Many children today are ill prepared to safely conduct themselves in a variety of natural settings. Watching all the parents around me twist themselves into knots dropping off and picking up their children, running them constantly to practices and clubs and using all their vacation days to be with the precious children on every field trip, it is apparent that wrapping children in steel wool is still strongly favored. The world is a harsh place and many of these children are ill prepared for a really bad situation. Older but still useful skills can encourage independence in a child and allow for a child to develop his or her response to a variety of situations where bad decisions with consequences will be faced. Horseback riding has danger associated with it and parents should act to discipline their children with regards to safety rules and safety training.
Preparing your child to react in a calm thoughtful way if they find themselves in a dangerous situation can save their or another child’s life. In my childhood, I found myself with the neighbor’s children playing on the banks of a freezing creek. The neighbor’s son went out onto the ice and being the smallest got out about 3-4 feet from the bank. He went through and was standing in water up to his chest. The current pulled him hard against the ice. When he tried to climb out the ice broke and when he tried to come back toward shore the current under the ice made him unsteady in the water. My mother had made sure I knew I should never walk on ice unless freezing temperatures had lasted many days unabated but if I did and it cracked I needed to get down and crawl or lay on my belly and slide to safety. I also knew if someone were to go through you needed to find a branch to help pull them out. He was completely soaked but we got him out. Since I was the better rider I got up on the fastest horse with him in front and cantered ten minutes back to his house. He suffered no ill effects but waiting in icy water for twenty minutes or more for his parents to arrive might not have had the same result. Would your child know what to do and have the skills to act safely and decisively?
While in a TEOTWAWKI situation, working horses will become more prolific. Being a lover and former owner of horses, I do not recommend anyone purchase a pony or horse for a child unless the parents are very clear as to the amount of work and expense it will require. Owning a horse is not needed to learn how to ride. In most communities, local stables offer riding lessons. It is also possible to trade work for riding lessons with persons who own horses as well. This work for lessons arrangement is better for many reasons than paying for lessons. Mucking stables, grooming, tack care, feeding and basic medical care provide needed lessons on handling and care of horses.
Early riding instruction can be vital. Older children and adults have difficulties learning basic riding skills due to being a larger size and height. The most common reaction of larger sized beginners I have observed is the tendency to lie down on the horse followed by fear and quitting or frustration at the lack of fast progress. A very young child can be sat on very gentle horse with an experienced handler and walked in an enclosed space at a very young age. I was sat on horses and my horse walked by lead at the age of 2. Below I summarize the basic plan of lessons I received building on my early introduction to the horse.
A. Orientation – On the ground.
Basic riding gear is needed. Proper footwear should include a sturdy covered shoe with a low heel. Clothes that are comfortable and will not ensnare you as well as a helmet should be worn. As a child, I did not want to wear a helmet but after seeing a friend of mine fall off numerous times I decided it might be prudent to wear my helmet. Horses can be startled by running and loud sudden noises. When walking behind the horse either stay far enough away he cannot kick you or stay very close to his rump while running your hand along his body so he does not startle. Speaking normally and running your hands along the horse will help avoid spooking your animal.
- Introduction to the horse.
- For the first time, the horse should already be haltered and either in a stall or tethered. Now would be the time to bring that piece of carrot. Hold the hand flat with thumb tucked against the side of the palm and allow the horse to take the food. Stand at the side of the horse’s neck facing him on his left side. This is also the side where you will mount and dismount. Make sure he can see you. Speak gently. Scratch under his jaw or his chest as he prefers. Come forward and untie the lead rope. Lead ropes should always be knotted in a slip knot so a horse can be released with a single quick pull.
Since children may be too excited to pay a great deal of attention to the next three phases (2a, 3 & 4) some instructors choose to have a horse groomed and saddled and save the following three parts as follow-up instruction at a subsequent training session. Removal of the following three instructions is also appropriate for very young children. These techniques cannot be completed by any child who cannot reach the horse’s ears.
3. Practice standing near the horse and walking. Show the child how to be firm without shouting. Have the child hold the lead with one hand close to the horses head and the other to hold a place to keep the lead from dragging. Explain and make sure the child does not wrap the rope around their hands or wrist so that if the horse bolted they could just drop the entire rope without being snared by it. An intermediate skill to practice here would be jogging with the horse at a trot. Walk the horse in a circle bringing the horse to the area where you intend to groom. The slip knot should be demonstrated and the child should complete it at least once prior to moving to the next phase. Observe the child at all subsequent rides until the child can tie the knot without any assistance from you.
4. Grooming. The child should be taught the various implements used. A basic kit will include a curry comb, brush, hoof pick, sweat slicker (optional) and mane comb. Grooming takes place before and after a ride. The child should know that you use the curry (the sharp circular one) holding a steady and not overly hard hand moving in a counter clockwise fashion (against the hair) to loosen mud and hair under the minimum areas of the saddle, saddle blanket and girth. Horses generally like being curried so you may find that your horse likes his chest to be done and also his rump. You can also curry the legs and in a precise gentle way also get a patch of mud on the horse’s jaw. Horses are most sensitive on their belly and will shimmy their belly, pull away, bring a leg forward to kick at you or turn and bite you if particularly annoyed. Lighten your pressure in any of these cases and if this fails keep the curry to just the girth areas of the belly. The bony parts of the horse’s legs can also get unfavorable reactions so keep the curry comb to the other parts and only use sparingly to remove mud. A child should not be afraid to apply some pressure to the curry comb since the purpose is to loosen dust, mud and hair. It should be done thoroughly. Rubbing it over an area once will not be enough to accomplish the loosening needed. The next step is to brush the curried areas with the hair brush. Brush the hair flat and remove all loose material. Horses love the hair brush and it can be used on all parts of the horse’s body excepting be careful around the eyes.
The next stage is cleaning the hooves. For the purposes of this section, I will describe the procedure to you so that you can in turn demonstrate this to the child or beginner. I start at the horse’s left front leg. Stand with your back to the head of the horse and facing the tail. Run your hand down the horse’s leg and grab the fetlock area. Have the hoof pick in your other hand. Trained horses may automatically lift their leg but it is likely you will need to pull up bringing the hoof off of the ground. Rest the horse’s leg against your knee bring the hoof only a few inches off the ground. The hoof will be slightly in between your legs and to the side. If you are in the correct position, the horse is able to turn and bite you on your bottom. Most won’t. They are much more likely to put their foot down. Since they are strong they will probably succeed. Just lift the leg back up. When the horse sets his hoof down this is the most likely time they will step on your foot. If this happens, do not pull away but lean forward pushing your body weight against the horse. The purpose is to get the horse to shift his weight or step away. As soon as pressure is relieved pull your foot away. Depending on how much weight and how they got you this is going to hurt. Good shoes make all the difference. Now it’s time to clean out the hooves take the pick and slide it into the mud, pebbles, horse manure you find there clean it out from the sides. The sensitive part there is the frog and it is the leathery spongy part in the middle of the exposed area. Clean this area but do not jab it with the pick. Running the pick on its side here is one way to clean without worrying about hurting the horse. On either side is a cavity with a hard material bottom. The hard material may be scrapped with the pick without injury to the horse. This should be thoroughly cleaned out. Picking out material from the horseshoes is also a good idea. If there is a stone lodged in the hoof you need to work on removing it before you ride. Every leg is done in this manner. The back legs will be the ones the horse is most likely to put his leg down and must be done quickly. Most horses will take over when you release their leg putting their hoof down but some will need to be pushed down a bit to realize you are done.
The sweat slicker is used to remove sweat after a ride especially in summer and the mane comb is used to manage the mane and tail. These items should be easy to figure out but when you comb the tail stand to the side of the horse and pull it over. Do not stand behind the horse.
5. Saddling and bridling the horse. The girths should not drag and be brought over the seat. On the English saddle secure the stirrups. It is easiest to do this at the end of the last ride. On an English saddle, you pick up the metal stirrups and run it up to the seat of the saddle then you pull the leather strap through. This should secure them. Most English saddles have a saddle pad attached but with a western saddle you need to grab a blanket. Place the blanket so that its start rests slightly over the withers (the shoulder blades of the horse). Both types of saddles should be lifted and placed on the horse so that the saddle rests just on the edge of the withers. If you don’t get it placed correctly at first go ahead and lift and replace it until it is set right. Keep the English stirrups secured until you are ready to mount. Go ahead and drop the girth. Reach under the horse and grab hold of the dangling leather. Children may need an adult to push it over so they can grasp it. The English saddle is the easiest to secure you just fasten the buckles under the flap like a belt. A girth of either type is the proper tightness when you can only insert your fingers under the leather and should rest on the smallest circumference of the belly behind the legs. If you cannot fit your fingers go ahead and loosen the girth. Horses tend to suck in air when saddled. This means that after you have secured the bridle you must recheck the girth’s tightness. In some horses, you will need to recheck just before you mount. The western girth is secured in a different manner. Take the leather and pull it up through the O-ring from the girth up to the O-ring near the seat of the saddle. Push the extra leather through the saddle O-ring and bring it out and to the side as you look at it. Wrap it horizontal in front of the leather just below the O-ring. Take it up and loop it through the O-ring again bringing it out and in a vertical direction. Now tuck this through the horizontal piece you have just created. Pull it down. Tightening this girth will be needed and you must follow the leather re-tightening without untying the knot.
B. Mounting and Riding
Carry the bridle hung over your shoulder holding the reins up so they do not drag. To remove the halter go ahead and unbuckle the side letting it hang. Stand next to the horse’s head hold the bridle in front of the horse and pull the halter free of the horse’s ears. Horses tend to lift their head when the halter slides clear. If needed, circle the horses under the neck and behind the right ear with your arm to maintain some control. I prefer to hold the bit in my hand and lift it separate from the leather bridle bringing it to the horse’s teeth and having him accept it then quickly lift the bridle so the bit is not dropped back out of the horse’s mouth. This will keep the bit from smacking the horse’s teeth. Put the top piece over the horse’s head and secure the side buckle.
- How to mount properly. Bring the reins down so that they fall from the bit. Hold the reins with both hands. Emphasize the importance of holding the reins so that the thumbs are clear. Lead the horse into an enclosed space, if possible. Put the reins back up over the horse’s head and bring the stirrups down for the English saddle. Beginners can take the reins and a goodly chunk of horse mane in their left hand. Place the left foot in the stirrup and face the front of the horse. Beginners may need a lift and can have someone cup their left leg and boost them up without using the stirrup. A push from the bottom can also be used with the left foot in the stirrup. Swing the right leg wide so that it clears the horse and sit down on the horse. Encourage the child not to plop on the horse’s back. I have found that to maintain control bring the knee over and squeeze it against the saddle. The instructor may hold the horse’s bridle while the rider still has the reins in their hands. They should hold the reins so the extra material goes over the top of the hands. Hold the reins with a little slack.
2. Orientation on the horse.
3. Now is the time to train the child how to react if a horse bolts or another horse nearby bolts. First, the child should try to halt the horse the standard way with steady pressure with both hands. If this fails the next method is to tighten and loosen the reins with alternating uneven pressure to regain control (this causes the bit to slide through the horse’s mouth) and if that fails, shorten the rein tremendously on one side and allow the horse to move in ever tightening circles until control is restored. The final method involves the emergency dismount. This generally hurts upon landing. The feet will sting and strength is needed to push the rider clear of the horse. The child does not want to end up near the horse’s legs. This is not a riskless maneuver and would most likely be used to avoid a collision. The correct way to do this during a real emergency is to drop the stirrups and reins, although the reins may be draped over the saddle horn in the western saddle or a loose tie of the rein ends could be created to avoid the reins dropping down to the horse’s legs. The hands are placed on the pommel or the withers and the left leg is swung over the back of the horse as in a dismount. This must be done with more force to propel the rider off and away from the horse. Use the hands to push off as well. When practicing this dismount with a horse that is not spooked some people keep their hands on the reins. Emphasis the rider to use caution following any incident where the rider would use these techniques as it is possible the horse will spook again at something small.
4. The proper way to ride a horse is to use your legs and thighs to grip the horse. Many new riders and even some that have been riding for a while only sit on the horse primarily using gravity to stay there. Children will struggle with this at first since their legs are not long. Growing up many of my friends never made the transition to actual riding but continued to sit on the horse. You can notice this when a child falls for seemingly no reason such as a horse pulling forward to try and grab some grass causing the child to roll or fall off. The knees of the rider should be bent and heels should be pointed down. This stance will help keep full contact with the horse between the rider’s thighs down to the calves. A stair step can be used by the rider to develop more flexibility in keeping the heels down. Stand one stair up and lower one heel over the edge of the stair keeping the ball of the foot on the stair. Press down on the heel. Both feet can be conditioned in this manner.
5. The aids. There are four natural aids used to control of the horse. They are the voice, seat, legs, and hands. Unnatural aids include the crop, whip, spurs and most importantly the bit. Beginning riders will use the legs and hands the most. Experienced riders will use the seat most. Only after experience and practice will the rider gain the confidence and expertise to have an independent seat. Riders should work toward reducing the large movements to control the horse. As is traditional now and may be imperative in a TEOTWAWKI situation, voice should be used sparingly or not at all. The bit is the most useful of the unnatural aids. After a ride and after good individual performance, I do praise and pat my horse.
6. Time to ride. The first aid used is generally a kick or tap from the heels into the sides of the horse. A young child may actually need to lift their legs a bit to make an impression to get the horse to walk and later trot. The older the rider the less force will be needed and experienced rider will generally only squeeze the horse’s side with their heel or just reposition their leg slightly. The hands should stay quiet and be low near the horse’s neck. Once the rider’s seat is more developed go ahead and have them shift forward to also signal the command to start walking. Encourage the child to be firm and keep the horse from stopping or trying to eat grass. From a walk or trot, lean forward and squeeze the horse’s side to proceed to trotting or cantering. Later, when the seat is developed it is possible to canter without trotting first. Turning is accomplished by tightening the rein on the side in which the horse should turn. Have the rider avoid pulling on the horse’s mouth. This desensitizes them. If a horse salivates, while working the bit this is fine. Apply steady pressure on the reins to halt the horse. Now is the time to keep practicing. The emergency dismount should be practiced as well as walking and trotting. Save cantering for later lessons. If you are using an English saddle, you will need to post (lift yourself off the saddle) while trotting. I enjoy posting and find it makes riding a horse easier for longer timeframes. Posting when done correctly is all from the knees and thighs. Beginners will push off the stirrup at first but should work on strengthening themselves. Advanced riders can post in a trot with no stirrups (either removed from the saddle or crossed over so they do not bounce). These are the basic skills needed to progress to intermediate and advanced riding skills.
7. The ride is now over. Walk the horse and let him cool down. The harder he has worked the longer you should spend walking. Show the rider how to reach down and examine the horse’s temperature on his upper chest while still mounted. If he is hot there have the rider keep walking. Once the horse has cooled down have the rider dismount, pull the reins over the head and if using an English saddle run up the stirrups. Take him to the area where you will unsaddle and unbridle the horse. Have the halter ready at that location. Unsaddle and unbridle the horse. Have the rider slip the halter up and over the horse’s head. Now the rider should get a grooming kit and use the sweat slicker if needed and give the horse another curry and brush. The hooves should be examined as to whether cleaning is needed. After trail rides this may be necessary.
Happy riding.