An Educational Program Based on Monthly Themes

---

Planning a Chapter educational program based on monthly themes can be an interesting idea for your organization.

• Planning themes according to the seasonal conditions would be a place to start. During the winter months, indoor topics and activities could take place while outdoor activities would dominate during the rest of the year.
  
  
• Make sure that somewhere you spend time on the mission of the BCHA. Who we are and why we are Back Country Horsemen. There is a presentation that Mylon Filkins did with overheads that is excellent about our history, what we do and where we are. These are available from the National office.
  
  
• You might have an open house and try to do a membership drive in conjunction with your topic for the month. A speaker may interest non-members or a slide show covering your Chapter activities.
  
  
• Topics for winter might include:
  
  
  1. Talking about animal care and maintenance needs: basic nutrition, foot care, new equine dentistry, worming, vaccinations and diseases to be aware of, brand inspections and health certificates needed for out of state travel with horses.
     
     
  2. Speakers on resource related issues could be interesting. We had a hydrologist talk about improving streams with different grazing strategies.
     
     
  3. Somewhere in there you can talk about local concerns affecting your riding opportunities and what to do. Your public lands people can bring everyone up to speed on what is happening and perhaps get help in making contacts or helping with the agency planning process. Find out how much money is actually hitting the ground on your Forests for trail work.
     
     
  4. Knot tying sessions can be good practice. Learn a new way to tie up your horse or how to splice a rope. Hands-on activities are popular.
     
     
• As the season warms up other opportunities exist:
  
  
  1. Cover Leave No Trace ethics. Different skill levels and activities can happen here as you build an outdoor ethic. Sessions can start with short presentations covering a topic at meetings. Then you can go to a day of activities or an overnight. It can progress into a several day pack trip.
     
     
  2. A spring potluck with a vet vaccinating and worming, a farrier shoeing, and a brand inspector on hand for chapter horses can be a fun way to get ready for the season.
     
     
  3. Teaching basic horse handling is good for beginners. A spring horse tune-up and training session for trail riding can be done. Teaching packing skills or putting on clinics is possible for those a little more advanced.
     
     
  4. Trail maintenance skills could be taught. Someone could teach crosscut saw use or perhaps get members certified. The agency folks are good at this. Then do some volunteer trail maintenance. Help construct horse related facilities at trailheads or camps.
     
     
  5. See if opportunities exist to pack fish into high lakes.
     
     
  6. And of course, ride and have fun.