Further to size of rider vs horse posts...

PapaFrita

PapaFrita

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What do you make of this? I took this photo in Argentina, where children learn to ride on horses.

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Little boy jumped the 70cm class, if I recall correctly. More info once you've said your stuff....
 
If he can handle it and the horse is of a safe (ISH!!) temperament i see no problem?

But I was a child who was riding a 16.1 fizzy tb at the age of 13 (. Which, according to many on H&H means I was naturally overhorsed ;)) so I may be more accepting lol :D:D:D

How did he do?
 
If the horse is well trained / of suitable temperament then not that much of problem.
The only thing I wonder when you see such "overhorsing" is how much they are actually riding & how much the horse is doing itself, but each to their own.

How did he do?? :)
 
wow....my 7 year old son looks the same on my 16h horse, hes allowed to walk about on her but im always right by his side. i think the kids parents must have complete trust in this horse to let such a tiny rider ride it like that. I think its great but slightly scary at the same time.
 
Love it! Taught both my boys from age five on my 15.3 hh warmblood. I wasn't prepared to buy ponies only to have to sell them on when they were out grown as I keep all my horses for life. Never had a problem. I did use side reins though until they were around 8 years old but that was because I wanted my mare to work correctly, not because the children could not control her.
 
jenki13 said:
If the horse is well trained / of suitable temperament then not that much of problem.
The only thing I wonder when you see such "overhorsing" is how much they are actually riding & how much the horse is doing itself, but each to their own.

How did he do?? :)
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Well, this young man was mostly a passenger, but horse worth its weight in gold in temperament. They went clear but didn't win. Upto 80cm in Argentina is jumped to an optimum time rather than against the clock; rider closest to this time wins.
 
Good for him (and his parents)! I would rather see a youngster on a good, solid, well mannered horse than on a naughty little sod of a pony which would scare them half to death! The child would learn nothing and it would be counter productive. The mare in the photo looks perfectly happy to take care of her small friend! :p
 
PRELover said:
Good for him (and his parents)! I would rather see a youngster on a good, solid, well mannered horse than on a naughty little sod of a pony which would scare them half to death! The child would learn nothing and it would be counter productive. The mare in the photo looks perfectly happy to take care of her small friend! :p
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exactly. i've known some really evil little toads of ponies over the years, and tbh a small child is just as much a passenger on one of those, the size ratio gives an illusion of control, no more. i think most horses have more of a conscience, personally.
i think that's great to see, and i'd love to see a vid of them together, what a good brave little jockey.
 
I worked in the US for a while and remeber that there were no ponies anywhere, the smallest horses around were 15hh quarter horses!

I rememeber one very lovely ISH, around 16.2hh being brought by a little girls parents for her first horse........ the girl was about 10!!!

I found this very odd, but the horse had lovely manners and was also to be ridden by their 'trainer' so wasn't likely to get spoilt by the young rider.

I guess its what you are used to, but when I think back to all the naughty ponies I learnt to ride on, maybe a steady, sensible well mannered huge horse is a 'safer' bet for young riders?!

Still, I do love a cheeky pony, not sure learning on large horses would have been quite the same as on one of our proper British naughty little ponies.......:D
 
We just sent a client on a riding holiday in Croatia and she very kindly wrote a report for us about it. The host there believes that children should learn on horses, rather than ponies, and his children all learn on good sized horses... even on his racehorses! His horses are apparently all very well mannered, not strong when cantering in groups on the trail, and very in tune with their owner.

I don't have a problem with a child learning on a horse, provided it's the right horse. It seems to me that a pony is just as likely to misbehave as a horse and although the size ratio could potentially help with control, I guess a small child can't necessarily physically control a pony either in some circumstances. I also think in some instances that horses are easier to stay on.
 
my 12yr old son rides my 17.2hh horse, he warms him up for me or cools him down in the arena, i don't walk around with him even though my son is more of a passenger than a rider. my horse knows he's on board and doesn't put a foot wrong.

my 5yr old lad also rides him and although i walk next to my horses head i don't have to lead him, in fact my son tells me to go and sit down as he can manage, strangely enough he can. he will get on any of the horses or ponies up the yard and not care what they do.
well done to the lad in your picture though for doing the course. :D
 
I was always plonked on huge horses as a small child and was often happier on my dad's 16.2hh tb than a naughty shetland. I had a 14hh pony as a seven year old that did more for my confidence than the small pony that continually bolted for the gate with me hanging off the side and falling off in slow motion. :D

If the horse is quiet and the right temperament then I see no problem with allowing a child to ride a horse now and again, although in an ideal world the pony that is the right temperament will also be available!
 
Better a well behaved horse than an unsuitable pony.
The only thing I find worrying is the choice of bit, quite harsh for young inexperienced hands
 
My first loan horse was a 16.3hh middleweight mare... I was 10 years old! :) :)

She was a perfect saint and I would hack alone, go galloping with friends, ride in Windsor Park, ride her up from the field bareback on a busy road and she never put a foot wrong.

I wish I had been able to keep her as she was an absolute sweetheart of a horse and never thought about taking advantage- unlike my next mount who was a 14.2hh and spent most of the time on his back legs!
 
That is pretty cute!

When I was 8 my pony was a little devil (think of little youtube pony ed) and I used to get on my sisters horse to do clear rounds on, my legs didn't reach past the saddle flaps and I was riding dreadfully but the saint of a horse popped round the fences as if I wasn't there.

I'd rather see a kid doing that than going through what I went through with my little horror of a pony.
 
I think the only issue regarding small children learning to ride on big horses is that is difficult to learn the care side as they won't be tall enough to groom the horse all over or tack up and catching and leading might be tricky too.
 
Until I was 16 the biggest thing I had sat on for more than a 5min plod round the field was my 13.2hh Fell pony. I had had mostly shetlands before that and the odd welsh pony and riding pony but the shetlands always have, and still do, hold my heart. I now ride racehorses fron anywhere between 15hh and 18hh. And it doesn't bother me.

To be honest, if the horse is sensible enough to toddle along with a dot on board then why not? It is much easier to learn to trot - longer legs, slower rising - and to canter - again longer legs, longer stride, not as bouncy.

Then on the flip side you have this :

http://www.equinationalimagestore.c...and/110611-saturday/ring-1/pages/ANZ 270.html
 
SO1 said:
I think the only issue regarding small children learning to ride on big horses is that is difficult to learn the care side as they won't be tall enough to groom the horse all over or tack up and catching and leading might be tricky too.
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In Argentina they don't learn the care side. Horses are fed, groomed, tacked up, etc, by a groom.
 
I can remember being frequently put up on 17+ handers aged 12 (and I was a very small 12) to ride bareback home from the riding school to the field (about 4 miles away in heavy traffic), we also had to lead another on the inside and ride in a convoy.

Although I look back with horror now, I just remember how nice it was not to be put on one of the two ancient 12 handers who were both decrepid and had such bony backs they literally rubbed my bum raw, or on the bouncy 13.2s who made your teeth rattle whilst sitting trotting in front of double decker buses! Did wonders for my seat though...
 
marmalade76 said:
Well I was out competing on a horse when I was three and a half! :D




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Don't think my hats fitted very well either! :/
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What a genius costume!!

There is a little kid locally that jumps a 16hhish horse in the 90cms and such. The horse is a saint, the child is fearless and they rub along very well together :) I am a pipsqueak that rides a 17hh schooner, so obviously can't say anything about being "overhorsed" ;)
 
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