What is the best age for starting riding lessons?

[JoInScotland]

I had riding lessons for years as a teenager, and my son has shown some interest in ponies, but he's onl 2 and 1/2 ! I just wondered what age people here started riding, or started their children in lessons? School age or younger? He's tall and sturdy for his age, but we don't own a horse, he'd have to go to the nearby stables for lessons..... and these things get expensive, so if I can put him off for a year or two, that would be fine!

It's worth contacting the stables local to you as they will probably have an age they start children's lessons. DD's current stables is 8 years old.

dd started when she was 8 as that's when the local riding schools will take them (presumably because of insurance) - she'd been pony-obsessed since she was about 3 and I thought it would wear off, but it hasn't ....

DD started proper riding lessons when she was 5. She went out on lead rein a couple of times a month from 4 onwards to get her used to horses (and feed her obsession).

Both mine started at 4 as the riding school wouldn't take them any earlier.I managed to hold off buying a pony until DD1 was 7 and DD2 6.They haven't lost interest and ride almost every day,we have had pony 1 for a year and pony 2 arrives next week.

Mine never went on the lead rein,the riding school didn't teach them that way,they had a helper walking alongside,but were expected to do the work themselves and I think it did them good.

Our local stable lets them start at 2 years old. DD started at 4, and really, at 5 years old you can't tell who started when.

I'm an ex instructor. I reckon it's down to height. If their legs are long enough and they can hold a position you can give it ago. That said, riding is a co or donated skill that maybe you need to be a bit older to learn anyway. I started at 10 and went in to teach abroad and work at an Olympic yard in mu youth!

I will be trying with dd but I reckon 5 plus depending on how big she is then

DD was about 2 1/2 when she started having some lessons with our PC instructor and of course every hack out with us was a lesson in itself.
She started competing on the lead rein when she was about 3 1/2 and could do her rising trot.

All children are different but check with your riding school and start yours off when they allow, just to see how he takes to it.

I think about 6 years before they can realistically listen to instruction and take control of the pony to any degree. Before then it's just an experience

My dd started when she was 5, the riding school wont take them before they are 4. To be honest as my dd is a tiny dot of a thing her first 6 or so months were just on the lead rein getting comfortable and confident. She has just turned 7 and is now off the lead rein and cantering consolidating all the skills already learnt and gaining confidence before moving onto the next step, she is the youngest in this level of group by a year. Ds was really keen to ride after spending so much time watching his sister but at 3 he was too young for lessons, he is 4.5 now and while he is old enough for the school to take him and tall enough to have control he is still too immature to get anything out of lesson he sometimes rides dd's pony around the school or out on\a hack and he loves it however he hasn't got quite the pony mad drive that would make him listen and learn in lessons, it would be a waste of money and time, maybe it would be different if he didn't have a piny to ride but right now I will give him another 6 month to a year of pottering about before lessons are considered.