What to do when kids seem to be losing interest?

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Woody2013

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I reckon, at some point or another, interest in their pony has been up and down. But at the moment is more down than ever. I assume due to the lack of hacking. Up and down a road is not fun really. Both had said no to pony club. They just like riding and no competing. With the good weather we had lately ... it has been impossible to get them going.

Have you been in the same position? any good ideas?

xx
 
How old are they and have you asked them if they are loosing interest? Do you have a horse of your own?
 
We had this debate at pony Clun last week , are horses your hobby ?

If so , you are walking a fine line with them wanting to ride , and children feeling like they should!

Give them some time off , the pony won't mind, honest :)

If they are adamant they don't want to ride any more, then so be it, sadly if you can't keep a garden ornament , then you will have to sell :(

Riding should be a pleasure , not a chore :)
 
Does matter what age to be honest. My daughter lost interest at age 6 ( now age 14 with 3 ponies ) son lost interest at 14 (now 16 with a new horse 2 months ago).I did join pony club purely so they could do different things and get out more. My son found a new (young male) teacher who has completely inspired him and now my daughter aswell. We tried games,sj,xc,polo x, dressage and le trec. There is so much out there either riding club or pony club that if they want to try something new they can.
I bought my daughter a pony too young and it took a while for her to want to ride during which time her older brother took over and heck it has been very expensive but they love their ponies and horses
 
Sorry but was that a reply to me mulled wine ? my daughter regained interest at about 10 and now competes in mga, dressage, show jumping and ode ( hence 3 ponies) one is to go this summer but she rides 2 every day.
My son has a 13hh pony we bought 5 years ago that he has just competed at area sj but he need to move on to a horse over the next year hence the new horse.#
Sorry I didnt make that very clear
Both lost interest at various stages but were never under pressure just offered opportunities to have fun in different diciplines to see what they liked . :)
 
You certainly can't push them.

My kids have had an interest but probably not a passion in horses, they ride when they want and if they dont want that is ok.

My daughter was saying i should sell my sons horse because he has not ridden much the last 6 months, most of that time he was banned from riding by his dad, and now he is out of the habvit. he still loves his horse. I gave up for many years and have just started again, so it would be unfair to sell his pony just because he is not mad keen right now.

If in 6-12 months he has no interest I will have a talk with him, but really the pony does not care whether it is being ridden or not, it does not cost much to keep a pony ticking over, so I will wait.

Having said that I have asked him if he will come to adult riding club with me and he is quite happy to do that so I think we will start there and see how it goes. I would not like him to give up riding, but I am glad he has had the opportunity - which many kids dont.
 
Is it your children who are keen to ride, or you that are keen for your children to be keen to ride?

It's very easy to push one's children down a certain path - either because it was one YOU adored, or because it was one where you feel you could have done better than you did, and want to see your dreams fulfilled by your children.

I was a keen tennis player, a competing rifle shot and a keen rider. Our son learnt to ride, play tennis and shoot as social skills and, guided by wise friends, I didn't push any of the sports on him. He can still ride enough o hack out with someone if needed, plays social tennis and rough shoots. His true loves turned out to be mountain biking, long distance biking, abseiling and driving fast cars very well.

None hugely interested us, but we've been supportive in very way we can and are proud of what he has achieved. After an initial flurry of interest he never showed any enthusiasm for having a pony/horse of his own, so we just borrowed or he rode what was available at home.

Our village is crammed with children ballet dancing, playing the violin, going to endless rugger training etc, not because they want to but because their parents fantasise. If your children aren't keen on riding, let it drop. as you say, a pony ticking over, especially if you have your own land, is an option till a rational decision is made.
 
Give them time to get their interests back, dont push them, encourage them to join in the care, dont be like my parents who sold my ponies without telling me it broke my heart and i didnt want to know after that until 20 years later. So what if they dont feel like riding everyday but bring up the conversation about the latest pony camp coming up, ofcourse they can only go if they start to get the ponies fit again. We all need time off just to recharge our batteries.
 
My daughter had a pony at 8 but she never really had the bug - it was my hobby. She gave up after we bought a disasterous new pony when she was 11.

Her passion is judo and she trains three times a week and competes at the weekends - locally and up to international competitions and the British Championships. Martial arts are my husbands sports so he takes her mostly.

My son has only ridden occasionally and never showed any interest so I haven't pushed it. He too does judo but is not into competing.

I have always said it doesn't matter what they do as long as they do something and luckily they have found something they like. I get to do my hobby for me although I would like them to share my interest they don't so I make the most of doing it for me now.

I don't know if you can keep them going if they really don't 'have the bug'. I have completely non-horsey parents with children who are like how I was as a child - pony mad. I would give them the chance to have a break and do something else for a while. They may find they want to come back to it later. My daughter has expressed an interest in coming hacking with me although she now doesn't have a lot of time!
 
I have found that having other people taking a loan/share with their little ones has made them more interested. My son likes showing off to the little girl who isn't his sister, and there is a social circle around the riding which my daughters enjoy.

The ponies all get a bit more work, and get checked more often too!
 
Other games we've done to spice up rides (strictly not BHS approved), include:

Who can pick the most cow parsley without stopping / distract their sister's pony by waving cow parsley in front of his nose.
Try to poke cow parsley up your sister's saddle without her noticing
How long can you ride without reins / without stirrups / lying flat out on pony
Picking blackberries at a trot (messy that one, and quite painful)
Jump the ditches
Make-believe rides. Superhero, historical figures, battles, aeroplanes etc.

One of these days I'll get arrested for joining in, but it is great fun to be a child...
 
Can you really just keep ponies 'ticking over'? I feel bad if we ride less than four times a week! If mine lost interest to the point where they weren't looking after their ponies we would have to discuss selling them as I don't think it's fair to just keep perfectly good ponies as field ornaments.

Don't think there's anything wrong with not competing though!
 
Thanks everyone. I think they are very lucky they have a good pony and a mom that likes horses :D Perhaps, sometimes I do ask a lot from them. And they do have other things they do as well, so we are sometimes all over town and then pony and horse duties ... it can get exhausting. More when they don't want to do it including chores and riding.

I don't mind they are not competitive in this respect. I am trying to encourage them with Pony Club just to do something different.

I am looking into other places with better hacking to give it with a change of scenery too. Can't think of passing on this pony, is too good.

Thanks for all the ideas :)
 
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