To think horse riding is too dangerous?

[bellav]

DD10 developed a sudden love for horses after we read War Horse together last autumn.

She has asked for riding lessons and as yet we have said no due to cost but we had secretly planned to get her a few for her birthday next month.

But I have now got cold feet after reading stories on here about serious injuries and even deaths among riders doing mundane things like riding indoors in "safe" conditions.

One article linked said it is more dangerous than riding a motorbike, with a serious accident every 350 hours vs 7000. I know many of these are from cross-country etc, but I can't help worry about the ones that aren't.

AIBU to not want to start down this path?

Like motorcycles it’s about good training, good quality well fitting safety equipment and mitigating risk whilst still having fun. I’ve done 1600 miles on the motorbike this week but i wouldn’t do motocross or ride on dirt roads and I always have a back protector in my jacket

Am sure it’s fantastic for those who choose and can afford it. There are many choices of exercise and activities for DC. Riding is a high cost, high risk one.

Not choosing riding doesn’t mean not choosing to do other things.

My mum wouldnt let me ride as a child, I never lost the need to learn so at 18 I started having lessons. I did learn to ride eventually but learnt its easier and better to learn younger. And the younger you are the better you bounce if you fall off.

I will always have the regret I didnt get the opportunity as a child as I could have got a horse at some point. But due to my age I'm still nowhere near as good as I want to be, and now disabled I'm down to riding for the disabled only.

I do understand this, as a horse girl of nearly 40 years, I’m way more anxious now than before I had kids. I’ve had accidents. I know people who have had accidents. Including some very serious ones. It would absolutely not put me off. My own kids aren’t interested ans that makes me a bit sad, I’d love it if they were keen.

I’ve ridden for the best part of 35 years
from my injuries of falling down stairs, breaking my ankle getting out of bed and herniating a disc turning round I’m actually safer on a horse!

my dad wasn’t happy I was riding after my spinal surgery but after we talked about how many bad accidents I had falling off (none) he did also say I was better off on a horse. I’ve had a few lost toenails from horses standing on me and I’ve smacked myself in the face numerous times doing up a girth

One thing I was never allowed to do was house ride as my parents had seen bad accidents in their home country. Wasn't particularly fussed though.

Honestly, OP, it has been an absolute joy to watch my 10 year old falling in love with riding and horses. I'm not horsey myself but I love them for how much they have enriched her (and my) life. Go for it.

Health and safety has done away with that kind of thing , I don’t know of any riding schools in our area where kids can work for rides . There is usually a waiting list of kids wanting to help , yards don’t need to bribe them .

Op in your 8 years as riding as a kid, did you see any awful injuries?
What would you have have done with your time if you weren't riding?

How can you look her in the eye and say No, knowing your denying the opportunity you had?

As a kid I only ever got pony treks on holiday. Once I was earning my own money 💰 I got lessons and rode for about 10 years. Then life got in the way (DH & kids) but I still have happy memories of riding.

It is a dangerous sport but realistically no worse than gymnastics, especially not at the lower levels. I work at a riding school at weekends and in 8 years of being there, I've only seen 2 serious accidents. Both adults, both liveries so riding unsupervised on their own horses, both jumping without any safety gear.

One was doing a course with far too tight turns for her horse (her mistake) went out the side door and into the fence, the other spooked at something and refused and she cleared the jump without him.

Kids hardly ever get badly injured. The odd bruises and scrapes. Realistically, they ride in body protectors and helmets, in a sand school, under close supervision of an instructor, on small ponies that could happily snooze through the apocalypse.

They'll have frequent tumbles but kids bounce and are taught how to fall safely. It's us oldies who only trip up the kerb and we fracture something.

It's one of those things where serious accidents are rare but when they do happen they can be life altering/fatal, kind of like driving.

I had a really bad fall when I was 19 when the horse i was riding (who was very green in must add) got spooked and started trying to throw me off. I was lucky to get away with just heavy bruising and no broken bones!

But just like driving, we still do it even though we know that nasty accidents can somwtimes happen as it's so rewarding.

As a dc my bike caused me a lot more injuries than any horse riding.
Most physical activities have some level of risk.

helmet and body protector go a long way.

Of course you can't shelter kids from everything, but the dangerous, high risk stuff is logically what you would shield them from, no?

My ds rides with the rda. He has riden with two different schools. I would look for a school who gives lessons to people like my son. He flaps, grabs, vocalises etc and the horses don't flinch. There are adults and children who are more sensory and louder than my son too.

Horses maybe dangerous bur they give a hell of a lot too. You can see the calm that overcomes my son when he sits on the horses.

I rode for years, had my own pony at 14, hacked all over the place with friends, jumped logs, went to shows. I have very, very fond memories of it all. It really enriched my childhood. I miss it actually. Unfortunately I lost all my confidence after buying a totally unsuitable horse which reared and napped and threw me off a few times. I then sold her and went to university, and that was that. I'd always had dreams of one day doing a one day event. That never happened. As an adult I haven't really been in a position to pick it all up again. Being honest if my 5 year old daughter decided she wanted to learn to ride, I'd be delighted. It can be dangerous, yes, but so can many other things.

In my 30s I hit some kind of weird early mid life crisis and decided to try a new crazy hobby and learned to fly. I've now got a pilot's licence and fly small planes around for fun. It's terrifying but exhilarating at the same time. My mind has been taken off horses for now but I'd happily go back if ever the opportunity presented itself!

You have to ask yourself : why do so many people ride horses, motorbikes, go skiing, climbing, diving, fly planes?

Horse riding is really really expensive.

i don’t think you could start and without being judgemental it sounds like you need a reason not to ride.

My disabled daughter rides once a week and given lots of issues she has we will do anything to let her do it.

However the 300 or so a month is killing us plus additional classes and gear.

i would say this is something you should not start.

OP, life is dangerous. All sorts of things could happen to us. But we need to embrace risk, and teach children how to handle it and deal with it properly. Make sure she has proper lessons, so that she is responsible around horses. But why not do it? You could be giving her a hobby/interest/passion to last a lifetime, which is a truly wonderful gift.

Totally the wrong person to respond to this thread, probably put my injury on Sporners’ corner, wasn’t even riding at the time.

I resent that my mum refused to get me lessons because the neighbour knocked out her front teeth due to a fall off a horse. I therefore learned as an adult, bought a horse, you might as well, as a pp said, burn the money.

Better than drugs, expect her to persuade you to buy a pony, upgrade to a horse, spend all free time at the yard, weekends at competitions, upgrade your car to a towing vehicle, find hay in your bra regularly, Be prepared to increase your muscle because you’ll be hauling bales of hay/shavings every other day. Expect to be mucking out/turning out when your dd dramatically loses interest when she becaimes a teen and suddenly prefers boys. 🤣

I’ve been riding for nearly 50 years, Showjumped and evented mainly. I Have had a few injuries which may sound ‘horrific’ but honestly my ponies and horses have given me so much more pleasure than my injuries could ever cancel. My general fitness and mental health since a child have been much better than they would have been if I had not had horses. The fabulous memories I have made, not just about winning but about general day to day fun with friends are irreplaceable to me. It also teaches responsibility, compassion and how to interact with another animal with the aim of being in a relationship where you both try your hardest for each other. I would say do your research and pick a BHS approved yard that has good reviews and follow your gut if you do decide to let your child ride. There are lots of yards so just make sure that your child is in a yard where you feel they have the child’s and ponies best interests at heart and remember it is meant to be fun.

As a motorcyclist, off-road competition we always assumed the horse riders were at greater danger. Friend has damaged spine from riding.

Have you a tourist hacking centre near you? Might be a better idea than starting lessons you can't continue.

I think you’re being unreasonable. Did you not ride as a child? It was a massive part of my young life and there’s absolutely nothing like it. Much more attention to H&S nowadays too.

I've ridden and been around horses for 40 years and I've had some accidents, and yes I've ended up in hospital, however obviously I'm still here to tell the tales! And honestly most of those were because I got complacent and took my eye off the ball, or because I was riding a young horse or one that's known to be a tricky ride (I developed a bit of a taste for those ones!)

In all that time I've known literally thousands of people on different yards and by association and I live somewhere with a high population of horses around I've known of one person who sustained life changing injuries, and no one who died. Unfortunately I can't say the same for cars or motorbikes.

A BHS approved school, with fully qualified instructors, a professionally fitted hat and body protector and realistic expectations that DD will fall off, and she'll likely cry, and even more likely want to do it all over again is the best way to approach it. She will get so much from learning to ride, horses are the most amazing animals, and yes they can be dangerous, but most injuries are not fatal or even serious, there's a lot of fuss when it happens because there's a risk any part of you is injured, but usually a few minutes catching your breath and checking everything is pointing in the right direction and working and you're up and back on, if bumped and bruised.

The only thing I would say is that if you can't continue with the lessons after her birthday present then maybe don't start her off - riding is addictive and gives you such a sense of freedom and an understanding with an animal like no other and personally I think it would be harder for her to start and then have to stop than to wait until you're in a position to let it be a regular thing.

Life is risky. Getting in a car is risky. Crossing the road is risky.

Yes, horse riding is a greater risk than other sports might be, but as someone who grew up around horses, I can honestly say that some of the best times of my life have been as a result of horses-
the friendships, the wild hacks out with my friends, the hours spent at the stables being around horses and not cooped up indoors, the sense of responsibility, the relationship with the animal…

If a child is passionate about wanting to do something, I think parents need to keep their own feelings/concerns about it in check. You have to let them live life how they want to, however hard it might be.

When I was showjumping, my mum used to watch from behind her sunglasses (no matter the weather!) 😂Apparently that made it less scary to watch!