My Horses Ain’t Hungry

May is the triple crown of horse racing; the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. So it seems fitting that this is the second horse-themed lesson idea I’ve written about this month.

Today’s lesson focuses on the folk song My Horses Ain’t Hungry. The interlude is meant to be faster (surprisingly so) as part of “rhythmic and dramatic play”, according to my findings from Ruth Seeger’s American Folk Songs for Children.

Movement

Designate an area of your room to be “the barn”. If you have chairs, you could place them in a circle to create the space.

• During the first playing of the interlude, students will escape the barn and gallop around freely.
• During each stanza, students should slow to a trot or walk, then speed up during the interlude.
• On the final interlude, students should quickly return to the barn before the song is finished.

Instruments

The pentatonic melody in this song makes it a great choice for Orff instruments, Boomwhackers, or any other pitched percussion instrument. It’s also a great piece to model and practice alternating hands, especially since this piece highlights the practical reason why percussionists alternate their hands (that interlude is quick!)