Jumping, 
horse racing, horse treasure hunts – fun horseparty games for kids are an essential part of a horse party. Here are 10 exciting, fun and thrilling party games for indoors and outdoors that are all about horses.
Horse games are among the best party games for a children’s birthday party – or even better, a horse party. Because the horse is great for role-playing games, movement games, search games, catching games, throwing games, games of skill and scavenger hunts. And what child doesn’t love horses? And that doesn’t just mean girls – boys also love getting on a horse for jousting, jousting tournaments or horse racing.
The 10 horse party games for children that I have put together here are divided into horse games for outdoors and horse games for indoors. Because even if you would prefer to celebrate every children’s birthday party outside in bright sunshine and warm temperatures, there are winter birthdays in icy temperatures or the weather gods let it rain. It doesn’t matter – there are really great horse games for indoors, including some where the children can run around too.
10 Horse Party Games for Kids That Are All About Horses
Horses and ponies are often among children’s favorite animals. Almost all children love horses – and not just girls. These 10 horse party games for kids are mostly suitable for children aged 4 or 5 and up and can easily be made more challenging for older children. For kindergarten children, I would advise toning down the competitive nature of the game by not having any winners (for example, not stopping the time in one or other of the horse games) and letting everyone win. All games can be modified and adapted to the age of the children so that younger or older siblings can also play.
If your child loves competitions and has no problem with not coming first or winning, you should choose competitive horse games. Quiet games of skill and the horse auction usually go down very well with girls. To keep the preparation work to a minimum and give the party a real horse feeling, it is worth buying ready-made products. I definitely recommend buying hobby horses (there are also inexpensive ones that the children can decorate themselves). If you’re planning to give presents anyway, then get something that you can pack as an unusual game that every child can take home. What child isn’t blown away when they bring home a cute cuddly toy horse from the horse party…
Outdoor Horse Party Games for Children
1. Horse Race – Which Horse Is the Fastest?
- Material: Horse harnesses for children or fabric ribbons, chalk spray or strings to mark the start and finish line, optional: starting pistol and blindfolds
- Age: 5-12 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: 4 or more, preferably an even number
- Duration: 10-15 minutes
This Is How to Play the Game
On your marks, get set, go! Which jockey will ride his horse the fastest and reach the finish line first?
All you need to do in preparation is mark the start and turn line. It becomes more challenging if you spray the entire race track with chalk spray, for example, and add curves.
For this movement game, the children form groups of two. One child is the horse, the other is the jockey. The jockey bridles his horse with a harness or knots the cloth band around the horse’s hips and holds it on the lead. Now it is time to practice: If the jockey pulls the lead to the right, the horse runs to the right. If he pulls to the left, the horse runs to the left.
The horse race is about to start! All jockeys steer their horses to the starting line. At the start signal, all pairs ride to the turning line, turn around and back again. The first pair to gallop across the finish line is the winner.
For older children from 8-12 years: To increase the difficulty, you can blindfold the horses, which makes steering even more important.
2. Show Jumping – Master the Course!
- Material: Poles, furniture and objects as obstacles, children’s bridles or ribbons, markings for start and finish, e.g. with chalk spray, stopwatch
- Age: 4-10 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: from 4 children
- Duration: 15-20 minutes
This Is How to Play the Horse Party Game
You should allow around 10 minutes to prepare for this movement game. Before you can start, you need to set up an obstacle course. You can use anything as an obstacle course: Garden furniture, flower pots, an overturned ladder, etc.
The children form teams of two. One child is the horse, the other is the rider. The rider bridles his horse with the children’s bridle or a lead, which is tied around the horse’s body as a loop. At a start signal, all pairs complete the course. The time it takes for each pair to reach the finish line is measured. The fastest team wins.
3. Jousting Tournament – Horse Party Game for Kids With Hobbyhorses
- Material: each child needs a hobbyhorse, two swimming noodles, chalk spray or other marker for the center line
- Age: from 5 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: from 4 children
- Duration: at least 20 minutes
Tip: At a children’s horse birthday party, the children can make their own hobby horses in advance as a great part of the program!
This Is How to Play the Game
Horses don’t just inspire girls! Knights, tournament fights – these are horse games that many boys love – especially if they don’t involve princesses.
Mark the center line of the tournament area. Two knights arm themselves with a pool noodle, mount their hobbyhorse and stand opposite each other at the same distance from the center line. All the other children are the audience. At a start signal, both knights gallop off and the battle with the pool noodles begins. There doesn’t have to be a winner in these competitions, you decide when a duel is over. The focus is on fun, letting off steam and role play.
4. Horse Scavenger Hunt – Save the Wild Horses
- Material: Markers for the trail, clues, puzzles and tasks if necessary, horse souvenirs as a final reward
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: from 3 children
- Duration: at least 30 minutes
Ideas for a Horse Scavenger Hunt or Horse Treasure Hunt
A horse scavenger hunt or treasure hunt is an ideal setting for the majority of the children’s birthday party program, especially for older children aged 6 and over. The children have to master several tasks and horse games along the way before the search continues. This is a wonderful way to alternate and integrate different types of games – for example, puzzles, movement games and search games.
A nice and simple scavenger hunt, which is suitable for children aged 4 and over, is a search for wild horses. All you have to do is mark the path – for small children simply with chalk arrows or sawdust on the road, for older children it can also be hidden markings and clues packaged as puzzles. As a finale, you hide horse goodies for all the children who find them at the end as a herd of wild horses.
5. Horse Piñata – Horse Party Game for Kids From Mexico
- Material: Horse piñata and a stick as well as sweets, a souvenir or a clue for the scavenger hunt as filling, blindfold if necessary
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: from 3 children
- Duration: 5-10 minutes
This Is How to Play the Horse Game for Kids
Fill the horse piñata with sweets, gifts for the little guests and the next clue for the scavenger hunt. You can find more ideas for piñata fillings here. Hang the piñata high enough so that the children can just reach it with their fingertips outstretched.
The birthday child begins. He or she gets the stick and is allowed to hit the piñata three times and try to smash it. Then it’s the next child’s turn. The game continues until the piñata is opened by a hit. All the children are now allowed to pounce on the sweets or gifts and pick up what is lying on the floor.
6. Lance Riding – One-Handed Riding and Fishing For Rings
- Material: Hobbyhorse, pool noodles, rings
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Outside
- Number of players: from 3 children
- Duration: from 10 minutes
This Is How to Play the Game of Skill
Before the game starts, you hang rings in a tree (and other objects if you like). Each child gets a pool noodle (and rides on a hobbyhorse) and tries to get the rings from the tree with the pool noodle in one hand. As soon as all the rings are on the ground, the jousting is over.
You can play this horse game for children with or without hobbyhorses. But with horses is more challenging and more fun.
Indoor Horse Party Games for Kids
7. Horse Auction – Which Horse Belongs to Whom?
- Material: A cuddly toy horse or a cut-out horse coloring page for each child
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Indoors and outdoors
- Number of players: at least 3 children
- Duration: at least 10 minutes
This Is How to Play the Game
Before the game starts, you hide a horse for each child. The children now have to find them. If a child finds a horse, they keep it. If they find several, they are given to other children. Then each child thinks of a name for the horse they have found and, if they wish, characteristics for the horse. Finally, each horse is presented by each child at the big horse activity and the children can swap horses.
It’s clear: horse stuffed animals are extremely popular with children. They are already available at a reasonable price and can be a special gift for a children’s horse birthday party.
8. Horseshoe Toss – Horse Game for Indoors and Outdoors
- Material: For each child, horseshoes made of thick cardboard for indoors, real horseshoes or horseshoes made of wood and a wooden stick for outdoors, scissors and small prizes if necessary
- Age: from 5 years
- Location: Indoors and outdoors
- Number of players: at least 3 children
- Duration: at least 10 minutes
How to Play the Throwing Game Indoors
Each child receives a horseshoe printed on thick paper and glued to cardboard (and is allowed to cut it out). While the children are cutting them out, you make a loop on the floor with a rope. One after the other, the children throw their horseshoe and try to hit the loop. Whoever hits the loop may get a small prize.
Horseshoe Game to Play Outdoors
Is there a riding stable near you? Ask there for horseshoes, because real horseshoes light up the hearts of all little horse lovers. Alternatively, you can also buy wooden horseshoes.
Stick the wooden stick (which can also be a broomstick) into the ground. The children try to throw their horseshoe as close as possible. The one whose horseshoe is closest to the wooden stick wins.
Tip: Searching for horseshoes is one of the horse games for kids, after which you can make horseshoes as the next item on the program. The children can then decorate their horseshoes by painting them, sticking things on them, etc.
9. Wild Horse Ride – Who Can Stay In the Saddle the Longest?
- Material: Cowboy hat, soft mats or mattresses, stopwatch
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Indoors
- Number of players: at least 2 children
- Duration: 5-15 minutes
This Is How to Play the Game
This is also one of the horse party games for children in which two children always team up. One child is the wild horse, the second is the cowboy. The wild horse kneels on all fours on a soft mat or mattress and the cowboy sits on its back. He holds the cowboy hat in one hand.
At the start signal, the wild horse starts bucking and tries to throw the cowboy off. You time how long each cowboy stays in the saddle. Each child can be a cowboy once and a horse once. The winner is the cowboy who has stayed in the saddle the longest.
10. Sugar Cube Stacking – Who Can Build the Highest Tower?
- Material: Sugar cubes
- Age: from 4 years
- Location: Indoors
- Number of players: at least 2 children
- Duration: 5-10 minutes
This Is How to Play the Game of Skill
Horses love sugar cubes! And you can also play a fun game of skill with them. The aim of the game is to build the highest tower of sugar cubes.
Place a box of sugar cubes in the middle of the table. On a start signal, the game begins. Each child takes a sugar cube and starts building a tower. Each child may build three towers. As soon as the first child has finished building 3 towers and shouts “finished”, the game is over. The winner is the child who has built the highest sugar cube tower.
You can find even more horse party games for kids here on the topic of cowboy games.
Make the children’s birthday party an unforgettable event! If you’re looking for ideas, you’ll find lots of ideas for great children’s birthday parties with or without a theme. True to the motto “There’s no such thing as boredom”, you’ll find ideas for activities with children, with your partner or with friends for many occasions and every day of the year. It’s worth browsing!
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