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Original poster

Really want some opinions on this please? HORSE RIDING lessons 3 yr old

25 replies

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:22

My dd absolutely loves horses, so i enquired about some lessons for her and was told she could have them age 3.

She has had 3 lessons up to now and really looks forward to it, goes once a week and is £15 for 20 mins but is truely worth it because she loves it so much infact she said to me at Mondays lesson "mummy i amshivering" so i said are you cold? she said "no i am excited!".

Anyway bear in mind she has only had 3 lessons, and had never sat on a horse before.

On Mondays lesson, a young girl came to teach her (about 17 yo) and i could tell straight away she didn't want to be doing the lesson, she was very bolshy with dd, saying "stand up!" etc when trotting, "look where you are going!" but had a real attitude. I know dd has to learn, but surely for the first load of lessons it should be about gaining confidence, anyway i went into the office after the lesson and told them i don't want this girl teaching my dd again.

My heart was aching for my dd, and at one point i thought she was going to cry because of the way this girl was talking to her, she was also ignoring dd when she was talking to her, i was very

So what do you think about this? should i stick to my guns about it? i really thought this girl and the way she was would put my dd off horse riding altogether .

Surely it should be about a bit of fun to begin with?

Opinions wanted please.

TIA

OP posts:

Original poster

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:23

Forgot to add, when this girl was saying stand up to dd, my dd was really trying but ended up kind of saying "i am!" and this girl was argusing with her, saying no you are not! etc

I mean she is 3 fgs

OP posts:

Heathcliffscathy · 01/03/2007 22:23

errr. it should be fun. full stop. nevermind to begin with.

serious lessons at 3 is too much imo. a ride now and again on a small pony is quite enough.

emmatomATO · 01/03/2007 22:26

It's wrong pucca - whatever the age of the child.

Stick by your guns in letting the stables know you are not happy with the girl.

It's her job to be patient and pleasant, if she's not doing that she should be told about it.

massagemum · 01/03/2007 22:26

I agree with you. I used to ride and it really is all about fun when you are still learning. If the school that you are using are any good they should listen to your concerns and act upon them. If they are unwilling to take your concerns seriously then maybe you should consider using another school - one that doesn't use young girls with attitude problems.

I think the real question is do you feel comfortable with your dd being taught by somebody who can't really be bothered?? Especially at £15 a time.

Original poster

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:26

Sophable....So you don't think i am overreacting? i was so mad on Mnoday, infact i would be very surprised if this girl is even qualified to teach anyway.

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Donk · 01/03/2007 22:28

I don't know any good riding school which would teach a 3yr old tbh - but two of the better ones I've worked in would take little ones out for a short (20min) ride - mostly walk and a bit of trot, looking at things and playing games.....

And riding should ALWAYS be fun!

brimfull · 01/03/2007 22:29

sshe was probably hungover,refuse to have her again ,poor wee thing

Original poster

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:29

The other thing she did, was there was a older girl riding at the same time (indoor paddock type thing) and the one teaching my dd, stopped in the middle, lifted dd down, while there was a huge horse running around and turned her back on her while she sorted the pony out, my heart was in my mouth!

When she walked through with dd, she said " she doesn't concentrate very well does she?" i just walked off! i was fuming!

OP posts:

Donk · 01/03/2007 22:32

She was probably a student/'working pupil' or some such. I too was once a working pupil. We all start to learn how to teach somewhere - but some of us enjoy it and try to make it fun and an unfortunate few resent having to teach, especially small kids. In the better schools this is picked up on very quickly.... as students are supervised more or less closely depending on their stage of training.

Original poster

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:37

I know Donk, but for £15 for 20 mins, i sort of do expect someone with patience iykwm. I spoke to a lady in the office who was going to discuss it with the manager, and i am ready for them on Monday if they say anything. I know people have to learn but there was no excuse really for the way this girl was with my dd.

OP posts:

Donk · 01/03/2007 22:38

Ooops! Should have added - so talk to the manager/chief instructor. He/she will need to know what happened....
And not at all unreasonable to ask for a different instructor.

Donk · 01/03/2007 22:39

cross-posted!

Original poster

pucca · 01/03/2007 22:39

Thanks Donk and everyone else for your opinions, will see what happens on Monday and take it from there.

OP posts:

hillary · 01/03/2007 22:40

I'm a qualified instructor and this is unacceptable.

You need to change to a different riding school. I started riding when I was 2 years old, it needs to be fun as she will be put off. I am not convinced an instructor of that age is qualifed to teach and charge that rate! It sounds like a shoddy run yard to me. I would advise you change and state your reasons to the yard manager.

It is safest to be dismounted in the centre of the school but it needs to be under more one to one instruction for such a young rider after all Horse Riding is one of the top dangerous sports.

exbury · 01/03/2007 22:42

Find a smaller, friendlier riding school (although TBH most of them won't take them for "lessons" until they are 4) - DS's teacher is so patient with him - although DS (4) did pompously tell me the other day when I asked if it was fun "it's not about having fun - it's about concentrating and learning" - he always wants to come back, though!

cazzybabs · 01/03/2007 22:44

To be fair could you inagine a 17 year old girl being able to related to what a 3 year old can and can't do. I doubt I could have done! It does not excuse your daughter's lesson and at how much it is! She properly didn't even think about the dangers of turning your back to a small child and doesn't know that small children only work well with praise.

I would point out you would like someone with more experience at dealing with small children!

Loshad · 01/03/2007 22:49

instructor sounds cr**, but tbh most reputable riding schools won't teach children of 3 - at that age mine would go for 1 or 2 circuits of the field max - approx 10 mins or so.

lisad123 · 01/03/2007 22:55

My DD started riding at 3 years old and really do enjoy the first few lessons, but then they started trying to get her to do standing, letting one hand go, riding trots ect and she just didnt enjoy at any more. I said i would go with her next time as I like riding but now preggy so no chance.
If you want to buy some riding boots I still have them here

Lisa

MrsSchadenfreude · 01/03/2007 23:06

15 pounds for twenty minutes?! We pay 19 for an hour and I thought that was cheap. In Belgium we paid 4 euros for 20 minutes for DD2 to bounce about bareback on a fat shetland. She loved it.

I'd ask for a refund, BTW.

katelyle · 01/03/2007 23:11

I would ask to see the qualifications of anybody teaching a child to rise - particularly such a little child. And I agree with others - 3 is too young for formal lessons. She should be going on walkouts and just generally getting used to being around horses. There are some epople who say that 4 is the earliest they should sit a horse because their hips are too undeveloped before that and it's possible do damage. It's so easy to cause a child to lose confidence. My dd had a teacher when she was 5 who completely mishandled a situation when dd was frightened. She couldn't bring herself to ride again til she was nearly 10.

PeppermintRhino · 02/03/2007 09:59

I used to be a riding instructer and honestly don't think children really learn to ride until they're about 5 or 6. Anything before then is for fun and confidence, but they are so little they will struggle controlling the pony.

My dd started "lessons" at 4 and was bored by it, but still loved riding. The lessons were awful - just going round in circles in a very crowded school. So we swopped riding schools and found a much better place.

Blu · 02/03/2007 10:08

I used to ride a lot as a teenager and did the course for the first stage of teaching. I thought it was understood that 4 onwards was the best age to learn to ride because of the young bones in the back and pelvis - the riding school owners children all rode extremely competently from 2 onwards...and the whole family had the cliched cowboy bow-legs!.

Anyway, find somewhere fun and friendly where she can have a walk round the field etc.

Mirage · 02/03/2007 19:31

My neighbour teaches riding & won't accept anyone under 4.Apparently it can ruin their pelvis/hips if they start sooner.My dd has had a couple of rides on friends ponies,but won't be having lessons til she is older.

nooka · 02/03/2007 19:56

My mother refuses to let my dd get on a horse for more than a few minutes, even though she would dearly love to (that's dd and my mum). dd is 6, but my mother cites the hip formation issue too. I don't think a tiny really should be learning to ride properly because they simply don't have the power to control a horse. Being led around with a grown up at the head of the horse maybe, but I would wait a good few years for anything more than that. If you have any worries you should stop. Horses are big and powerful and accidents can happen very easily, especially if the person in charge isn't paying much attention. I am assuming that your dd is riding a very small pony? Shetland maybe? I can't think how a three year old could have the coordination to trot properly. Having said that I too would be very cross just on the attitude front.

Original poster

pucca · 02/03/2007 21:35

Thanks again for all the input,

Dd does ride a small pony, not as small as a shetland but still pretty small (i don't know the horsey term in size lol), she is led around (someone holding a rope) and it is mainly a little ride, but do let her have a slow trot too, my dd is very bright for her age and was really trying the trotting thing (up and down) but the other thing i noticed was her feet were not even flat in the stirrups which is obviously how you stand up etc.

This girl teaching was hopeless i just wish we could afford to buy a small pony ourselves as i did a bit of riding myself when younger and felt i could have taught her better than this girl iykwim.

At this riding school from what i have heard they are quite strict in their teaching with the older kids but find it ridiculous that this girl last week was far too bolshy with my dd considering her age, as i said this should be fun for her not a chore which ends up in her hating it.

OP posts:

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