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Consider Horseback Riding Lessons For Kids As a Fun Activity
Today’s kids spend far too much of their time indoors in front of computers and TVs. This tends to cause many modern parents to be at their wits’ end when it comes to finding ways to entice them to play outside.
So readers who can relate to this problem might have to get a bit inventive. Have you ever considered horseback riding lessons for your kids as an alternative to this problem.
Maybe your kids would enjoy getting outdoors and learning how to ride horseback.
Instead of just encouraging them to engage in more unstructured outdoor play, try signing them up for horseback riding lessons for kids.
You can find out now how to get started below
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How Young is Too Young?
There’s really no consistent, industry-wide answer to this question. Some instructors begin offering horse riding lessons for kids as young as seven years of age, or even younger. [toc]Others believe that it’s best to wait until their students are more physically mature.
Kids of just about any age can at least enjoy a pony ride and many younger children are plenty mature enough to grasp basic skills. Ultimately, it’s up to parents to make the call on when to get their children started with riding lessons.
Required Equipment
I need to talk about one thing right now. Let’s get to it. Horseback riding does require somewhat of an investment.
Parents will need to pay for lessons and, more often than not, they’ll have to supply their children with proper clothes, boots, and an approved safety riding helmet.
Although it’s perfectly acceptable to get started learning about horseback riding for kids in used clothing, helmets should always be purchased new.
Make sure to bring the child to the store to be fitted for a helmet so that it will fit properly.
In fact I wrote an informational post that may help you out with this. You can go here to read, Buy Only a Riding Helmet Certified By ASTM
Benefits of Riding Lessons
There are many benefits of horse riding for kids, even before they’ve really gotten the hang of it. It gets them out of the house and encourages them to be more physically active.
It cultivates character and teaches them important life skills. Once kids have learned the ropes, it can also offer a great confidence boost.
Some of the lesser-known benefits of riding lessons may come as a surprise to parents. For instance, one study performed by the Tokyo University of Agriculture showed that students who took horseback riding lessons perform better in school thanks to increased cognitive ability.
Plus, it offers good, wholesome fun and that, in itself, is a good reason to enroll kids in riding lessons.
Getting Started
Even parents who are avid riders sometimes find themselves at a loss when it comes to actually teaching their children how to ride.
That’s why the majority of them enroll their kids in official riding lessons.
If you are a parent who knows your way around a horse, you can definitely help your child get to know what is necessary for them to be successful with a horse.
They can offer their children the following horse riding tips for beginners before they head off to their first lessons.
Mounting and Dismounting
The process of mounting a horse requires some pretty specific foot and hand motions and children who are still too short to reach a saddle’s stirrups will be physically unable to mount by themselves.
Make sure to help the child retain his or her balance when he or she tries mounting for the first time and offer reminders of which foot and hand to use where.
Learning proper dismounting habits is just as important as knowing how to mount a horse appropriately. Kids who are tall enough to mount a horse for themselves should be tall enough to learn how to dismount, as well.
Offer plenty of support, but don’t just lift them down.
How to Tell if a Child is Ready to Ride
Parents who have helped their children learn how to mount and dismount or those who have observed while a trained instructor did so should have an idea of whether their kids are really ready to get started riding.
Is Your Child Balanced It Will Make a Large Difference
Pay attention to how well-balanced the child is and whether he or she has had the attention span to learn the basics before allowing them to proceed with lessons.
Horseback riding can be perfectly safe for mature children, even at a young age, but they have to be able to really get the basics down before they start horseback riding lessons for kids in earnest.
Read More About Horseback Riding Lessons-View Related Posts Below
The Beginner’s Guide to How to Ride a Horse Western StyleThe beginners guide to how to ride a horse western style is a detailed report on basics that you need to know. I cover many different areas that a new horse rider should be informed of.
6 Basic Steps of Western Horse Riding LessonsWestern horse riding lessons are needed if you are going to ride a horse safely. You need to really enjoy the ride as well. Horses can be a great recreational activity.
