Horse Lessons: 6 Months Before You Can Ride Alone in a Circle?

dear gods, stay away from the $10 an hour person. that's a nightmare waiting to happen.
i've taught lessons for years and i approve of your barn's policies. are they a little on the conservative side? yeah. but that's okay. if you saw the insurance rates for riding schools you'd understand.
and it's not just the money. one bad experience can turn a kid off from horses for life. horses are prey animals. they're big and strong and they spook easily. you have GOT to be well educated in how to handle them. the horses too deserve to be well-treated by the riding establishment, and that means carefully instructing the students so the patient schoolmasters aren't expected to deal with the sudden movements and harsh handling that uneducated people deal out to them.
if you want your child to progress faster, get private lessons. i personally much prefer to teach private lessons. groups are difficult and unwieldy and you always have this issue with some being impatient to move on while others are timid and want to slow down.
if you've ever watched a horse enduring someone trotting before they're ready you'll understand. those reins are attached to a living MOUTH. if the rider doesn't know how to balance herself in the saddle and keep a light contact on the reins (used for steering and communication NOT to keep the rider in the saddle) that poor beast gets socked in the chops over and over as the klutz in the saddle uses the reins to stay aboard.
not cool.
be glad you've got a safe, cautious, conservative establishment that will teach your kids the basics right from the gitgo.
khairete
S. (longtime riding instructor and trainer)

Even though all riders are different, I usually have a rider in the saddle by the second half of the FIRST hour-long session. There is only so much safety that you can teach without actually touching the horse. Riding is truly a HANDS ON (well, A** ON... LOL) activity. If you are any sort of instructor, you teach BASIC spacial awareness and safety, then get them IN the saddle. That's the whole point of the lessons. The safety part is learned by repetition... just DOING it.

Seriously, find a new barn (or go the FREE route...I'll tell you about this later...). This barn is wasting your time and money. Your children should be in a small roundpen with the instrutor at the horses' head walking and trotting until the rider can hold their seat. This typically takes my students three to four lessons, but I have had a rider walking, trotting AND loping completely alone in a roundpen on the second. After they have their seat, I step into the center of the roundpen and give instructions like "walk", trot, inside turn, outside turn, stop... until I am confident that the child can control the horse. Then, we move into a larger arena. Typically, my riders are on the "big pen" in 4-6 lessons.

We always go over safety, and they practice safety and horsemanship constantly as we are tacking and untacking, and throughout the lesson.

Out of a normal hour-long session, my students are in the saddle 30to40 min starting with the FIRST lesson. Thats what they are there for!

I would not do the pasture/Trail thing, though, until I was toally convinced that they could control the horse 100% of the time in an enclosed area.

That's all information if you WANT to pay for lessons... otherwise, get it FREE! How?? A phone call!! Check with your county Extension agent for 4-H clubs in your area that are Equine-only project clubs. Join for FREE and learn all about horses, horsemaship, nutrition, anatomy...and safety... PLUS community service, friends, college scholarships (to the tune of $10,000), and clean wholesome family fun, fun, fun...for no charge.

You dont have to have your own horse!! At least not right away...The adult and/or teen leaders will pair your kids with kids that have a horse for demonstrations and practice. Or, typically, one or more of the parent leaders will bring their old "babysitter" and let anyone that needs a horse to ride. Sometimes the older kids will upgrade and GIVE their old horse to young members... sometimes breeders will GIVE 4H-ers horses for tax write-offs... Or make them unbeatable deals... If you are a part of a 4H "family", you will get to ride... trust me...

My daughter took on her local 4h horse project club recently because they needed a new director in order for them to stay active.... she has no kids (yet)... just young cousins that want to ride and show..but she brings all our old horses and some of our young steady ones for the horseless kids... this club was begun by myself and ten other teens (and their parents) in 1983... these are still the few HS friends I actually keep in touch with...

Happy Trails!

for pleasure riding, western is definitely more comfortable. I grew up riding horses. Have your kids ever been around horses before? If not, then they definitely need the safety lessons since horses can be pretty unpredictable... even the most seasoned horse needs a rider who knows the basics. On the other hand, I remember learning to ride a horse (I already knew the safety stuff...) I started out riding double with my grandpa... then he would let me 'steer', then full control, then on my own. LOTS of time on a horse. But that was completely one on one teaching, not a class. It makes sense for them not to get much ride-time during class because the teacher needs to have full control of the situation, and it's quite a bit harder to monitor 6 kids on horses than it is one or two. (I'm assuming that the teacher is rotating the kids on the horses...?) You are right about not doing the trail ride thing... all that teaches your kid to do is sit on a horse... they won't have a clue what to do if the horse spooks, or if they ever want to do anything other than trail riding they won't know how. I would stick to the lessons until they at least have the basics down. After that, it's more about experience. See if you could cut down to 2-3 'refresher' lessons a month. Let them practice on your horses (or whatever horses you will be riding) and go to the courses to check on their progress... and to make sure that they are still doing things 'right' and not picking up any bad riding habits. :) Good luck! Horseback riding is SOO fun, and it's good exercise... plus it's soo nice to spend all that time outside.

We ride horses, and, have our own, so, they are sort of second nature to us as we couldn't imagine them not being part of our family or our lifestyle. Personally, I would find a horse trainer that gives private lessons. There is no better way to learn than hands on when it comes to horses.
Safety is the most important aspect, but, all the books in the world will not teach you what it is like to be next to or on the great creature.
My daughter's friend died before 2nd grade because he was kicked in the chin. This is a boy who showed horses since he was old enough to walk. His family was a huge family, and they still are even after the accident. Things happen, no matter how safe you are and how well your horses know you. Hands on is important, and really the ONLY way to learn. I would pay more for a one-on-one trainer so your child can learn from experience.
Even with all we know, our girls did the one-on-one training, and nothing can replace what they learned those few months. Our son will do the same in a few years also.

I have to agree with their method of safety and basics first. It is essential that your child understand the safety aspects, horse temperament, what to do/what not to do, how to care for the horse, etc. When she/he understands those things she/he will have a better respect and understanding of the horse and will be a conscientious and caring rider and maybe owner one day.

My husband took me to the gun range on one of our earliest dates. We were probably there close to an hour before I ever fired the first shot. He spent that entire time discussing the gun, how it worked, how to load/unload, what you can and can not do on a range, etc. That made be feel far more comfortable handling a firearm and using one.

This is a good question. I can't speak from experience on the lessons, but I can say that I rode 'western' as a child and loved it. My mothers ex husband had family with horses, and when we visited for holidays I would ride. The family would always accompany me, and the trails were familiar to the horses. My first and only lesson was about five minutes long and pretty basic. Part of the trail opened up into a field, and I would gallop across every time (against the rules, and in face the of consequences later). But I still remember the exhilaration and freedom of that moment! As a teen, I had a close friend who worked at a stable. She simply told them I knew how to ride, and we had unlimited access to the horses. Not very safe, but nothing ever happend except great fun. The whole point is that saftey is very important, but the place you're describing sounds like no fun. I'm not sure, but it doesn't sound like you'll be having any fun six months from now either.

I get safety...but having ridden western and competed...it isn't rocket science. People have been doing it forever and then some, with or without spendy lessons. I had the privledge of private lessons, but I still managed to be on my horse the same day I started.

I would find another place to attend...or even send the kids to horseback riding camp, and just join the owner for $10/hour when you want.

This is kind of unusual to me, my daughter is 12 and started lessons a month ago, on her first lesson she was trotting, on her second lesson she was post-trotting and on her third lesson she was loping (cantering), she rides western one-handed, and is doing very well, in my opinion, I would find your daughter another stable/barn to ride at. I understand this is a old entry, but I just wanted to put my opinion out there.