Childs age to start riding

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LindyLulu

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Hi, i've only been a member on here for a couple of weeks now.
I have seen that quite a few people on here have young children. I have a lovely 2 year old daughter, who loves horses and enjoys going to the old yard that i used to work at. I think she would enjoy riding, but i haven't sat her on a horse yet.

I used to teach and i'm hoping to get back to it soon when given the all clear (i have a rotated pelvis) and i taught kids from 4 years.

I'm interested to know how young other people started their children riding/ sat them on a pony.

Thanks for reading this x
 
Well, I just sort of picked her up and plonked her on board!

No, seriously, I think she was about 2 years old and we had a little companion pony which I held her on whenever she wanted to....

I then bought her a little lead rein pony and its grown from there...but I think the most important thing is no pressure, the last thing I wanted to do was to put her off by enforcing it...and so far its worked, she's 9 now and loves it!

Good luck!
 
Not got a horse of my own,but son(now 5) has been popped on friends horse/beech donkeys from about the same age.
He has just started "lessons",pottering about,trying to remember the basics while having fun ect and is in love with the pony he normaly rides
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IMO,if they ask/show an intrest,let them have a sit
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My daughter started when she was 2....plonked on a shettie and lead around- we went out for walks in the woods and she wasn't 'taught' as such.....they dont start actually 'riding' until about 5 but it helps them get their balance .....my daughters instructor (who has only taught her a couple of times- up until now its been me teaching her but she's now 7 and thinks mum knows nothing
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) says she has a wonderfully natural seat and position......go for it
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No kids myself, but there's picture evidence of me doing lead-rein show classes at two
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But by the time I was five I'd decided this was boring and used to jump off in the ring and run off to do the gymkhana's
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Hiya i have got a 2 year old boy and he has no fear which frightens me, I used to just sit him on a pony from about 10 months,

He comes to all the shows with me and my fab friend looks after him and when daddy is off I take my friends horse to shows as she has no transport.

He always wants to ride the horses with me so I sit him on with me and get 2 people to walk around menage with me incase I need to get him off quick and one to stop the horse (its not ideal as my horse is 16.2 but very quiet)

I have got a 27 year old pony that Im going to start him on in the summer she is on loan at the mo so havent been able to use her

There is aother lead rein pony that he has been on at our yard but I will only use pony when owners daughter comes to ride (not very often)

I think as long as you are careful do not push them or expect to much off them you can start at any time, I do think 4 is the youngest that riding schools take them. as you are an instructor you already know (i dont want to sound patronising xx) Its so hard when its your own child aint it?

I would try and loan a pony other than buying one as I know someone who bought a poy for their 4 year old and she doesnt want to know now she has one.

good luck and let me know how she goes
 
I was plonked on ponies from as soon as I could sit up and from age two (or as soon as I was able to hang on) used to go off with my Dad sitting in front of him on his hunter for hours. From age 3 I was led from one of my parents horses on my Shettie and from 4 I was on my own.

I do of course realise that my parents idea of what was acceptable is very probably way out of line as this was 40 years ago and both mum and Dad were basically certifiable when it came to horses
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Thanks everyone, loads of good advive. there's no chance of me pushing her to do anything cos she's a stroppy little madam who knows her own mind!
I haven't ridden for 3 years now cos of pelvis, so i only really go to the stables to see my friends horse occasionally.
I will keep you posted and put a pic on here (if i work out how to lol) of her first sit on a pony.

Thanks again x
 
My son rode from 1 as we had a very old narrow pony and it meant I could walk the dogs properly.
Apparently it isn't good for their pelvic development to ride for too long, but Small Boy is fine and quite sound!
 
My grandma sat me on a donkey at Woolacombe aged three. My mum used to ride a friends horse when she was in her teens but was from a background that couldn't really afford their own horse, things were different in those days. I was allowed to have lessons when I was about ten or eleven as they were so expensive and Mum really wanted to make sure I was of an age when I would be old enough to listen and take things in. I had horses on loan and then had my own horse aged 17 which we got rid of as she was really naughty. Then after an eight year gap I had my first 'real horse' as my Grandfather who used to be in Birmingham Mounted Police left me some inheritance for which to buy one with.
 
I was first sat on a horse aged roughly a year, a big one (16.2hh approx) although i soon moved onto a little 12.hh pony, more my sized;) , who i wandered round on happily everywhere- mum would be skipping the field and i would wander round on this pony! and everything went from there really, i never had 'proper' lessons bar mum shouting at me instructions haha
 
im another started v young.....
as in between 18m and 2yo!!
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Not proper riding (obv) but whilst my parents rode my yard used to take me round on a little welsh a called misty (absolutely star pony!!)

But I know i started younger than quite alot of people!
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My aunt first sat me on her pony when I was 2 months old. I had my first riding lesson aged three and I've been riding since then (I'm 17 now)
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I have a pic of my Dad on a pony with me in his arms as a tiny baby! I was sat on ponies regularly from at least the age of 18 months. I was doing lead rein gymkhana at at least the age of three.

My own daughter was sat and held on my horse at less than 12 months and did her first lead rein gymkhana at two and a half.

Whenever they come with me to check on their pony, they are slung on bareback and have a wander round the paddock - they love it! I don't take them riding with tack very often (partly due to the awful weather recently) and we do the odd gymkhana.

I would never make them ride, they ride because they want to.
 
My daughter is 6 now, been riding since she was 3 and i got a pony small enough for her to have a sit on. She has had a Shetland X Exmoor lead rein pony on loan since last year and has done ssome shows, can walk, trot and canter off the lead rein and jump on the lunge ( she could prob do it off the lunge i'm just too scared to let her go!!) And we have a fab pony on trial for her to fingers crossed move up to in Jan, as she is so tall for her age ( Hubby is 6ft 7!) she is moving off her 11h to a 13h PC pony. She has just joined pony club too and is totally horse mad. I say go for it!
ETS She now has designs on riding my 16.1 mare but maybe not quite yet!!
 
Daughter always used to try to rush out of the gate when the RS or hackers went by, so it was natural progression after much nagging from her for me to take her to the RS from about 4 1/2.
She's 10 now, a very competent rider and still totally horse mad, has even got me back on a horse after 25 years or so, and we now somehow ended up with 2 ponies in our paddock!
 
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