Age to start horseback riding?

[peanutbutterkid]

Not just as an occasional thing, but regular lessons?

DD (5) doesn't do any regular activities, This is only one I think she might like... assuming I could find local stables/riding school?

I usually think of it as a teenage girl thing...I'm foreign-born and also afraid that people who go regularly will be quite snobby about anybody not "their sort".

I went from age 5. Choose your stables carefully though. Horse riding types can be very scary

dd started at 7,depends on child,size,teacher.

Ooh, size of the child, you mean? DD is quite small for age, should I wait until she is bigger-stronger?

We went from age 5 but there was a younger girl there about 3 or 4.I worked in stables on a saturday and we used to start them from 3 as would just have two helpers, one would lead horse and one would hold the riders leg for extra support and walk/run along side. No wonder I was sooo thing

I tried to get DD signed up locally aged 6 but was told they don't take until age 10 due to insurance

Our local riding school takes them from 3 but I would say it would depend on how co-ordinated and balanced your child is for that to be effective - as Nemo2007 says, at that age it's just them sitting on top of the horse grinning away at mummy while the helpers do most of the work!

At five your dd should be fine, my niece started at four and by the age of six was fairly accomplished (ie she could ride on her own!) and it's very good exercise.

As regards the snobbery/cliquey angle, there are some places like that, but there are also plenty that aren't - riding in the UK is not just for the monied classes, certainly when it comes to lessons - it's when you move into owning your own (and believe you me, if you go down this road anddd enjoys it you are setting yourself up for 'mu-uum, can I have a pony for my birthday? We can keep it in the garage and it can graze on the lawn, honest!' on a weekly basis!) that you run up against the 'pony club' set.

The best thing to do is find a few places nearby and visit them beforehand to watch a lesson in progress - they shouldn't mind you doing this - and often you can tell over the phone if they're at all up themselves.

If you're anywhere near East London/Essex I can recommend a nicely unstuffy place!

MamaG - sadly this is getting to be the case with a lot of places - because of the "sue 'em at the drop of a hat" culture we seem to be getting from America, many schools are either folding or imposing restrictions like that because of mad insurance premiums.

My local place had to sell one of their horses, a gorgeous Shire who was perfect for the tinies because she was so gentle and good-natured, because they couldn't risk being sued if anyone fell off her because she was so big... v. sad if you ask me - horse-riding is a risk sport, but I think most people who take it up know that and make allowances accordingly.

When I started learning to ride (a longgggg time ago...), my teacher wouldn't start children until they were six and then she started us only on tiny ponies. I believe that she was concerned about the strain that is put on the pelvis sitting on a pony. Also the ability of the child to get its legs down round the sides of the pony.

4 at the very youngest - 5 is better, Their ligaments are too loose before then and it's bad for their pelvis and hips. And they are too young for proper lessons until 7ish in my opinion. Just walkouts until then.

I started at 3 but was in Germany where it is usual for children to start so young, they chucked me on a horse on a lunge with no saddle and I was cantering within the hour. Have been trying to book lessons for ds(3yrs) but nowhere will take him till he's 4.

My local schol starts at 3 for treks out (1/2 hour max) then 5 for lessons (in groups can do an hour but 1/2 hour recommended at first )

not sure about age to start, but re: snobbiness, just go and check out the stables. My local stable was founded to provide a riding for the disabled facility and is very unsnobby. Most of the regular teenage riders 'pay' towards their lessons by mucking out etc. and are not the 'daddy bought be a pony' sort.

Lovecat, I'm not sure about the 'not for the monied classes' - lessons don't ocme cheap let alone a pony!

We pay £20 for an hour's lesson in a group of three (it's the same price for up to six people in the group as it's a scheduled lesson but only three in there at the mo). The cheapest - but a 40min drive away for us so have to factor in extra time and petrol etc is £14, I think.

Compare to:

Dancing £6.50 for 2hrs 15 mins
Judo £2.50 for 1.5 hours

I know quite a few people whose children only have lessons fortnightly or less because of the cost.

I started riding when I was 2.5 by the time I was 4 I was riding out unaided with a companion, then went on to study Equine, became a qualified instructor, bought my own farm and started up my own riding school.

There's alot of talk about hips and damage etc.. I don't really think too much about it, all my family rode from a very early age and we are all fine no problems at all.

I'd say as long as the child is confident then go for it. Finding somewhere to ride is another matter, I'd find someone with a horse and let your dc spend a few afternoons with them just grooming & helping out, see if its what she wants to do.

With regards to being foreign born, i'v found alot of horsy people are bitchy so you may have problems if you dont find the right place. Not nice but it happens, I din't find many foreign born people asking to ride or owning a horse, I wouldn't tollerate any form of abuse with regards to it but the horse world is a class of its own.

If you want to do it then go for it, you'l be in your hunter wellies with your Harry Hall joddies on in no time But if you like a clean & smell free car forget it

My ds aged 4 has regular weekly lessons and has done so for the last month, we share a private lesson for 1/2 hour each week. Had a few sit ons from 3 but we had trouble in buying hat (had to have it made) he loves it and on the second lesson did not have assistant and was driveing pony right and on the third lesson were outside and tried his first ever trot. he is loving it and is very good at it. Stables are lovely the best thing to do is ask in your local equestrian store for reccomendations.

my dd started riding aged about 4, because ds (aged 10) also rode, and had his own pony.

however, she seemed to think that the idea of riding was to sit on a pony and look pretty.. she did not take any active part in the proceedings she also used to get fed up and want to get off within minutes, i definately would have been unhappy to pay for lessons at this age..

having said that, at pony club there is always a multitude of tiny riders who are competent and enthusiastic. one girl (aged all of about 7) told me she refused to go out riding with her dad because he shouted at her to slow down all the time, and wouldn't let her jump big hedges!!

has your dd got any school friends that ride and could recommend a stables? or even better any friends with a pony who may let her ride in exchange for a small contribution? most areas have a tack/riding equipment shop and usually they are a mine of information about what is available locally..

sorry such a long post . we have given up all things horsey now and are enjoying much healthier finances as a direct result!

The place I go to with my dds takes them from 4. The insurance thing is an issue in some places, though. (The place where I learned as a kid now won't take them till 5 or 6.)

Most stables are not snooty (ime) and you'll find plenty of parents who are not horsy at all, along with some who are. (Including some, like me, who are using their dds as an excuse to get back into it themselves ).

Look for a stables that is approved by the British Horse Society and/or the Association of British Riding Schools and ask whether the instructor is BHS qualified.

My dds are now just 5 and nearly 7. The little one can stop and start and steer in walk and trot fairly effectively (although her legs don't really reach below the saddle very well!) and the older one is pretty safe in walk and trot and is starting to canter.

My DD (5) started by just going for walk- outs at an army saddle club and now goes to a BHS school every fortnight (£14 1/2 hour!) and really loves it. It's the one thing she's always loved and has stuck to. I rode from when I was 8 and went a couple of times a few weeks ago but didn't enjoy it as much (think now I have children, I worry about falling and leaving them without a mummy!). She loves it though and is always saying "if we do win the lottery, I'd like my pony to be called Toto". She'll have a long wait!!! A lot of schools don't take

My dd has sat on ponies from the age of 3, but only started proper weekly lessons on turning 6. She 's been going for just over a year now.

She started off on a lead rein and is now doing sitting/rising trot with and without stirrups, holding a crop, cantering, and going out of the school on hacks with an instructor.

She has come off a couple of times and I think a body protector though expensive, is essential.

Most stables have hats/protectors etc that you can use until you know whether it's worth shelling out yourself.

I had ponies & horses from the age of 12 until a couple of years ago.

There are loads of very ordinary people with horses and most riding schools catering for beginners will be very friendly.

You will come across the hooray Henry horsy types, but I can assure you that most people I have known with horses steer well clear of them!

Although I don't have my own horses any more, I still ride a couple for people I know. I was out this afternoon on a lovely dapple grey... beautiful sunny day, clip clopping down the lane then a canter along a bridlepath.

It's a fantastic hobby for anyone who likes being outside.

5 is perfectly old enough, mine all were rding long before that. do check out the school carefully though, is it BHS/ABRS registered (not a must but useful), must be council registered, ask about insurance, do they insist on hats/sensible footwear if not run like the wind, do ponies look well fed, relaxed, does ther tack fit (ok so might be hard to spot but not hanging off, split, broken etc is easy to spot)
have fun and enjoy the hole in your bank a/c
calvemjoe

Ours won't takes kids till they are 4. DD has just started at 7 and has taken to it like a duck to water. She loves it - shame it's so expensive

My dd is 14months and "rides" her pony occaisionaly. When I say ride, I mean she sits and smiles and we hang on to her!!

I have a horse and we had an old gentle shetland as a companion to mine, and she has proven to be safe and gentle with dd, we bought a small saddle with a handle and size 000 hat, she seems to love it.

My neigbours kids are 6 and 9 and they have ridden from being tiny, and they are now really competant riders and put me to shame, and they have had no ill effects to their joints etc.

With regard to the pelvis/hips issue, I feel that dd being in fresh air and doing some exercise will be better for her pelvis, rather than sitting in front of tv, that said, I work in orthopaedics and will ask the surgeons what their experience/views are.

the reason dd rides at such a young age, is because we already had the pony and they are at home so its easy and cheap (so far!!)

If I had no horse of my own, I would prob wait until they where 4/5 so that you are not wasting money. As stated above, most stables should be safe and friendly.
I would imagine your child will love it.

Forget major achievment below 7 yrs, they will not have the leg length + strength to halt/control a pony to any degree. Prior to this age, getting used to animals/horses is not a bad idea. Forget tutors that advise otherwise: They are wrong - & want wringing out of the network .
So look for a school that offers familerisation until your little darling is of size, & try not to become success obsessed. The objective with horse-riding is to improve self-confidence in all directions, as well as fitness & sense of acheivment. Your child should never move up a gear unless they can stop instantly at that pace.
Look also for an instructer that teaches about the seat primarily, and 'light hands'.

P.S. owner & instructer for 30 years

I come from a horse breeding family so have been around them since i was very small. My parents bought my daughter a pony whilst i was pregnant, but think maybe its better to wait till they are 4/5 before they start to learn how to ride, as I have found that very young children tend to get a bit over excited and not really learn anything.

I so agree with Balfreem on the 'light hands' issue - some schools I know of won't actually give the littlies reins until they're older - just the canter strap at the front of the saddle to hang onto if they lose their balance - a small child has no idea about 'gently squeezing' and you see some poor ponies' heads getting yanked about horribly!

@ suew - re. costs, yes an hour is expensive, esp. in London, but most small children at our yard only have half-hour lessons for the first few years until they're able to physically cope with an hour's riding, so it works out considerably cheaper!