If you're thinking about enrolling your LO in riding classes, when's a good age? If you took riding lessons when you were younger, how old were you when you started?
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5 or 6? Maybe?
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Ellie started at age five. For safety reasons I wouldn't start much younger than that. She is doing really well and making lots of progress. We plan to get her a horse when she is about ten or so. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any!
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I started when I was around 8, I think? I had my own horse when I was 11 or 12.
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I started around 7 I think...I think starting around 5 or 6 would work too though! I took lessons for over a decade and riding was a HUGE part of my life. I love love loved it...I hope your LO does too!!
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The stables near our apartment starts lessons at age 6.
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I think I started around 8.
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I think it depends 100% on the kid to be honest. I started lessons myself at 9 and taught lessons in college. Their attention span has to be mature enough to be safe around horses. I have seen lots of littles pushed into it earlier rather than later and since they were so small, they got frustrated faster and gave up sooner. You might check out Girl Scouts in your area if it's a daughter, they often have great, age-appropriate lessons/programs. I'd also be happy to help with any questions about choosing a stable/gear/etc. if you need it
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I was 10.. but there was younger kids too!
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I didn't start till 9 or 10, but I helped out with a riding camp as a teenager where the youngest was 4 years old. At that age, all she did was basically take supervised pony rides around, and learned a little bit about caring for the horses. I'd probably start a mature kid around 6, maybe 5, where they could start to have some independence, and wait a couple extra years if my kid had trouble focusing or understanding appropriate behavior around animals- like PP said, you want them to be mature enough to be safe.
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@Crumbs: Can I be your child, too? I love horses!
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I plan to around 5. But she will def be around them with myself and Family before then. Just not Official lessons until later.
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Depends on the instructor. Some of them around us will start pretty young but most of the bigger places request 6 years or older I believe. My 2 year old would be in heaven if he could take horse back riding lessons but I just don't think I'm ready yet for that kind of expense when he won't be learning the care part very well yet since he's so young.
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I started at around 8 or 9. It was fun for a few years until my Mom basically used it as 'day camp' during the summertime since she was a SAHM and didn't want us around all day with nothing to do, but we were too young to work. Once I was forced to do it all day every day I started hating it, but it can be very enjoyable! I will say that it's a lot more dangerous than people realize, even with really old, tame horses you can have pretty bad accidents. So definitely wait until they're a little older.
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Around here a lot of instructors won't start until a certain age because young children aren't covered under insurance. I want to say somewhere around 5-6 but I'm not completely positive. I didn't start until later in life (I was a teen), but my sister started when she was 8 and that seemed to be a great age for it.
ETA: Like a previous poster said, it really is quite dangerous. Every kid falls off at some point, even with the calmest horse, and it doesn't take much for the fall to be serious. That's why I wouldn't start my kids in lessons until later (8-10ish) when they have more balance and coordination.
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I also started at 5.
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I started at six at horse camp (at our local YMCA summer camp) and took private lessons around age 8. Dh has been riding since he was four his family owns horses.
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The stables where I took lessons required children to be at least 7 before starting lessons. My sister started at 7 (I started at 9) and she did really well!
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I'm virtually clueless when it comes to horses, and when we saw that the neighborhood riding school offered classes from 3 years and up (max 50 kg), I thought it would be a semi-near possibility. It's a pony riding school with a few Shetland ponies. I admit, the cuteness factor is what lured me in!
But DD isn't close to 3 yet, and we're not even sure if she'll be interested. But they have drop-in classes, so it doesn't have to be a commitment.
@Mrs. Twine: @scg00387: Thank you! When the time comes, hopefully we'll all still be hanging around HB, I'll msg you
@Modern Daisy: @PermaStudent: I was not aware of the danger, thank you. It does make sense and definitely something to consider.
@MrsMcD: Affordable riding schools are one of the perks in living in small town (it's actually considered a village by most). Hehe.
I've attached a picture from their site. Doesn't it conjure up images of Hobbiton?
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Awww. I used to ride and I loved it! I started like 6-7?
The little ponies are too cute.
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@Crumbs: oh my gosh. That picture is too cute.
And FYI: I am starting to feel left out with all this hobit talk!
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@Crumbs: oh my gosh adorable!!
I never took riding lessons.
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So cute! This wasn't lessons but my son did some horseback riding last year at age 3 and loved it. He still talks about how the horse ate a carrot out of his hands.
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I started taking lessons at 7. Before that you can certainly get comfortable and a good base and balance but it's difficult if your feet don't go down below the saddle to really be able to do much in the way of connecting with the horse and giving it commands. I ride English though and I know our saddles tend to come lower down their sides. I can't wait for DD to be old enough to ride!!
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@Crumbs: I just got slayed by cuteness with that pic!
I guess it depends really on the organization who gives the lesson- if they have an age limit and also what safety precautions do they use for the little ones?
I think most places do around 7 years of age, and a lot of it is based on size and comprehension. I mean at 3-5 you can most certainly sit on the horse and bump around with assistance but when you really get into equitation/whatever discipline you choose, it takes a lot of coordination and comprehension skills that the younger tots may not have yet
super exciting!
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I was talking with a woman a couple weeks ago who said they start kids as young as 18 months at their stable. I surprised (that seems young to me!) but the way she described it sounded more like a "Mommy and Me" class. At 3, they start doing lessons with a teacher, instead of a caregiver.
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I wish my parents had planned my horseback riding lessons like this. Instead I had to beg and beg until they finally relented! We do have a local stable here, but I think I'll probably just wait until DD asks for lessons.
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@Crumbs: thaattts adorable. I rode English primarily (as they are in that pic) but one of the only things I'd check if I were you is that little one's need a heel on their boot so their foot can't slip in. (With western they often have 'boxes' aka tapaderos on the front to prevent: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://queryhorse.com/photos/tapaderos.jpg&imgrefurl=http://queryhorse.com/toppages/articles/tapaderos.asp&h=264&w=250&sz=7&tbnid=fKZNBIpooqMYaM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=85&zoom=1&usg=__AGbJURf855Si0ofc-mYbMtnvg2M=&docid=tWYayJRG9IbObM&sa=X&ei=2mv5UeWrEOyuyAHVnoCACw&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAA&dur=280)
Anyways, I'm sure at that age it's more of a pony ride than if you think your LO would be safe/listen well enough I'm sure it would be fine.
I will add that I was seriously injured when someone brought out their 3 year old to our barn and she didn't listen to the "no running, be quiet" admonition. She started twirling her rain coat and the young pony I was training, and just sitting on for the first time, bolted and I eventually fell off, with my arm stuck in a gate and the rest of me falling to the other side and down. It ripped ligaments in my shoulder blade and gave me permanent nerve damage
The little girl & mom felt terrible, and it was just a freak thing, but just as food for thought!
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I think I would start at 5 or 6 at the earliest.
The little girl & mom felt terrible, and it was just a freak thing, but just as food for thought!
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