Horse riding as an activity — yay or nay?

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old is very interested. This is not an activity or world I am familiar with at all. If you rode or your kids rode, I’d really appreciate some insight into how this all works. What kind of riding school should I look for? Any safety things to consider? Is it super expensive, and is the culture quite exclusive/fancy? What kinds of strengths would this build? Do you eventually choose one style and train in that, and do you have to compete or can you do it for the joy of connecting with an animal?

I know a lot about music, and could imagine leading a kid down that path if they were interested, but I have no idea about this and how to even do due diligence on a program.

[Anonymous]

I'm also more a music than horse person, but have close friends whose kids are into horses. Sounds very expensive and time consuming, especially if you don't live near the barn. Friend's first barn was exclusive but they found a lower key place, so it's possible.

[Anonymous]

My 10 year old daughter plays the violin and rides. It all depends what your priorities are. We always told her we would invest in her music but not in her horseback riding.

Because of this, the violin is costing us more: $90/hr private lessons vs. $60-70/hr group lessons (depends on the size of the group), and $5K fractional size violin and bow because she needs something better than rentals at this point in her musical development (we're not planning to lease or buy a horse in the near future!). We'll be looking for a quality full-size violin and bow in the next few years and it might add a zero to the price.

If we prioritized horseback riding, she'd be in private lessons with a leased horse by now, and that might still be doable on our income, but the next stage would not.

So google all the teaching barns in the area. Our favorite is Waredaca, but they're not taking beginners due to Covid (they need a lot of hands-on instruction) and they're in the process of finding new horses. The culture is not fancy at all! For the first few lessons they will probably let you borrow the helmet. Please do bring boots with a heel, it's a safety requirement so that feet don't go through the stirrups and get stuck there, potentially blocking dismount and causing injury.

Horseback riding builds core and leg strength primarily, but also arm and upper torso a little. You can just take lessons casually for ever, but if you get good enough, you can choose to compete. You can learn different styles of riding, but the accepted method to learn is English, just like the best grounding in music is classical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old daughter plays the violin and rides. It all depends what your priorities are. We always told her we would invest in her music but not in her horseback riding.

Because of this, the violin is costing us more: $90/hr private lessons vs. $60-70/hr group lessons (depends on the size of the group), and $5K fractional size violin and bow because she needs something better than rentals at this point in her musical development (we're not planning to lease or buy a horse in the near future!). We'll be looking for a quality full-size violin and bow in the next few years and it might add a zero to the price.

If we prioritized horseback riding, she'd be in private lessons with a leased horse by now, and that might still be doable on our income, but the next stage would not.

So google all the teaching barns in the area. Our favorite is Waredaca, but they're not taking beginners due to Covid (they need a lot of hands-on instruction) and they're in the process of finding new horses. The culture is not fancy at all! For the first few lessons they will probably let you borrow the helmet. Please do bring boots with a heel, it's a safety requirement so that feet don't go through the stirrups and get stuck there, potentially blocking dismount and causing injury.

Horseback riding builds core and leg strength primarily, but also arm and upper torso a little. You can just take lessons casually for ever, but if you get good enough, you can choose to compete. You can learn different styles of riding, but the accepted method to learn is English, just like the best grounding in music is classical.

A little off-topic, but I beg to differ on what the best foundation for music is. There are definitely benefits to starting with classical music, but there are also downsides.

Ultimately, I think it’s all about your musical goals.

[Anonymous]

22:11.

Safety is a big issue. A young friend of a friend was thrown off her horse and paralyzed. You want a barn that takes safety seriously, and that starts by picking the right horses for beginners: well-trained, sedate ponies fazed by nothing! They're not going to look pretty, but their purpose is to keep the kids safe and intelligently interpret poorly executed commands so that students learn along the way

You'll see that instructors also come in varying qualities when you observe lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old daughter plays the violin and rides. It all depends what your priorities are. We always told her we would invest in her music but not in her horseback riding.

Because of this, the violin is costing us more: $90/hr private lessons vs. $60-70/hr group lessons (depends on the size of the group), and $5K fractional size violin and bow because she needs something better than rentals at this point in her musical development (we're not planning to lease or buy a horse in the near future!). We'll be looking for a quality full-size violin and bow in the next few years and it might add a zero to the price.

If we prioritized horseback riding, she'd be in private lessons with a leased horse by now, and that might still be doable on our income, but the next stage would not.

So google all the teaching barns in the area. Our favorite is Waredaca, but they're not taking beginners due to Covid (they need a lot of hands-on instruction) and they're in the process of finding new horses. The culture is not fancy at all! For the first few lessons they will probably let you borrow the helmet. Please do bring boots with a heel, it's a safety requirement so that feet don't go through the stirrups and get stuck there, potentially blocking dismount and causing injury.

Horseback riding builds core and leg strength primarily, but also arm and upper torso a little. You can just take lessons casually for ever, but if you get good enough, you can choose to compete. You can learn different styles of riding, but the accepted method to learn is English, just like the best grounding in music is classical.

A little off-topic, but I beg to differ on what the best foundation for music is. There are definitely benefits to starting with classical music, but there are also downsides.

Ultimately, I think it’s all about your musical goals.

PP you responded to. Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old daughter plays the violin and rides. It all depends what your priorities are. We always told her we would invest in her music but not in her horseback riding.

Because of this, the violin is costing us more: $90/hr private lessons vs. $60-70/hr group lessons (depends on the size of the group), and $5K fractional size violin and bow because she needs something better than rentals at this point in her musical development (we're not planning to lease or buy a horse in the near future!). We'll be looking for a quality full-size violin and bow in the next few years and it might add a zero to the price.

If we prioritized horseback riding, she'd be in private lessons with a leased horse by now, and that might still be doable on our income, but the next stage would not.

So google all the teaching barns in the area. Our favorite is Waredaca, but they're not taking beginners due to Covid (they need a lot of hands-on instruction) and they're in the process of finding new horses. The culture is not fancy at all! For the first few lessons they will probably let you borrow the helmet. Please do bring boots with a heel, it's a safety requirement so that feet don't go through the stirrups and get stuck there, potentially blocking dismount and causing injury.

Horseback riding builds core and leg strength primarily, but also arm and upper torso a little. You can just take lessons casually for ever, but if you get good enough, you can choose to compete. You can learn different styles of riding, but the accepted method to learn is English, just like the best grounding in music is classical.

A little off-topic, but I beg to differ on what the best foundation for music is. There are definitely benefits to starting with classical music, but there are also downsides.

Ultimately, I think it’s all about your musical goals.

PP you responded to. Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree on that.

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.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

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.

[Anonymous]

My daughter rode for about 10 years - also at Waredaca. We had neither the money, the energy, nor the inclination to get into the horse show scene, so a laid-back barn like Waredaca (and I'm sure there are others similar in this region) was ideal. There were riders there who competed - and Waredaca put on 3-day events - but my daughter who just wanted to have a fun group lesson every week did not feel out of place.

[Anonymous]

Horses don't need little (or big) humans riding on their backs for fun. Cut them a break, please. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horses don't need little (or big) humans riding on their backs for fun. Cut them a break, please. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Horseshows are awful. Endless hours and dollars for a few minutes of competition. Like track meets and swimming meets but 4 times as long.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horses don't need little (or big) humans riding on their backs for fun. Cut them a break, please. Seriously.

Sure they do. Horses like jumping. If they didn't like it, they wouldn't do it. Same with driving, reining, cutting, etc. They like it.

Dogs like agility courses. You don't feel bad for them, do you? Why do you feel bad for horses?