Horse craziness can strike at any age. Some of us are seemingly born with an inexplicable need to be around horses, while others mature into the passion at various ages. For the parents of young children afflicted with the wonderful addiction of horses the questions begin to arise. What age should I start my child riding? What can I reasonably expect from them as a rider at each age? How do I introduce my child to horses safely? Are there things I should avoid? All are very valid concerns and worth some consideration.
What Age to Start a Child Riding
Let’s start here – what is the best age to start a child riding? Most any age is reasonable given the right sort of introduction and appropriate expectations. My daughter had her first ride at eight months old! My husband held her on his horse, Duke, and I led him for a five minute slow, gentle walk. Ironically Duke is our largest horse, standing 16.1 hands. It is key to keep safety your first priority and know what the child is developmentally able to do. If your life offers a situation for a child to sit on a horse regularly – with no pressure for performance, then the younger they get comfortable, the better. But if you are balancing the cost of lessons with the value your child will get out of it, you may want to consider waiting until they can process and apply instruction better.
What to Expect from Child Riders by Age
So that brings us to: what can we reasonably expect from our youngest riders at each age? Here are my observations based on nearly twenty years working with hundreds of children five years-old and younger, including my own daughter who is currently four years old.
Two Year Old Rider
Two years – Most children by age two can hold themselves sitting upright on a moving horse. However, having them follow normal instructions in everyday tasks is highly questionable so getting them to listen and learn on a horse is unlikely. What two-year-olds can learn is comfort around horses and balance and muscle memory in the saddle. They will not be able to control their horse at all. In fact, some kids may still need a spotter walking next to them while another leads the horse. Given a slow, smooth horse, trotting a few steps on lead is possible but walking really is safest unless you have that perfect horse or pony.
Three Year Old Rider
Three years – At three, kiddos can begin to go through the motions of start, stop, and steer. They may not hold the reins all the time or be strong enough to be effective at giving the horse signals, but they can usually begin absorbing simply stated instructions. It is helpful to physically position them, such as where to put their hand to steer, and let them feel how it works. Most kids this age should be able to stick a hand-led trot on gentle horses but will need to be comfortable and confident just walking first.
Four Year Old Rider
Four years – At four, a confident, centered kid should be able to trot on a slow, gentle horse on the lunge line. At this age, they often cannot think and plan ahead for their own bodies, let alone a large, fast animal. Independence will only be an illusion to build confidence, but they should be able to guide a cooperative horse through simple patterns like weaving cones at a walk with a ground person nearby.
Five Year Old Rider
Five years – It’s time to get those heels down! Riders of this age should be able to hold the reins consistently. If they have been riding regularly, posting and two-point trots with ground help is possible. I find you either get steering OR posting/two-point from them for a while yet. Until riders get a bit more mature, they will struggle to link multiple skills together at once. This is a very common age to start a child riding to balance instruction with capabilities.
How to Safely Introduce a Child to Horses
Next up: how does one safely introduce horses to a child? The biggest item is having the appropriate horse. A well-mannered pony has the benefit of “reachability” for the littles, however, do not pass off a kind, gentle, larger horse in favor of a bratty pony. Give your child the horse with the best temperament available to you, at least when learning new skills. Applying those skills to a bratty pony later may be an acceptable challenge. Also, wearing a fitted helmet is a must! And I mean a riding helmet, not a bike helmet. Bike helmets do not protect the lower back portion of the head which is where head injuries are common in riding accidents. I place this second to a safe horse only because a naughty horse will nearly guarantee incidents in which a helmet must do its job.
I also consider an appropriately sized saddle to be important. Getting stirrups short enough for the very youngest rides may not be possible for a while, but having the right size seat is important for correct seat and leg positions and places the rider in the center of the horse’s movement where they are most balanced. Just popping them on the adult saddle is ok sometimes, but don’t under value having the right tack for the rider. Remember though, even with the best arrangement, horses are big and fast and tiny tots are commonly unaware of their surroundings. So adult supervision and assistance is still required for everyone to have a good horsey-day.
Situations to Avoid
I’ve observed almost every scenario of children being taught to ride, from professional instructors to parents coaching from the sidelines, to backyard riders and cowboys. There are a few things I have seen repeatedly that seem to have a negative impact on the learning process – and possibly even the wellbeing of the young riders being taught. Here are some things to avoid or remove your child from if you identify them happening more than occasionally:
- Drilling seldom works. A child’s attention span is generally only a few minutes on a single topic. It is best to review a select few skills or tasks two or three times per ride, then move on.
- You cannot yell a child into being older or more capable than they are. Ask reasonable things in a reasonable way, and you will have much more success.
- Comparison to other riders or previous rides can only serve to reduce self-esteem. I’m not talking about making a reference to an activity from a previous day or using a more advanced rider to give a visual example. I’m talking about statements like, “You did this perfectly yesterday, why can’t you get it right today?” or, “If Suzy can do this, you certainly can!”. We all have difficult riding days – our children have the right to off days too.
- Giving overly complex instructions is confusing to everyone. Instructions and explanations should be stated in as few words as possible, keeping to three to five words is best. Example: “Say whoa, pull back,” or, “Kick, kick,” or, “Sit tall like a princess/soldier.” Reciting an essay will lose meaning to a child.
- Routinely over or under tasking a rider will cause riders to lose interest. Give tasks that are both engaging and present a little challenge without being so hard they can’t accomplish it. If you see a task is too easy or difficult be prepared to adjust it accordingly.
Final Thoughts
There are certainly children with more advanced riding skills than what I have described here. In almost every one of those cases you can note that the child has ridden A LOT and/or has that perfectly matched horse. It will usually be an older, vastly experienced horse who can read between the lines and isn’t prone to getting nervous. I generally see that children who ride multiple times per week may have skills more in line with riders one year older, while kiddos just starting out may initially show ability similar to a child one year younger.
It is important to recognize exactly where a child is in their comprehension and coordination and use progressive patience to build skills with whatever tools you have available. Always, above all, keep it safe, successful, and encouraging. You may not have a lifelong rider in the saddle, but you surely have a lifelong person who needs to learn skills like kindness, communication, planning, and follow-through, just to name a few. All of which can be learned in the saddle.
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