Riding Fall

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silkster007

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I am a soldier serving in Afghanistan who has a wife and 7 year old daughter living in Germany.
We have a beautiful 12 year old Hanoverian mare and an equally beautiful 7 year old daughter who starting riding 4/5 months ago.
Horses and most sports bring risks and dangers but the circumstances surrounding my daughters fall last night fill me with horror and abject anger.
My Daughters indoor hall lesson yesterday evening was the last for 6 weeks and the instructor had my 7 year old daughter bareback riding after she had already fallen with a saddle. The instructor was not even in the riding space when either fall happened. My daughter is a brave little girl but did not want to remount after the second fall despite the instructor encouraging her to do so even with an apparent injury.
Lucky my wife walked in when she did as her ulna in her left arm was snapped and her radius is bent.
I have fallen off horses and had my body smashed for queen and country and accept the risk, despite the repulsive litigation culture we live in.
Are there any instructors on this forum who would advocate this type of instruction?
 
Hope your daughter is okay?!

I've never heard of an instructor leaving the kids to ride around on their own. Riding bareback on a lesson was par for the course when I was a kid, not so much nowadays what with health and safety.
 
She has clean broken her radius in her left arm and bowed the Ulna. She goes back to the hospital tomm to determine if she requires screws in the bones.

She came off as she was allowed to CANTER without saddle. It is best for that instructor that I am tied up in Helmand!

It epitomises the word irresponsable. I am a ski instructor and would not take a novice down a black run.

Furious.
 
I actually prefer to teach kids to ride bareback, I think its better for them. But that would involve a very safe pony on a lead rein, a neckstrap to hold for security at first & staying level with the child's leg so I could grab them if they did slip. And also staying in walk for a long time before trot, let alone canter. I also wouldn't let a child canter after 4/5 months, unless extremely confident & balanced from other sports & even then it would be in a saddle, being led on a very safe pony on a lead rein & only then for a few strides so they can experience it. Hard to comment fully without actually seeing what happened whether its entirely the instructors fault, but from what you say I wouldn't be happy either. Hope your little girl makes a speedy recovery & hasn't lost her confidence too much.
 
The instructor told me that for their last lesson before summer break they could choose their own pony, choose whether they wanted to ride with or without a saddle, and then continued to let them free-ride for the entire lesson.

As quoted "That means I am next and not into the arena with a constant supervision of them.
They are allowed to ride walk, trot, canter and erverthing they learnt in that period without me being between them. It schools their view in the arena and their responsibility to ride on their own - a good preparation if they once have an own horse. Maybe it was my fault letting a little rider decide on her own what to do - especially a canter"

What more can I say??

Irresponsible! :mad:
 
No, I agree that's madness, mines 7 too & ridden from a few months old & at a stage she is whizzing about on hacks on lively ponies & doing basic schooling & jumping. But, being 7 has no fear & wants to do things beyond her ability. She has said recently she would like to hunt a friends 16.2 highly strung Anglo Arab. As the adult it doesn't mean I intend to let her because she wants to.
 
Iam an instructor, and that instructor/school sounds a disgrace! i would never leave any client on a horse unatended it sounds like complete negligence to me, best wishes to your daughter, definately take her somewhere else.
xx
 
I would be slightly more than fuming shall we say :mad:

I'm okay with little ones riding bareback, but at walk, until they are able to balance and stay on top!

A word or two with the riding school I think.

And a move to a different place, if your daughter wants to continue to ride.

I hope she's feeling okay now.

Have a hug. It's horrible when our children get hurt.
 
silkster007 said:
The instructor told me that for their last lesson before summer break they could choose their own pony, choose whether they wanted to ride with or without a saddle, and then continued to let them free-ride for the entire lesson.

As quoted "That means I am next and not into the arena with a constant supervision of them.
They are allowed to ride walk, trot, canter and erverthing they learnt in that period without me being between them. It schools their view in the arena and their responsibility to ride on their own - a good preparation if they once have an own horse. Maybe it was my fault letting a little rider decide on her own what to do - especially a canter"

What more can I say??

Irresponsible! :mad:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately most 7 year olds, especially those with limited riding experience, simply do not have the ability to judge their limitations, and in situations like that could very easily be pushed in to doing things they didn't feel comfortable to do, or understand the risks if things went wrong.

If it happened as said, then I feel the instructor has failed in his/her duty to safeguard your child; yes accidents happen when horses are involved, but was this accident really unforeseen, or rather unforeseeable? Is there anyone more 'senior' than the instructor that you could talk to?

I hope your daughter heals well and quickly (they usually do at that age) x
 
Hmm, I think it's probably worse for you because you are so far away and not able to "be there", but kids do fall off. They also get hurt (I did exactly this on my own pony when I was about 8 and riding around like a lunatic without supervision. I learned to stay on better for the next time; my parents were entirely unsympathetic and told me to buck my ideas up - this was a loooong time ago). Would I leave a 7 year old novice under my charge to ride alone? No.
 
Very difficult position to be in, was it an army riding school with an English instructor or a German riding school? They certainly need a complaint especially as it seems the instructor was not supervising properly. Hope your daughter is ok and you can find somewhere to ride where she can feel confident and enjoy herself.
 
Of course accidents will happen with horses, but all instructors/riding schools have a duty of care to minimise the risk, especially where novices/children are concerned, who are less able to identify potential unnecessary dangers.

The most worrying aspect of this particular scenario (whether you agree with teaching bareback or not) is that it appears the instructor had not taken the time to evaluate whether the fall had resulted in any serious injury, which is nothing but downright irresponsible. For that alone, I would be looking to ride elsewhere.

OP, hope your daughter recovers soon and has not lost her confidence.
 
Hope your daughter is ok.

I used to teach at rs (bhs approved) as a Saturday job while I was at college and we were never allowed to leave clients unattended in the school, I know they were
 
* u know they were free riding but instructor should have been in school in case anything happened esp as they were younger.

do you know if there were any helpers in the lesson leading/ running next to the ponies when bareback and did the ponies have neckstraps on.
 
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