Reply to Horse riding as an activity

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My daughter rode for three years. It was outrageously expensive and time consuming. I was happy when she moved on to other things. [/quote]

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.? [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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

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