Advice to all young ridersthe equestrian world can be amazing, fulfilling and can change your life. It can also be highly competitive, judgmental, and untrustworthy. To be in this sport, the mindset you have to have is to have the most open mind and have the patience of a saint. Starting out in this world can be difficult. I have heard of stories when girls decide at a really young that they want a horse. They haven't truly gotten their feet wet in this sport, and yet, they beg and plead with their parents to buy them a horse. Just recently, a family who has been on youtube for several years, told their 12 year old daughter that once they reach 4 million subscribers, they would buy her a pony, even though she has no experience, barely any lessons and just no idea what it will be like to own a horse, and be responsible for it. It makes me sad that things like this happen, the horse is only going to be neglected and eventually (and hopefully in this case it won't happen) but she might grow out of this phase of riding, and will move on to something else and then that poor pony will either have to be sold, or be trained by someone else at the facility that it is at. My advice for young riders, is to take lessons for several years, to learn how to care for a horse and learn exactly what it entails and after a few years, lease a horse, and then, only then think about buying one. A child needs to learn the responsibilities that come with owning a horse, such as coming to the barn no matter how cold or hot it is, and taking care of their horse. Owning a horse is one the biggest commitments, it takes so much time and effort to ensure the happiness of the horse and of the rider as well.
Another big piece of advice, is if a child wants to start riding at a young age and their parents can afford it, I would suggest getting into it as young as possible. The ideal age would be around 6 or 7. The reason I say this, is because I started at the age of 18, when I was older and more prone to being afraid of certain things, or questioning why I am asked to do certain things. When a child is younger, that fear is not quite instilled in them and they are more willing to try new things without really questioning why they are asked to do it, they just do, and the results are amazing. |