Learn While You’re Little

We recently stayed at a swanky hotel in St. Louis where my husband attended a business conference for his work.  The kids and I went along just for fun, the thought of spending three days at an indoor-pool-equipped establishment being our main motivation—yes, the long winter is getting to us!  While there, my husband got his cowboy boots shined at the shoe-shine station in the lobby.  After seeing the transformation from scuffed to gleaming, our son wanted his little boots shined as well.  While he sat and got them polished, one of the hotel managers struck up a conversation by asking our son if he had a horse to go with those boots….

I answered for him, and so we talked horses there in the lobby of the Hilton, me and this black guy in a tuxedo.  He said, “No one would guess by looking at me that I’m a cowboy,” as he showed me videos on his i-phone of a pretty dun mare spinning circles in an arena.  He was a team penner, with a weekend home in the Ozarks where he keeps his horse.  “She’s a Peppy San horse!”  he told me, excitedly, “I drive three hours every weekend so I can go ride her.”  We talked about horses and kids, and one thing he said to me that really stuck out is that you’ve got to start kids young, before they learn to be afraid.

It wasn’t a new concept to me, but one I have considered often.  I grew up with horses.  My first ride was in a backpack with my mom when I was six months old.  Since then, I have been stepped on, kicked, reared over backwards with, bucked off, and repeatedly run away with.  But I have never been afraid to get on a horse.

Contrast that with my husband.  He said, upon meeting me, that he’d always liked horses and always wanted one, but his grandpa would not have one on the place, so he never got a chance to have a horse when he was a kid.  He went riding once when he was about fourteen, on a rented trail horse that followed the tail in front of it.  He had never, before meeting me at age thirty, been turned loose on a horse to guide it and ride it.  We bought an old mare, Cricket, to be his first horse, and she fits the bill for a good starter horse for him.  But it’s not easy to convince my husband to relax on horseback.  He is a good rider, and has ridden some colts and beginning horses, but he is still much more suited to an old horse like Cricket, because he is all too aware of what could happen if things go wrong.

So with our own children, it is a goal of mine to get them comfortable on horseback as soon as possible.  Our oldest daughter is almost eight, and I plan to take her riding a lot as soon as it warms up a little.  She is confident on horses because we put her on old Cricket when she was three and just turned them loose to graze around the farmyard.  Our daughter would sing and talk to Cricket, and they’ve been a good pair ever since.  She also likes riding my sorrel mare Daisy, and Daisy does really well with her.

Our middle son is less inclined to even get on a horse.  The last time we went riding as a family, he said he didn’t want to ride, then followed along on foot crying because he didn’t want to be left behind.  So I let him ride with me, stuffed into the saddle in front of me, which wasn’t too comfortable but at least he wasn’t afraid.  So my plan for him is to get him over his fear before it gets any stronger.

Our youngest son is a year old, and completely in love with horses.  He whinnies whenever he sees a horse or a book about horses.  Many times, we will be shopping and he will whinny, and I have to look around to see where the horse is that he’s looking at!  I’m thinking of taking him riding a lot this spring as well, because he just loves it.  He has sat on the horses backs, while they graze, and it’s so good for him to get used to them while he’s little, because then he’ll never be afraid.

And that is the main thing…when you meet your first horse when you’re little, and you fall in love, it’s all easy after that.  Then later on when you get bucked off, it doesn’t matter so much.  It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes when you’re a horse lover.  You can get stepped on, and learn from it, but not be afraid.  And that’s why it’s so important to get to know horses while you’re young.

So all of you girls who are begging your parents to buy you a horse?  Show them this article.  You’re never too young to start!  Just ask them, when you’re asking for a horse, to also buy you a riding helmet and get you started with lessons or a helper who knows a lot about horses.  That will ensure that you’re as safe as possible while you’re learning, which will help keep your confidence intact.

I do think that there’s a huge advantage to learning when you’re little.  That’s why I continue to read horse stories to my one year old, and put him up on old Cricket’s back while she grazes.  Once you fall in love with horses, fear is never again an issue.

Tagged as: horse advice, horse riding, horseback riding, horses and kids, riding horses