses and the children who find those horses wins a prize, too. For another hunt idea, hide horseshoes instead of toy horses.

Relay Races

• Divide the children into two teams and teach them how to gallop, which is like skipping. Mark two lines about 20 feet apart. Ask each team to line up at the first line. When you say "Gallop," the first player in each team must gallop to the other line and back to tag the next player in line. Each player must do the same thing. The first team to finish the relay race wins the game. For another relay race, give each team a stick horse. The children must ride the stick horse from one line to the other then trade off. The first team to finish wins the game.