Is it odd to ask a riding school for pony care only?

[Thesnailonthewhale]

My daughter is six and she loves horses, We're not horsey. But for various reasons I think horse riding would do her, and we're dipping our toes in the water. She's going to go on a pony day. And it involves grooming, feeding, walking the ponies out and a couple of rides etc.

My "concern" Is actually she just really wants to look after the horses not necessarily ride them. She does enjoy riding them. She's been on a few pony rides and enjoyed it. However, she'd probably get more out of the animal care side of things. And mentioned that she is most excited about getting to look after the horse, and I said oh what about the riding? Yeah, that's fine. But I'm really excited about looking after the pony.

Obviously she's six and that care would be limited and potentially be a waste of everyone's time in the sense of she'd probably want to brush it a little bit help feed it that kind of thing.

Is it weird to ask a stables/ horse riding school if she can just do some horse care? With no expectation to ride?

YANBU to ask but these pony days are groups of 6-8 children in my experience so what would she do when they went for their ride , couldn’t be left unsupervised, and I wouldn’t expect a reduction in cost either , I’m aware that you didnt mention that , but if anything it may make it harder for organiser as there is generally a structured timetable to these days . I can’t see any harm in asking , our stables is lovely and would probably try and accommodate but maybe not on the same day.

I think that would be a shame and missed opportunity, why not do both?

Oh she'll ride on the day, and I wouldn't ask for a reduction at all!

She would always enjoy the rides, but would likely be more keen on the long care,
was just wondering more long term if it was a "viable" option to just do pony care if she's not bothered by the riding 😊

Because I don't know if 6 year olds doing regular pony care is a thing that is done? Is it?

Can they do pony care in lieu of a ride,or before/after? Or like..ride on Wednesday and do care in Saturday
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I'm a complete newbie

Yes pony care lessons are a 'thing' outside of riding - they're usually aimed at slightly older children who are taking their Pony Club badges (which include some theory/care based elements) or who are aiming at owning their own pony or being helpers at the stable, or for older ones those looking towards a professional career. It's very important to know about the animals, anatomy, diet, proper fitting of tack/equipment, how to care for illnesses and injuries etc and in my book you can't start soon enough on learning - for most kids and most schools this is secondary to riding but there are people for various reasons who own or even have a professional career in horses who don't ride at all (albeit most of them have ridden at least a bit at some stage). Formal 'stable management' lessons or courses are probably a bit heavy and theory based for a beginner 6 year old so I'd wait a bit and see how her interest develops - the little ones do do what you're talking about, waft around with brushes and treats and so on and they learn things like the colours of the ponies, but mostly as part of a pony day or group session which also involves riding. If she doesn't mind the riding but prefers the care I'd just keep booking her normal sessions for now, if you book her a private lesson you could ask the instructor to focus on teaching her stable management basics or even just supervise while she pats or grooms the pony (you are paying so within reason she can do what she wants in her time), but I do think most instructors would think the latter a bit odd as you're paying an awful lot for the pony and teacher's time and most people would want to ride at least a bit, that's why we have the ponies in the first place for most people.

One thing I would say is that if she's really interested in becoming a horsey person longer term (I know it's a long way off), there will be a lot of benefits in her knowing at least the basics of how to ride - exercising and training horses is part of caring for them, and riding is how most people train and communicate with their horses. It is possible of course to train and exercise from the ground (you can do quite advanced dressage for instance without ever having to get on board if you are a good enough trainer) but understanding at least the basics of ridden aids etc will help. And I think she'll find it difficult to make horsey friends as a total non rider, as so much of the activities and therefore the talk/chat/excitement will be about riding, so again longer term you'll be doing her a disservice if she doesn't ride at all, even if she ultimately prefers the care side...

Okay, really helpful thanks 😊😊😊

We're going to see how the pony day goes and take it from there,but it's useful to know the care side of things could come into play if she's still interested when older.

Doubt they'd do this at 6. Our yard has volunteers aged 11 and up.

You could enquire about pony club in your area? There are some where you don't have to have your own pony. They usually offer these for younger children.

This. What are the supposed to do with her when they’re riding? It would be a logistical nightmare!

She will be riding...

There are three small equine charities within easy driving distance of me that offer care only pony days. Plus the money raised goes towards their charitable work. There is sometimes the opportunity to ride depending whether they have suitable ponies in their herd. If you give us an idea of the region you live in we may be able to suggest somewhere near you.

Try asking your local pony club branch or pony club centre. They'll both do dismounted horse and pony care and/or stable management sessions on foot.

If you are happy to pay you could book her a private lesson and ask if she can just groom a pony rather than riding , I can’t see why this would be an issue as you will have paid for the instructor and pony’s time .

Oh wow. Do you have the names/rough location?

Nevermind, I've just realised I can Google 🤦🤦🤦 there's a fair few near us!

Thank you 😊

A lot of schools offer stable management/horsemanship lessons. Depending on age and ability obviously.

There probably isn't THAT much a six year old would be capable of though.

I have a small troop of child labour workers trailing me at the school where I go and honestly, they love to help but there isn't really much the youngest are physically able to do. Even standing on a dustbin they can't reach the bottom of the feed bins and don't really have strength to scoop full scoops of feed. Measuring supplements is out unless very closely supervised.

Can scoop poop but cannot push or empty the wheelbarrow. Can't reach to groom above the ponies shoulders and struggle having the coordination and strength to pick up and hold their feet. Plus aren't big enough or strong enough to correct any bolshy ponies making unfortunate choices so you absolutely cannot leave them alone with them, even for a second so you need constant 1 to 1 ratios when handling them directly.

They basically end up scrubbing buckets, poo picking, cleaning tack and delivering the horses feeds to them. The 8 year olds and over tend to have a better time as they're capable of more.

I know a place that does non ridden days. But it's near Pontypridd, south wales
Maggies voice.

Find your local Pony Club - most branches have non-ridden membership where minis can work towards pony care badges. It’s a great way to learn on foot and make friends.

Pony club isn’t for everyone, in my experience it can get super competitive once the dc are 8 plus. In all other spheres these are tiny dc but in pony club they are riding 200kg plus animals over 60cm plus obstacles. Not right for everyone.

Have you ever seen an under 9 football team? Massively competitive, and the parents ......

Not the one my ds was part of. Yes they rarely won but they are still friends 10 years later.