Conference noted::equitation

    Back when I was teaching, we put the "up-downs" (little kids) on
    ponies.  They were very experienced and very safe, mostly elderly
    little guys.  The biggest danger seemed to be when they slipped out of
    the dirt ring and dropped their heads into the grass for a snack. 
    Getting them out of a walk was a major deal.
    
    Most of the kids were good athletes with good balance.  Stuck real
    close to the ones that needed extra help with trotting.
    
    Mary
    
    

    Also, my experience with *most* horses is that they know what children
    are and are extra careful with them.  For example, back when Deerhorn
    was a bed & breakfast, my guy was a favorite (much to my horror -- he
    always grabs at me) for visitor's children to meet.
    
    Mary

    I agree with the previous reply.  They know how to react around kids.
    My thoroughbred was an idiot with me, but put a little kid on his back
    he'd walk around with his nose basically on the ground as quiet as
    could be.  The smaller the kid, the better behaved he was.  He loved
    them.  My 17 hand quarter horse was the same, though not an idiot with
    me.  He loved little kids climbing his legs, hanging off his tail, etc.
    When I decided to stop riding, I donated him to a handicapped riding
    program.  They love him to death.  He's the barn pet and everyone wants
    to ride Sullivan.  Last I saw him he was at Sunshine Farm.  One of the
    kids was showing him in cross rails.  He just plodded along and took
    care of the kid over the course.
    
    

    
    
    Maybe you should go to the next riding lesson with you daughter, check
    out the facilities, talk to the instructor and see what is being done
    in your daughters class and with your daughter. Maybe that will help
    you to easy some of the fears you have with her having riding lessons.
    
    In my last place where I had lessons, the horses were great with kids,
    course, most school horses really know what they are doing and really
    aren't a problem riding.
    
    Mary
    

    
    Yes.  Go visit.  And ask questions.  
    
    And realize there are thousands of kids world wide who ride safely
    and successfully.  At the bigger shows, you can see a whole bunch of
    little kids showing over fences.  
    
    I didn't show over fences at that age -- I just helped chase cattle at
    a dead run on my pony.  ;-) 
    

    If you wanted an unbiased opinion, you came to the wrong group of folks!
    Obviously, we think horses are the greatest thing to happen to mankind
    except maybe dogs and cats! ;-) Actually, if I were in your position, I'd 
    be more concerned about injuries to the family budget caused by horses 
    than to the child.
    
    I would recommend a Pony Club approved safety helmet. It's a cheap
    safety precaution if the child should fall off. Many riding instructors
    require kids to wear them anyway...Expect bumps, bruises and so forth 
    that come with any other energetic childhood endeavor...like riding a
    bike, etc
    
    I would agree with the preceeding notes. Most horses seem to behave better 
    with kids than they do with adults. For example, 17 years ago, we bought 
    a yearling filly. When my brother came to visit, he wanted to see the new 
    horse. He carried his young son along to the stable. After looking over 
    the filly, he plopped the 14 month old kid on the untrained horse's back 
    and said "Tell Uncle John 'Giddyup'!"...The horse was so kind and trusting 
    that the kid had his first horseback ride when they were both little more 
    than a year old! They're both 18 now and they had many more sessions 
    together between ages 4-12 years... The boy kind of lost interest when he 
    neared puberty. The horse is still ready to go!
    
    This same horse is such a handful when I ride her! But she never put a
    foot wrong with a kid aboard...
    
    John

...I would bet that the majority of us in this conference are living proof that 
having had the oppurtunity to get into the horse world, to what ever degree, as
young children, contributed in a good way to who we are today (for me, poor,
with alot of old toe fractures ;-)).

You may need to have a look for yourself at the environment, the animals and
the supervision. She'll be in more danger as a 16 year old, getting into a 
2000 lb car with a 17 year old boy ....;-)

You may be introducing her to something that she can be involved in and love
for the rest of her life....

    
    I agree with .4, go and visit and put your self at ease.  I to suggust
    the child (or anyone) to wear a helmet.  All of my horses have been
    great with childern, they defently act differently with them on there
    backs vs adults.
    
    If it was not for my horse, who knows what I would of been into as a
    child.  You daughter is lucky she will be given the chance to try this
    out and make up her own mind if she is a true horse person.
    
    Horse's and horse back riding teach responsibility, balance and
    understanding.  It's a great thing.  (un-bias of coarse :-))
    
    Louisa

    I would be very wary of any riding schools/instructors that didn't 
    require helmets for children.
    
    Mary

    Spoken like a true Easterner, Mary! Out here, you can't even EDUCATE
    people about the need for safety helmets when they ride
    horses...They're starting to come around about bicycles but not horses
    yet. 
    
    We tried to brainwash a friend of ours whose son rides with a
    4H group. We convinced her it was a good idea. When she talked to the 4H 
    leader about it and tried to convince her that all the kids should have
    helmets, it was the proverbial brick wall! Her kid refused to wear a
    helmet because that would make him the only "nerd" in the bunch! He was
    having enough trouble being 1 of only 2-3 boys...He's only 10 so he's
    too young to think of the advantages of being the only guy around! ;-)
    
    The Pony Clubs out here are under the same rules as in the East so
    those kids wear helmets. But, most of the kids and adults around here
    ride western. They ride bareheaded or in a cowboy hat...Yes, I know
    there are safety helmets with Western styling but ya can't convince'em
    to wear them!
    
    Like a friend of mine says about motorcyclists who don't wear helmets,
    "Let go without. It will probably improve the breed!"

    
    
    Re:  no helmets 
    
    I know an emergency room nurse.   Her favorite line to motorcycle
    riders who come in badly injured (having not been wearing head 
    protection) is --  "We just LOVE having folks like you around. 
    We always need organ donors."

    My two cents:
    
    I give lessons to a 7th grade girl on my STALLION! 
    
    He is quite a handful with me, but babysits children. Safety for
    the child is foremost. I require my students to wear a helmet. I
    explain that broken bones are repairable, a squished melon is not.
    I also require footwear with a heel. There is nothing worse than 
    your foot sliding totally through the stirrup iron. If a horse should
    ever bolt, you can be in serious trouble this way because you would
    not be able to emergency dismount, worse yet, you could be dragged if 
    you fell.
    
    I hate to throw a wrench in to the works here with the previous
    replies, but I explain to the parent and the student that as with
    any sport there is always the potential for injury. A horse/pony is a
    breathing, thinking animal, and their plans may not always be your
    plans.
    
    Enough of doom and gloom, horse back riding is great fun, and worth
    every penny you spend. It will teach the student social skills, and
    confidence that will help them in their growing years.
    
    t
                                      

    As a summer camp riding instructor for seven years I have had the
    opportunity to start hundreds of children on their first riding
    lessons.  It has always been my experience that the parents are the
    only ones afraid.  Children love it and tend to pick up the skills
    required very quickly.  The previous responses are correct, in most
    cases there are beginner horses at stables used specifically for those
    young children just learning, and it's as if the horses know and take
    care of them. 
    
    I agree that visiting the facility is important for your own piece of
    mind.  Horseback riding according to statistics is far safer than 
    driving down a highway, or many other things we take for granted every
    day.  And as far as a helmet.  Yes, insist on a helmet, most good
    stables require helmets, there are legal issues with Insurance
    companies when saftey measures are not enforced. 
    
    Congradulations to your daughter, and good luck to you.  You never
    know, you also may grow to love the sport.
    
    Karen
    

		I want to thank everyone who has responded to 
	my inquiry. I feel much better about letting my daughter
	continue with her lessons.  knock wood



		thanks again...doug 

    
    
    I agree with all that's been said, especially about protective
    headwear being a must. And if your daughter takes to riding it can
    give her a lot of fun and pleasure and teach her some important lessons
    about responsibility and confidence.  My own daughter, now 12, had been
    riding at schools for some time and late last year I got her an aged
    pony. Nice, sensible, safe. She decided she wanted to try her luck at a
    gymkhana recently, her first. Most of the kids in it had been going to
    gymkhana's for years so she was a bit self conscious. As soon as she
    lined up for the first game her pony woke up and started to dance
    about, desperate to be off and having fun. Well basically they didn't
    manage to bend in and out of the bending poles, they stumbled through
    the sack race, messed up in the potato race in fact hurtled through all
    the games in total chaos! But she was having the time of her life. This
    sleepy old pony came alive and had obviously done it all before.
    Finally she entered the chase-me-charlie and was clearing the fence
    each time it went higher. I kept telling my daughter 'you stop when
    you're ready, you don't have to do it'. But she said, 'I'll go just one
    more time'. She ended up winning her age group jumping over 3', and
    came second in the open at the same height.  I hardly dare to watch,
    even though, or maybe because, I have my own horse. But that pair had
    such a great time, it was almost magical, especially as by now the
    crowd were all behind them after they had caused such a riot in the
    other games and were all willing them on. It's something none of us
    will forget. So even thought you are worried, let her do it, she may
    surprise you!
    

  I agree that the child should also wear hard heeled shoes to
  protect the feet. Workboots or paddock boots. As for helmets, a
  friend of mine always says "Aren't *your* brains worth 65 bucks?".

  I saw an interview with Joan Rivers once where she said she bought 
  a horse for her daughter. She said (not an exact quote but close)
  "I don't care if she doesn't come out of that barn until she's 21. 
  At least I know she's not down at the mall doing drugs." 

  We also had a "babysitter" horse. A 16h quarterhorse that, if *I*
  sat on her, would not budge, or would try all kinds of tricks. But the 
  neighborhood kiddies would run under her tummy, hug her legs, and she 
  would carry them quietly anywhere they wanted to go. When we gave this 
  horse to a woman with two small daughters she asked if the horse is 
  bombproof and I said to her that there was really no such thing as a 
  bombproof horse. Horses are living breathing creatures and their 
  behavior will never be completely predictable. I've seen and ridden 
  horses, though, that had every excuse to run away from something and 
  didn't, or throw the rider off and they didn't. Why? Because they trust 
  people. What could be better than earning the trust and love of a 
  creature like that?

  At one show last summer I saw a girl ride a very stubborn tired pony 
  through a hunter course (fences about 2ft). That pony swerved and/or 
  stopped at every fence. We lost count of how many times she came off the 
  horse. But she got up and got back on every time (Sometimes re-mounting 
  on the off side!) and got that pony over all eight fences. She got more 
  cheers and applause from the audience than all the other riders put 
  together. Do you know she came out of the ring with the biggest grin 
  on her face and said "That was FUN! Can I do it again?"