At what age did you start you kids riding?

Fii

Fii

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And what is the smallest riding gear, eg, hat, boots, that you can buy?
my daughter has been offered the use of a basket/ safety saddle for when her daughter is old anough to sit up and hold on for herself or when she is a toddler, and i was wondering about head protection etc.
 
re head protection, a cycling type hat would be best. Skull caps are too heavy for young kids, their neck muscles dont develop enough to support a heavy hat until aged 8/9.
You can get jods aged 2 years but they arent vital!

The most important thing is a quiet pony.
 
Depends on the size of baby's head really. But Kids heads don't grow a lot. (They start big - ask anyone who has just given birth!) The smallest hat size I know of is 000. My daughter started at 3 with a 001/2. You can get Johds and boots absolutely tiny - Shires Buddies are quite good for the small sizes. My daughter's first Johds were 14" and her boots a child 5 or 6 I think.
 
Oldest started at 4 1/2, now 17.
Middle one at 2 1/2. now 14
Youngest sat on at a few days old and used to ride infront of OH (he had a big head as a baby and we got a cycle hat to fit him quite early on) he is now 6, and wears the same size hat as me!
 
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the basket seats are no longer recommended (and in fact banned at RDA centres etc) as they are considered unsafe. This is because if the pony trips and falls, the child is effectively trapped rather than being thrown clear.

So I would not go down that route, but wait until toddler is old enough to sit up in a saddle. I took my daughter for short rides when she was two and a half onwards using one of the cub saddles with a handle.

I second the use of a bike helmet though - riding hats are very heavy for little necks and plenty of my friends used bike helmets in the early years.
eta: the Mark Davies Injured Riders Assoc has something on their website about hats and children's neck muscles, worth checking it out!
 
Llewelyn, actually not quite sure what kind of saddle it is, but do agree i would'nt want her strapped in.
Thanks for all the ideas, lookes like the bike helmet is the way to go.
I must admit that i am quite looking forward to kitting her out for riding though.
 
Mia was 2 and a half...she had a cub saddle with the handle and it wasn't a problem finding a hat to fit.

Only problem...they keep on growing goddam it
grin.gif
 
My little boy's two and a half and rides in a normal saddle - he won't hold on to a cub handle and insists upon holding his reins! He's been sitting on since he was able to sit up and has now progressed to trotting!
smile.gif

Kate x
 
Oh look at him, little bless, he looks like he's loving that.
My grand daughter is only 3 months at the moment so this post may be a little previous, but just thought i'd find out well before what we need, thanks everyone.
 
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