That has always been the funny part - the “brags” about young kids, young horses, etc that make experienced horse people think “Oh my god. That is so unsafe.”
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Yeah, I don’t care if the 9yr old is jumping 1.10m…I don’t think a 9 year old needs to be retraining 4 yr old OTTBs. No matter how good of a rider you are, you simply can not have the education required at that age.
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Yes for me it has nothing to do with their riding ability but more they and not physically or emotionally mature enough at that age to train a 4 year old horse. It could go bad for either very very quickly. Let them be kids …and let them ride appropriate horses/ponies.
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I think it depends. The girl looks like a lovely, solid rider and I hope she continues on this path of success and grows into a capable, solid adult rider.
It seems like it is written from the POV of a mother who has every right to be proud of her little girl.
As far as putting a 9 y/o on an OTTB… I think it really depends on the horse and the rider. Some OTTBs are easier to restart than others and under the eye of an adult, with an OTTB that has proven to be quiet, I don’t necessarily see a big problem with that. Lots of OTTBs respond very positively to quiet light child riders - I think they are so light and often so quiet (in the sense that their body isn’t floppy or contradictory like it can be once you are an adult) that the OTTBs can go better for some kids. I think the bigger red flag is a 9 y/o training or aiming for Training Level. Once you get past Novice you really need to be a critical thinker and I am not sure if a 9 y/o is capable of that level of critical thinking.
EN, however… I agree with the others, it’s really not a site worth your time or brain-cells.
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I was thinking more that the OTTB was 4 and just off the track. I have an OTTB that a 9 yr old could easily event, hes a totally amazing horse, but I think one needing restarting? I think damage could be done.
I agree 9 is too young to be going Training too.
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My view has nothing to do with it being an OTTB…but everything to do with it being a young 4 year old. Agree the mom sounds proud and it kid looks like a nice rider. But at that age, she absolutely doesn’t have the physical strength needed to be safe nor the judgment or ability to control emotions…to be on a young horse. It screams of a trainer putting a kid on a horse for a profit. My parents were suckered this way when I was young. Our trainer sold us a young green horse…horse was absolutely lovely. But then had to be kept in full training. Trainer got a nice horse to train…and guaranteed need of their services. Wasn’t fair to the horse…and there were a ton of far more appropriate horses out there.
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I agree with some of the others - I think a 9 year old has no business training a horse. Riding a well-trained OTTB? Certainly. I’ve had and known many an OTTB that is far safer for a kid to ride than many ponies, including my own 17hh Mr Perfect. My niece has been riding him since she was 2 years old. It’s not really about riding an OTTB, persay, it’s about it being one fresh off the track. Even if a 9 year old is talented enough to be jumping 1.10m, from a previous example, a child is not mentally developed enough and doesn’t have the emotional control to be training a young horse.
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I know how this sounds before I’ll even type it, but playing Devil’s Advocate here: I knew a 4 year old OTTB used as a lesson horse. A beginner/non-rider lesson horse. On paper it sounds positively ludicrous, and I never would have supported it had I not seen it with my own eyes.
To be fair, it wouldn’t have even happened if he hadn’t come through a dealer, so it took people a while to figure out his actual background, at which point he’d already been assessed by the trainers and experienced riders and was happily and comfortably doing his job. We were all stunned when we realized. But he did it and did it well for at least the next six years. He didn’t love working hard for the more advanced riders, but he was an excellent babysitter and safe from the word “go”.
Disclaimer is that I’ve seen this once. In twenty years. So I’m not arguing it’s common, and per above, no one involved would have said it was a good idea on paper.
ETA: none of the beginners would have claimed they were training him, either. So there is that.
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The child in the article was often seen doing things I would not let my daughter do much to her dismay and cause for arguments. She is a talented little girl but a classic example of a mom liviing thru her kid. I was shown a clip of her jumping and falling off repeatedly at a show when she was 5 or 6 and another of her at 7 years jumping over 4 foot jumps. It is commonly bragged about in Ellen’s stable that she schooled training cross country jumps last year. I wish the mother could hear the things said behind her back about the questioned safety of her child. I am very scared she is going to get hurt.
I also thought it was unsafe to have little girls 2 or 3 on same horse at same time with no saddle running around and going over jumps. I was laughed at and told falling off is part of learning horseback riding.
And like someone said above, it is common for Ellen to get racehorses and sell them for huge markup to beginner riders so she can have them pay for lots of training. She offered this to us but we decided it was a bad idea and our daughter isn’t ready to own a horse anytime soon. I’m extra glad we didn’t buy one of her old racehorses because my daughter has been thinking she may want to try barrell racing.
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Oh…I’ve absolutely known some 4 year olds (both TB and WB) who were calm and quiet enough to pack around beginners. BUT…I would still absolutely NOT advise a parent to buy a young green horse for their kid to “move up” on coming from competitively riding ponies. That is majorly skipping steps from a training perspective and not a safe choice. And for the young horse…its not ideal to have most of their training being done by a kid. I absolutely rode young green horses at that age…but my parents did NOT know any better.
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The little girl on the off the track 4 year old Thoroughbred bothered me. Under close supervision for each and every ride it might be doable but why bother when there are much more suitable ponies and horses out there?
I know a 10yo showing Novice at Recognized shows and Training at schooling shows but the instruction is world class, her parents are experienced safety minded horse people, and the horse is priceless. I have heard nothing but good things from everyone about the trainers involved.
Have you all see the videos from Ireland of Patrick Thurston who is a child show jumper? (FB Link to his page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215441025470804/)
Just saying that being the son of people who own/run a sale barn has shown that this kid has learned a ton and can ride a LOT. I’m sure that he’s experienced some less than perfect horses, but it looks to be benefiting him. Also saying kids shouldn’t jump over 4’ is shooting ourselves in the foot. If a kid is on a competent horse and can do it with fear, why not jump bigger?? The alternative, as I have seen, is that the kids relegated to jumping only 3’ and under get moments when adults may not be watching as much and try a bigger jump themselves. IF they can do it, why not let them learn what a big jump feels like? That way all the competitions they go to here (which are pitifully low compared to abroad) will seem easier.
I get that we’re afraid of accidents and putting small/young children in harms way scares a lot of us, but if age is just a number then why not allow a competent child to ride a horse that’s exhibited a sound mind?
Accidents happen at all levels of riding and I think if we would lessen how much we as adults feel like kids need to ride perfectly safe rides, we would in fact be helping the next generation along with having to figure a lot of non ideal moments out. Now I am not saying throw a kid on a bucking bronco, but a stubborn pony with a tendency to run out, a horse that knows it’s job but can be cheeky if you’re not all on board… these types of things are what I was raised on and I thank my parents often for buying the challenge and not the horse that would do it all for me. I was 17 when I got to have my first ‘packer’ and because he followed 1) bucking pony who stopped, 2) runaway Ottb mare with NO dressage and no brakes 3) Another ottb mare who had a brain tumor and occasional seizures (which took the form of suddenly leaping into the air off all 4 legs. Only broke my wrist and gave me 1 concussion though) I was totally fine that his ‘vice’ was being on the forehand in dressage. I suddenly did well at competitions but I have to say all the crap I learned from the first 3 horses of my life has set the example forever that getting things done and improving a horse can always be done, with hard work.
~Emily
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Future Olympian in that Irish kid. Tight as a tick and bold.
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Absolutely. Watch a whole bunch of the videos from early on… down the page. He’s got ‘it’ whatever it is, he has it.
Emily
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I don’t get why they need a “move up” horse for that little girl anyway. Her medium pony is a superstar, and she’s got many years before she outgrows him.
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Par Thurston is NOT Irish, he’s English. Son of a very dodgy dealing couple.
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Putting a child at high risk of permanent damage to their lifetime health and welfare … what is worth that?
It is a silly argument that “life is risky anyway” and “kids get hurt anyway”. It’s a matter of the degree of risk, and the likelihood of the more serious and permanent injuries that matters. This isn’t falling off a tricycle and skinning a knee.
Just because some other parents are foolish with their child’s life is no reason for all parents to be so. And, just because the most serious type of injury has not yet happened to someone else’s kid-at-risk does not mean that it won’t, given the level of exposure his parents are willing to tolerate.
Just IMO. 
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And in the case of the trainer this thread is about, It’s a matter of a persistent pattern of questionable judgement and decision making.
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When I boarded my horses, my instructions, if I was not in immediate contact: Call my veterinarians for any problem.
I gave written instructions to my veterinarians to make the decision to come out, wait and see, or administer meds. My veterinarian’s contact information was listed on my dog’s tags along with my name and phone number. In my veterinarian files for my cats, dogs and horses are the following instructions if I am unavailable: “I authorize anything necessary short of a head transplant”. No, I don’t have endless money, but they know I will go without so the animals will be comfortable and I completely trust my veterinarians to give the level of care that they would give if the emergency involved their own pet or horse.
I have never heard of a barn manager taking the responsibility to examine, diagnose and treat an animal in their charge. That is NOT what I want to read in the small print of a boarding contract and should it be found written or if voiced, one should take their animal and skedaddle. I don’t need them “saving me money”. I worked for years for a large animal vet in a very progressive clinic and I gained a gut feeling of when a colic or laceration was more serious, but , come on… the vets were in school for years learning the mechanics of living blood and guts. Even then, they don’t have all the answers. Does a barn manager or horse trainer? It tells me this person isn’t very smart that they would want to take the responsibility for possibly making a situation worse by their ignorance, lack of good judgment or worse yet, by their exaggerated sense of self-importance. And, I cannot imagine an insurance company paying out on a illness/injury/death claim if they knew the b.m. or trainer was making a medical decision and administering drugs without instructions from a veterinarian.
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