Horse riding as an activity — yay or nay?

[Anonymous]

A good funny energetic happy dog is way better for kids that age then horse riding.
She will have animal all day long, she will have ton of interaction, she does not have to wait all day days to see her horse.

Horses are also more of "don't touch here, don't make sudden moves, don't make noises etc.." while dogs love fun and comotions.

Horse is for mature, animal loving, very emotionally tune in kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

What’s expensive? The lessons and equipment, or competing/ owning a horse?

I’m just comparing it to music, which I did at a pretty high level and my child seems to want to do also. It can add up. What I like about it is that you can enjoy it for your whole life, collaborate in ensembles, learn discipline and growth mindset through daily practice, and participate in a musical community. This definitely has the community aspect but it doesn’t seem to have daily practice unless you get super serious and buy a horse. So if DC does it for a few years, is it basically just having an expensive pet and learning mutual respect for animals etc.?

We spent about $5k a year just on once a week lessons, which to me was really expensive for a kids hobby. Gear was probably another $1k. There’s no opportunity to practice or get better unless you add additional lessons, it’s not like music or really any other sport that allows you to advance through practice on your own time. My daughter enjoyed it, but for us, it was just not worth it. Her friend is a serious rider who leases a horse and shows and they spend upwards of $30k a year.

[Anonymous]

Agree, except maybe also for high jump, figure skating, car racing, box and many others...

NP. Horse back riding is one of the most dangerous sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

+1

It's very time consuming. And expensive. But cheaper than therapy, the counselor told my parents.

People who complain about how expensive it is really must differentiate between various commitments! Most children do an hour of horseback riding lessons on weekends or after school, at a local barn. It takes less time than the usual sport practice and games, and isn't very expensive. If you're talking about casual eventing, then that's a whole other story, and it's like comparing travel sports to rec. And if you're talking about buying one or more horses in Europe, shipping them here, paying for top boarding and vet fees, plus transport to shows all over the country, then it's again another matter entirely.

Be specific!

Thanks, that’s helpful. Absolutely no eventing or buying a horse. It’s partly because I am just considering the weekly lesson route though that I wonder how much a child can get out of this.

Lots! You can get very good posture and toned muscles out of it, plus there's the animal relationship that lots of children find very meaningful. It seems to me so much more well-rounded than any ball sport, for example. It's like sailing or rock-climbing: you get a skill out of it that can be used in the greater outdoors and isn't confined to a playing field with weird lines drawn on it, for which parents will let the coach yell at their kids (or heck, scream themselves too), "because it's sports".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

+1

It's very time consuming. And expensive. But cheaper than therapy, the counselor told my parents.

People who complain about how expensive it is really must differentiate between various commitments! Most children do an hour of horseback riding lessons on weekends or after school, at a local barn. It takes less time than the usual sport practice and games, and isn't very expensive. If you're talking about casual eventing, then that's a whole other story, and it's like comparing travel sports to rec. And if you're talking about buying one or more horses in Europe, shipping them here, paying for top boarding and vet fees, plus transport to shows all over the country, then it's again another matter entirely.

Be specific!

Thanks, that’s helpful. Absolutely no eventing or buying a horse. It’s partly because I am just considering the weekly lesson route though that I wonder how much a child can get out of this.

Lots! You can get very good posture and toned muscles out of it, plus there's the animal relationship that lots of children find very meaningful. It seems to me so much more well-rounded than any ball sport, for example. It's like sailing or rock-climbing: you get a skill out of it that can be used in the greater outdoors and isn't confined to a playing field with weird lines drawn on it, for which parents will let the coach yell at their kids (or heck, scream themselves too), "because it's sports".

This makes a lot of sense, thanks. The outdoors part is the best part. My husband sails, or used to, so I’m hoping that will become more of an interest as we can do it together.

I think the animal relation is a big interest — are there opportunities to volunteer at stables?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

What’s expensive? The lessons and equipment, or competing/ owning a horse?

I’m just comparing it to music, which I did at a pretty high level and my child seems to want to do also. It can add up. What I like about it is that you can enjoy it for your whole life, collaborate in ensembles, learn discipline and growth mindset through daily practice, and participate in a musical community. This definitely has the community aspect but it doesn’t seem to have daily practice unless you get super serious and buy a horse. So if DC does it for a few years, is it basically just having an expensive pet and learning mutual respect for animals etc.?

We spent about $5k a year just on once a week lessons, which to me was really expensive for a kids hobby. Gear was probably another $1k. There’s no opportunity to practice or get better unless you add additional lessons, it’s not like music or really any other sport that allows you to advance through practice on your own time. My daughter enjoyed it, but for us, it was just not worth it. Her friend is a serious rider who leases a horse and shows and they spend upwards of $30k a year.

It’s $100 a lesson? Wow, I’m not seeing those prices, but maybe I have to dig deeper.

I just feel like the having to have a horse to ride is a major issue. Obviously the child is going to want to ride more and more and be with the horse all the time to learn, but if that doesn’t happen how much can they actually learn in a few years? Maybe enough to go trail riding recreationally and have some nice childhood memories.

[Anonymous]

Hacking horses, catch riding, in-hand and ground work, even mucking stalls are all cheap/free ways to work with and around horses. Once you have some experience under your belt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

What’s expensive? The lessons and equipment, or competing/ owning a horse?

I’m just comparing it to music, which I did at a pretty high level and my child seems to want to do also. It can add up. What I like about it is that you can enjoy it for your whole life, collaborate in ensembles, learn discipline and growth mindset through daily practice, and participate in a musical community. This definitely has the community aspect but it doesn’t seem to have daily practice unless you get super serious and buy a horse. So if DC does it for a few years, is it basically just having an expensive pet and learning mutual respect for animals etc.?

We spent about $5k a year just on once a week lessons, which to me was really expensive for a kids hobby. Gear was probably another $1k. There’s no opportunity to practice or get better unless you add additional lessons, it’s not like music or really any other sport that allows you to advance through practice on your own time. My daughter enjoyed it, but for us, it was just not worth it. Her friend is a serious rider who leases a horse and shows and they spend upwards of $30k a year.

It’s $100 a lesson? Wow, I’m not seeing those prices, but maybe I have to dig deeper.

I just feel like the having to have a horse to ride is a major issue. Obviously the child is going to want to ride more and more and be with the horse all the time to learn, but if that doesn’t happen how much can they actually learn in a few years? Maybe enough to go trail riding recreationally and have some nice childhood memories.

Ignore that poster. $100/hr is a private lesson. Gear doesn't need to cost 1K to be good quality and safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hacking horses, catch riding, in-hand and ground work, even mucking stalls are all cheap/free ways to work with and around horses. Once you have some experience under your belt.

OP is asking for a 7 year old.

[Anonymous]

At the high school level, these kids are spending every afternoon in Loudoun County taking care of their horses, many weekends traveling to shows, and paying a ton for boarding and show entry. But they are also getting scholarships to colleges with equestrian programs (bring your own horse). I’m glad my DD realized we couldn’t pay to play in this sport sooner rather than later, it takes a lot of time and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things.

What’s expensive? The lessons and equipment, or competing/ owning a horse?

I’m just comparing it to music, which I did at a pretty high level and my child seems to want to do also. It can add up. What I like about it is that you can enjoy it for your whole life, collaborate in ensembles, learn discipline and growth mindset through daily practice, and participate in a musical community. This definitely has the community aspect but it doesn’t seem to have daily practice unless you get super serious and buy a horse. So if DC does it for a few years, is it basically just having an expensive pet and learning mutual respect for animals etc.?

We spent about $5k a year just on once a week lessons, which to me was really expensive for a kids hobby. Gear was probably another $1k. There’s no opportunity to practice or get better unless you add additional lessons, it’s not like music or really any other sport that allows you to advance through practice on your own time. My daughter enjoyed it, but for us, it was just not worth it. Her friend is a serious rider who leases a horse and shows and they spend upwards of $30k a year.

It’s $100 a lesson? Wow, I’m not seeing those prices, but maybe I have to dig deeper.

I just feel like the having to have a horse to ride is a major issue. Obviously the child is going to want to ride more and more and be with the horse all the time to learn, but if that doesn’t happen how much can they actually learn in a few years? Maybe enough to go trail riding recreationally and have some nice childhood memories.

I'm the poster with the 10 year old DD also playing violin. Obviously she wants us to buy a farm and have horses, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. And breed foxes (thank goodness that's illegal in MD).
But the deal is that she practices her violin diligently and gets rewarded with an hour of quality time on a horse once a week. In the two years she's done this, she has progressed to canters, while some of her friends at other barns have not progressed that much. My take is that if your child is highly motivated and listens to instructions, they will progress to their own satisfaction (and yours), even with a measly one hour a week. And yes, the goal is to be able to hold your own on a horse as an adult. For example, we rode horses during our trip to Iceland, and since the kids hadn't started lessons then, we were stuck in the walking group, while another group took off at a canter across the rolling hills - boy was I envious. You can do long trail rides all over the USA, and they're particularly nice in National Parks. Ride, camp out under the stars. Bliss.

[Anonymous]

My DD is 12 and has been riding for a year, also plays an instrument. i have no idea where riding is going--it doesn't seem like a hobby that really leads to anything, other than more riding, but if you love that and love horses (and she does), that's enough.

She just loves the animals, she looks forward to her one hour group lesson each week. When I asked her if pandemic felt boring or alone she said--it would have, except I have horseback riding to look forward to every week. So there is the fact that it's an outdoor distanced activity, too!

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have stable recommendations in Virginia for an intermediate rider, similar to previously mentioned Waredaca?

[Anonymous]

My daughter rode for several years, and for safety reasons I wanted her to stop before the teams began jumping (fun as it was when I was a kid!). I didn't want her to get too far into the competition phase, we wanted to keep it fun and recreational. She learned the basics like horse care, bareback and cantering. We actually rode together on our spring break vacation so it's a hobby you can keep with you throughout life even if you don't choose to make it your commitment sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Indeed we do! I started out playing classical music from 5-17yo (piano and cello) and have since played rock and blues guitar (I’m now in my mid-30s). I do think starting with classical gives good discipline in terms of attention to detail, but it can also make it difficult to switch to an improv mentality, which is extremely important for succeeding as a rock/blues musician. I had to unlearn a certain rigidness in order to progress as a rock/blues guitarist.

I guess my point in posting to you is that I hope that, if your daughter decides to move into non-classical music at some point, that she can take the good from classical training, while being mindful of what she might need to unlearn.

Exactly. You don't know how hard it would have been in terms of ear training and rhythm accuracy if you hadn't started with classical first. As it was, you didn't notice the lack of challenge in that department and only noticed the one skill you didn't have

Yes, but as I said, I had to unlearn rigidity that otherwise would’ve led to failure as a rock/blues guitarist.


OP here. That’s ok, I’m really interested in this also, both as a pedagogical point that applies to things other than music and to music specifically. I trained classically and also regret not doing jazz earlier. Do you know the duo Igudesman and Joo? I think that attitude of seeing music as expression and communication is so important, and often lost when you start with a “do it this way” approach.
I also believe that a good teacher can teach rhythm accuracy and ear training in the context of non-classical music. Keep in mind that most—if not all—excellent rock musicians had no classical training at all.

But I don’t want to derail OP’s thread more than I already have.

Oops, posted amid yours:

OP here. That’s ok, I’m really interested in this also, both as a pedagogical point that applies to things other than music and to music specifically. I trained classically and also regret not doing jazz earlier. Do you know the duo Igudesman and Joo? I think that attitude of seeing music as expression and communication is so important, and often lost when you start with a “do it this way” approach.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WOQaK7NHY-4

I’ll check them out, thanks!

I think you expressed my problem with classical training really well. A classical musician is a vessel for someone else’s music, whereas jazz, rock, blues, etc encourage the musician to express him/herself.

It’s not that a classical musician can’t emotionally connect with the music—they can and do—but they are meant to be a medium for delivering someone else’s music in a very specific way and can’t really diverge from that.