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we have all sizes of horses, some just fit better
This! Most lesson barns won’t even consider kids under 8 for this reason.
It’s all fun and games until you fall off. My daughter rode from tiny child to about 11 and then made it known that it just wasn’t her thing. I think she was actually scared a good bit of the time but pushed through to please me. A shame, since she really was a good rider but it just wasn’t her thing. She came off several times; even broke her arm once. Still got back on but just did not love it. She didn’t like the rough and tumble of it.
Many kids like the “idea” of horses, but not the reality that horses are a full contact sport meaning you might get pushed, shoved, stepped on dumped, etc, and that scares them. IME, the kids that have all that happen and come back for more are horse people. Those that get spooked or scared, probably need to pursue other interests and just save your money.
I believe some horse breeds are “more safe” with kids, those horses will change with their charges ability being as aggressive as the the kid’s ability.
We used our competitive horses as children mounts, with a young rider you could see the horse sidestep to recenter the kid into the saddle
Also horses that can work on voice commands appear to be better mounts for kids as the child’s legs are too short to queue the horse.
I always erred to the conservative side of lessons (doing my own child and others). When a kid “looked” ready to advance…I gave them the option of trying new skills and then limited canter to “one kid at a time” and a canter from “point A to point B”…maybe 50 feet the first time. I was always prepared to go back to the child’s comfort zone until they ASKED to try something!! Group lessons don’t always work for the timid child…you lose more than you gain by scaring them!
OP - You mentioned that you have never been on a horse yourself. The first time you pick up the canter is the first time you realize the strength of the animal beneath you. It’s an entirely different experience. I can see why it might be a bit scary for a six-year-old child. But, once you’re doing it - it’s like riding on a cloud. She really needs to know how to walk and trot and stop and turn first. By herself and not when the horse is obeying the trainer’s commands or following a group. And, in the “be careful what you wish for” category - my son was one of those dare devil not afraid of anything kids. We spent a lot of time in ERs. Your daughter’s caution is her built-in intuition. Encourage it.
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Talk to your daughter and ask her what scares her and how she wants to proceed. I would get her a few private lessons, and then start her back in the lower group. If it is related to a particular horse, perhaps the instructor could let her ride someone else for a few weeks. Sometimes a smaller horse helps a particular fear, sometimes a larger (and longer strided/smoother) horse helps .
we had two of our kids that would do well in group classes as those two would have tried to beat all the others. …the youngest was riding English with double bridle by age four as she wanted to beat her oldest brother, and she did
But the other two of our kids were much more self conscious, we never put them in group lessons
Totally agree. Plus for a beginner, getting a horse into the canter is often not a smooth, quick transition. In a perfect canter transition, the horse will go from a nice walk or trot and “lift” right into the canter, smooth as silk. In the real world, a beginner rider won’t know how to achieve that yet, and what they get is some fast, choppy trotting that can bounce the rider all around around before the horse finally “falls” into the canter. And the same happens when transitioning back from the canter to a walk-- a bouncy, jarring trot.
This is why a rider should not be asked to canter until they’ve got a secure seat and good balance. Without that foundation, it can feel very scary for the rider no matter what the age. At least an adult knows that they have a choice and that they can say “no.”
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Look into the 4-H program in your area.
Many of them offer horseless programs where the kids learn about horses and complete age appropriate horse related projects. Some also offer model horse projects which can be very fun and educational.
And on the plus side these programs are usually low cost and many times horse crazy kids already have some of the required items like model horses!
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Thank you. I was on the advisory committee that set up the No Horse Required activities for 4H back in the early 1990s The Department of Ag was looking at ways to increase enrollment into 4H as it transitioned from rural to urban. If there could not be a boost in participation the 4H program was to placed on the chopping block as the government was looking at ways to save money.
Much of the rewrite used the Morgan Horse Youth program as a guide.
Before a horse was required to be in the possession of the 4H member (owned or leased but in their hands) We altered that allowing no ownership or control for the beginning levels.
This committee set up the outline for the Model Horse program specifically to encourage urban membership
I was appointed to this committee after having worked with Corps of Engineers as a consultant regarding the Department of Transportation Rails to Trails funding in the 1991 Highway Act
Later I was on the guidance committee to the US Forest Service on developing a trails system in the LBJ Grasslands
How did I get on those committees? I was regional youth director for the AMHA
Was youth director because we had four kids in the program.
We got the horses to teach our kids about live and how to deal with it because we saw that our kids had no idea as to how to handle certain situations. But afterwards they learned how to deal with failure and to rebound.
