are they to young ?

[neddy1]

i have two children aged 3 and 4 who have riding lessons every week which they love and i am thinking off buying them a small pony but are they too young and would they be better having proper lessons for a couple more years ? the cost of the lessons would easily pay for the keep of a pony and it would be company for my horse ! has anyone any experience with this ?

 

[Boxers]

When my girls wer about 6 and 8 they were having twice monthly riding lessons and getting absolutely nowhere. A year or so later I got a 13.2 pony for them and they rode almost every day and came on in leaps and bounds.

Now your children are that bit younger than mine were, but there is nothing like riding every day for bringing them on.

You could always get a small pony on loan, and if it doesn't work out with your children, you would be able to return it without the hassle of trying to sell. Ask around at your local Pony Club

 

[NR99]

No certainly not - as long as you are an experienced mum

 

[clairefeekerry1]

i agree with boxers, nothing like getting on with it!!

 

[neddy1]

thanks for the replies , i think ill try the pony club first and see if they know of anything suitable , a loan would be a good idea , the kids will be over the moon and im quite looking forward to having a little ponio around the place myself !

 

[geraldgiraffe]

I have 2 girls 5 and 2 - we have a 12hh pony who is fab on the lead rein but i'm not sure how great he would be to actually learn to ride off the lead so my 5 yr old also has a lesson once a week at riding school. i dont think my own horse would ever be suitable to ride and lead so i would imagine she will carry on lessons for quite some time - the other thing is that not all kids take kindly to being taught by their mum but i suppose that very much depends on your childs temperament! Trying to juggle minding a 2 yr old and running round a field with the 5 yr old is also tricky! We are lucky that the ponies are in the field at the back of the house but to be honest if they weren't i probably wouldn't buy one for my kids until they could ride really quite well off the lead rein.

 

[corinnematthews]

I have 4 kids - they all started off on the lead rein - but when it came to riding on their own, I sort of left it to them when they felt comfortable continuing. My eldest son gave up between the age of 5 - 10, and is now a professional rider, having wom 3 point-to-points and works full time in racing. My daughter carried on regardless and gave up as her A levels loomed - but rides for pleasure. No. 3 son, has not been encouraged but is a natural horseman and aged 10 - 11 rides the smaller of the racehorse. The youngest (at 8) is not that interested, but is comfortable around the horse - and I am thinking of sending him off for proper riding lessons. A Guru of mine (who taught me to ride) always said that there is no sense in teaching your kids to ride (properly) until they are strong enough to take control......instil confidence in them, make it fun - but don't ask any questions of them until they are big enough, strong enough to take some control!