My Child Wants to Ride Horses, Where Do I Start?
It’s happened. Your daughter wants to ride horses. Maybe she saw someone in a movie, or she found some old copies of The Saddle Club, but there’s no escaping it now. She needs to ride a horse, and she might literally die if she doesn’t. My brother just went through this, forced to enter the world of horses, with me screaming advice and cheering on his daughter.
I’m about to do the same for you.
How do you navigate this new world?
Well, I can tell you what you shouldn’t do: Don’t go ask that one person you know with horses if your child can come ride. It’s a long standing joke in the horse world, we’ve all been asked, and we almost never want someone to come ride our personal horses. All horses are not the same, and personal horses are almost never suitable for beginners. It’s not personal, we just don’t want anyone hurt.
Instead, follow these steps:
Find a Qualified Instructor
Note: In horse world, instructor and trainer can be used somewhat interchangeably. An “instructor” teaches riding lessons, and a “trainer” trains horses, but can also train people.
One of the problems, or possibly advantage, of the horse world in America is that literally anyone can call themselves a horse trainer. This is great for aspiring riders who truly have a strong base of knowledge and want to pass it on, BUT it’s also the worst because people who have no qualifications or knowledge and are also possibly just a terrible person, can also call themselves a trainer. Literally nearly every horse friend I have has a horror story of riding with an unqualified trainer and how it messed with their heads, and left long lasting triggers about some aspect of horses.
That means it’s up to you to do your due diligence in ensuring your daughter goes to a good barn.
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Where to Find an Instructor
Personal recommendations is a great way to find an instructor. One of the best places to ask is on your local Facebook group, especially if you find a horse themed local Facebook group. You may be able to find a smaller (i.e. cheaper) barn who just gets kids started. If the kids stick with it, they can move to a more advanced barn.
There are also organizations that will help you get started:
The United States Equestrian Federation website, where there’s a whole list of registered and qualified instructors.
The United States Pony Club is a great organization for children to learn about horses, and they have riding centers with qualified instructors.
Ask for a Trial Lesson
You found your instructor. Now ask for a trial lesson. Don’t be convinced to buy a lesson package without doing a trial first. If your daughter doesn’t like it, you’re either out a lot of money, or locked in at some place you don’t like.
The trial isn’t just to make sure your daughter likes the horses, but also to make sure you actually like the instructor, the location, the setting, any staff, or even just the general vibe. Horse riding is too expensive to spend your money at the wrong place, and there’s no reason to commit to a place you don’t like.
Here’s what you should talk about on the initial phone call (and yes, please make it a phone call, not a text conversation.)
Ask about:
- Can you tell me about your lesson horses? (You want to hear “safe,” “bombproof,” “babysitter,” “gentle,” or “confidence building.”)
- Can you tell me how you usually structure your first lesson? What should they expect to learn? (This will vary by instructor, but you should be expecting your student to learn some basic horse handling on the ground, how to mount and dismount, and basic controls including walk, halt, and turn.)
- Can you tell me what to expect about the rate of progression in your students? How soon are they trotting? How soon are they cantering? When do you introduce jumping? (Instructors should be challenging the student, but not at a scary pace. Students should have independent control of the horse at each stage before the horse moves faster or does more complicated moves.)
- Do you provide group or private lessons? (There is a benefit to both formats. Children tend to enjoy group lessons because they will make friends with the other children. Private lesson do provide more personalized instruction, but typically the lesson is much shorter and it’s more expensive.)
- Do students groom and tack up their horses? (Ideally yes, since they should learn about horsemanship. They may not the first few times as they will be in the learning stages.)
- Do you take your students to shows? Do you take students on trail rides or on any outings? (I personally don’t care about showing, but many people do, so if your child wants to show, you should ask. I do think it’s important for students to learn how to ride outside a ring though, so ask if your instructor ever takes them out of the ring.)
Now let’s talk about how to prepare for your first lesson.
How to Prepare for the Lesson
Your new instructor will have likely given you this information (and if they didn’t, that’s a red flag) but your student needs to arrive at their lesson with a riding helmet and boots with a small heel. Sometimes the instructor will provide a helmet to borrow, but it is a major red flag if your instructor says you can ride in sneakers.
Why do you need riding boots to ride horses?
Riding boots are designed for protection. The stiff leather protects feet from being crushed if a horse steps on them. Chances are, this will happen at some point, my horse stepped on my foot about a month ago. Horses usually weigh 1000 lbs or more, so that’s a lot of weight to be on a foot. I’ve seen the serious feet injuries, don’t take any chances on something so preventable.
When you are mounted, the small heel stops the boot from sliding right through the stirrup. Riders have been dragged by getting their feet caught in stirrups, with sometimes fatal consequences. Take it seriously, and get a boot with a little heel.
It’s important to note that fashion boots are NOT riding boots. Do not ride in boots you found at DSW or the mall. They are not the same, as fashion boots are usually made with flimsy materials that do not provide any protection (and honestly they look weird and out of place at the barn. Even if they are $800 designer boots that call themselves “riding boots”, no self respecting rider is going to wear them to the barn). Riding boots are made differently, so go with actual riding boots.
You need to go to a tack store or order them from an online retailer. Tack stores include Dover Saddlery, SmartPak, or there may be independent stores in your area.
Horse Riding Helmets
You need to protect your child’s head. Do not trust any place that allows you to ride without a helmet, they do not have your child’s best interests in mind. Everyone will fall eventually, horses stumble, and sometimes they are just straight up naughty. A helmet greatly reduces injuries. Do not take risks with your child’s head.
Helmets are pretty cheap, so there’s really no reason to not buy one. Even if your instructor can loan you one, it’s better to get your own, as they should be replaced after every fall, or at the most, every five years. Chances are your instructor is probably in a void with no concept of time so she likely doesn’t remember when the helmets were purchased. This is normal for riding instructors, they are frequently lost in the void of time (you get used to it.).
When buying a helmet, make sure it is ASTM F1163-15 and SEI Certified. There are a lot of “fake” helmets on Amazon, so just be wary of what you purchase. Troxel, Ovation, TuffRider, International Riding Helmets (IRH), Tipperary, and Charles Owen are all trustworthy helmet brands. For a beginner riding helmet, go with Troxel, Ovation or TuffRider, the price point just makes more sense.
What Your Child Should Wear for Their Horse Riding Lesson
For the first lesson, jeans with a bit of stretch or leggings are fine. Any shirt is fine, although coverage is good, as horses and barns are pretty dirty, so kids will end up pretty dirt. In fact, keep that in mind, whatever you put on them is going to get dirty.
You really don’t need to invest a lot into riding gear to start with. Make sure your child actually likes it. If your child does like it, riding leggings with grips and sunshirts for summer, or thermal shirts for winter, are great for lessons without spending a ton of money.
