Advice wanted about DD (4) learning to ride

[Barbeasty]

DD wants to learn to ride, I'm a complete novice.

I took her for a lead rein session this week, and after being too scared to even touch the horse for 15 minutes, she loved the 5 minutes she did actually ride. I've booked another lead rein session for next week so hopefully now she's done it once, she'll actually do a 20 minute ride.

Thinking about lessons, how do I choose where to go?

There are 2 BHS approved stables nearby(ish):

Stable A, where we had the lead rein do 30 minute lessons- group is £19, semi private £23 and private £28. They offer longer lessons too. They are also a pony club centre. The staff were really nice and very patient with DD.

Stable B does mainly children's lessons, at £15 per half hour, usually private or semi private.

Is there anything that suggests we shouldn't go to stable B?

And once we've chosen the riding school, what frequency should we be looking at? For practical reasons every other week would suit us best, but is that enough for a complete beginner?

All advice is gratefully received.

At that age, group lessons would probably be more fun. I would choose a yard that encourages the children to stay behind and learn more about horse care. Somewhere where they are allowed to groom the ponies etc. Looking ahead, a yard that has a pony club would be very beneficial.

I don't think anything more than 30 mins is necessary as she will probably not have the attention span! :)
Once she is off the lead rein and has a bit more balance and control over her body then a few private lessons might be beneficial. However I would only have those in addition to group lessons.
Every other week should be fine, though once a week would allow her to get into more of a routine and progress faster. I guess it depends on how many other activities she is doing.

Thanks.

She does ballet and swimming, but it's all at the weekend, hence thinking that every other week would at least give us a chance to see family or get feet measured on non - riding weeks! But then I suppose that, if they could take her, we could throw in the odd extra lesson.

My daughter is 4 1/2 and just started riding lessons. Half hour lead rein, in a group.
The rest of the family ride, and we are really just doing this so, that she feels it is something she is involved in. I don't have any expectations, other than her having gun, feel comfortable around ponies/ horses and feel comfortable with the movement.
1/2 an hour at this age is ample, and they will find it exhausting.

If it's only every fortnight, I don't think it matters at this age.

Once they get older - say 6, then I think if you want to see progress, I think they need to be doing it every week.

Barbeasty your dd is only very young, and I agree with the others on here that at this stage it's all about gaining confidence around horses, learning some basic safety rules, mucking in/about with other dc at the stables, rather than the actual mechanics of riding, in fact, I live in a country where they only really start formal lessons around 7/8 years of age when dc have more balance/control (and longer limbs). Lots of lead rein ponies are quite rotund and little legs don't wrap around them particularlly well!

Incidentally, I think a 10-min lesson next week as opposed to 20-mins would be fine; as will fortnightly lessons! No need to rush it at this stage.

I had a friend's daughter stay and she has riding lessons and is quite competent (older than your daughter though), but had no idea about tacking up, grooming, putting hay in nets etc so we spent a couple of hours on each day she was here doing general stable management. She plaited dpony up (you should have seen the look of horror on his face!), helped muck out and get feeds ready and groomed him to within an inch of his life and loved every minute.

I second those who have said find somewhere that can accommodate at least a few horse care sessions even if only for short sessions. I'd take your lead from her, she may be very keen to start with but when it gets dark early and is cold and tired she may lose a little interest. Whatever you do don't force it!

Thanks all for your advice.

The stables that we've been to so far offer horse care type stuff- and actually when DD was refusing to touch the horse this time suggested coming up another time with a carrot or apple so she could feed it.

And they have indoor teaching space, so those dark (and around here snowy) winter night would be more bearable for us

I think that my issue is not having done this myself I don't really know what I'm doing, and it's far more book what you want rather than a term of ballet or swimming lessons aimed at a specific level.

We might go with a few more lead rein sessions then, every couple/ few weeks, then see how it goes and maybe get a few lessons after Christmas.

Thank you for the advice.