How young did you start a child riding?

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Racergirl

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Apologies if this has been a topic lately, my search button has gone AWOL so I can't check!!!

I've got a Welsh pony who I have been trying to find either a long term loan home, or someone to share or even just someone to ride. My daughter is 10 months old and I naively thought it would be easy to find someone to take the pony for 3/4 years and then I could have her back when my daughter is old enough ( and had had some lessons at a riding school to make sure she enjoys it and knows the basics) but I've had no joy at all.

I'm now wondering if I should just give up, get a basket saddle and just crack on? If you've started a young child, how old were they, what do they wear - do they make riding hats small enough?
Any advice would be massively appreciated !!!!
 
i've a tiny mini who has a few different kids ride her. The kids have been from about 15 months upwards. She just has a tiny saddle with a handle and they can kind of just perch on top while she's led around. They mums got their hats from tesco i think, they've got wind-in dials to make them smaller. some of them have little body protectors too. Generally its a two man job to keep them on, one to lead and one to hold kid
 
I was started at about 18 months old. I think I probably had a cub saddle with handle rail on pommel
Google "youngest child riding horse" then click "images" and you will see them even younger in basket saddles and all sorts :D
Never too young (in my humblest opinion)
 
Oh that's brilliant ladies, thank you so much!!! I've been talking to a friend and she said I can borrow her basket saddle, so I'll hang on for a nice day and see what she thinks!!
 
Sometimes its just easier to have them on a pony, depending on the pony than on the floor. Mine sat on ponies from being really small, if you have got a pony that wild tolerate small chidden hang on to it.
At PC there was a young mum who had three small children and a saintly Shetland pony who stood whilst a toddler stuck hay up her bottom, (not really recommended) and never even flinched.
 
Get a soft sheepskin rather than a hard saddle. Most children will only be sitting on until around 7 so you reply on the good nature of the pony.
 
Mine started on my pony at 2, just sitting as he walked with me leading. To start they had someone holding them. Now my 4 year old has been in lessons for about a year and came 4th out of about 15 kids at her schools show the other month, all the others were 6 at least. She walks and trots my pony too now :)
 
You lot are making me feel much More confident about this, Thankyou so much!

Plum is a "proper" little girls pony - she's a dapple grey very pretty Welshy, and while she's not particularly cuddly, she is good - her only downside is that she's just that bit too small so she's only been used for leadrein and off lead in the field !!

I think I'm going to contact the local pony clubs and see if they have any capable Ponyless members who would be interested in riding her and doing things with her, if I can find someone ( or someones!) like that then it would be perfect. The horses are on my way to and from work, so it's no trouble for me to do them when I go back to work - I just think it would do her good to get out and about more to broaden her horizons. She county showed a bit as a younger pony,so it's not like she's done nothing at all - but she's done little since coming up to me, just hacking out and being loved. ( which is obviously far more important to all of us than what she does!)
 
Wouldn't use a basket saddle.

My daughter was having sits on a pony at 18 months (2 people) and cantering and jumping off the lead rein at 3 years.

At 6 she's on a bigger pony and knows about legs, diagonals, straightness into jumps and transformations (transitions lol).

The right pony is key in all of this.

Daughter 3 here, pony a mini Shetland we broke ourselves.

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I've a friend not far from you looking for a loan of this type if you do decide to pursue your original plan. PM me if so. But if not (and my daughter was about 18 months old too..) cycle helmets are a better bet than riding hats before the age of about 7. The neck simply isn't strong enough and the weight of a "proper" hat can actually cause more injury. PC even recommends the use of cycle style helmets for littles!
 
I was in a similar position to you when my son gave up riding our tiny sec A and thought my daughter was too young to start but I'm glad we stuck with it, my daughter is now 2 and rides (on the lead) leads him in from the field by herself, grooms, picks feet (kind of) and even gets his tack out of the tack room by herself despite strugglingto carry the saddle she is so determined to "trot on menace" lol
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sorry for spamming with pics I'm just very proud of both pony and daughter!
 
My daughters were less than a year old, for purely selfish reasons as I wanted to walk the dogs and I didn't want to push a pushchair!

I used a cub saddle and tbh I didn't have a problem finding a riding hat to fit.
 
Thankyou Shay, that's kind.

and you others for all your success stories, you're all making me feel way happier about it if it needs to happen- as luck would have it I had some contact from a lady this morning about her - they sound almost perfect ( two daughters, want to pony club and go to shows but only have one pony, so currently all three cant go out together, not far from me at all - typical when I'd decided with your help that it might well be ok! They are coming on Friday to see us and see how we all get on, I'm happy to keep her but if a home like this sounds comes up then I'd be an idiot to dismiss it without meeting them....

We shall see and you've all given me a massive confidence boost for when we start riding !!
 
If you are able to, crack on!!

As long as you do everything you can for it to be safe, and you have the right pony - theres no time to lose!
 
My 14 month old son had his first 'sit on' this morning, he loved it, big grin and happy face all round :) wish I'd started my daughter as early - she's 4 and won't even consider the idea of getting on a pony! She is very risk averse in general though, but it would be different if she'd 'sat on' from being a baby. Shame as I've been offered an absolute saint of a pony but hubby won't entertain the idea until she has at least agreed to get on, which I suppose is sensible - but I just want him, stamps feet! ;P
 
Lol, I know that feeling well !!!!

I'm loving seeing all the pictures - what gorgeous children and ponies you've all got!!!

I'm going to postpone any decisions now until I've met these people on Friday, plan A is the sensible one in my head, but I'm quite excited at keeping her on now, thanks to all your responses, so either way I think everyone will be happy!!
 
My son is 14 months (but a very 'young' 14 months as he was premature), I'm going to start him off in Spring when we have warmer weather, my mare is only 13.2hh and a dream to lead so going to start off by teaching her to lead with me stood near the saddle area, then hopefully progress to walking whilst I hold son on. He does have the odd sit on her with me holding him but I'm yet to buy a cub saddle and a helmet. (Mmmm, Christmas present idea!!!!)

It would be a HUGE help to me if I could walk her out a few times a week with a child attached, damn fat natives!
 


My 2yo at his first show... He sat on our horses from a year and got his pony on loan just before he was 2...

Now he is 4 and done full summer of pony club including camp. Still on LR though doing bits off it in a confined space..

Good luck with whatever solution you decide on...

Fiona
 
I must confess that my first few times riding did not involve any form of protective headgear - I was somewhere between one and two years old, and went on pony rides (on the lead-rein in ordinary treed saddles) in Greenhead Park whenever we stayed with my grandparents. Proper weekly riding lessons (complete with safety gear) started at three-ish, although I didn't tend to ride much in the winter until I was six or seven, because I was dinky and felt the cold.
 
You might find this the best solution in the long run, your pony wil be out getting experience rather than just going for walks with your wee one. And will be an expert when it comes to your daughter doing it all! If they are close enough you could always suggest taking your daughter for a sit on the pony every now and again, then you have the best way of both worlds!
 
The lady taking her on? Yes - it was my plan A for this to happen, it was only after weeks of not finding anyone that I half resigned myself to giving up, then I got a bit more excited about it,
Then I thought I could find a little person to ride her and have fun, but now these new people have popped up and thrown a spanner in the works again!!

Hopefully it will all be ok and the perfect solution will appear !!
 
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