Riding lessons for younger kids

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Marypeac25

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Apr 3, 2024
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Lately I have been teaching a couple kids to ride. I am kinda new at teaching other kids to ride, but does anyone have any suggestions that might help me teach them? Any tips?

I feel like one of them is ready to move to trotting, but I’m not exactly sure how to move her into some trotting as well.

I am also wondering if y’all think mixing a couple bareback walk lessons in would help give them a better seat?

I would appreciate any suggestions or tips!
 
More info is needed. What age are the children? In the UK many little children have lead out pony rides with stirups in walk and trot before they learn to ride independently at about 8 years old. In UK lessons the student must have either a saddle or a bridle. They get a good seat by riding without stirrups for part of the lesson and learning sitting trot. It isnt normal to teach young kids bareback as most of them are taught or allowed to hold the front of the saddle.
 
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Are you certified? Do you have insurance? Are you a minor? If you're a minor your parents are on the hook for accidents. If you board then so is your barn owner/land owner. Even if you aren't a minor If you board then they can be held responsible here in the states. Especially if you have no qualifications. As you don't know how to proceed from this point I'm going to say you aren't ready to teach. You need lessons yourself and a good mentor to train under and work with when you get ready to.
 
Skib said:
More info is needed. What age are the children? In the UK many little children have lead out pony rides with stirups in walk and trot before they learn to ride independently at about 8 years old. In UK lessons the student must have either a saddle or a bridle. They get a good seat by riding without stirrups for part of the lesson and learning sitting trot. It isnt normal to teach young kids bareback as most of them are taught or allowed to hold the front of the saddle.
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One is 10,10, 9,8,7,6, and 5... I have all the equipment, and helmets for each student. I have been debating allowing the older more experienced kids to have a few lessons that work up to bareback riding. With the english riders that are learning to trot, I let them use a grab strap for the front of the saddle, and for the western kids they use the horn. Thankyou for the advice!
 
carthorse said:
What immediately springs to my mind is do you have insurance for teaching? Like it or not riding is a high risk sport and if anything goes badly wrong I wouldn't trust parents not to sue. It's kind of you to teach these kids, but you could end up losing a lot.
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I do not have insurance. I am not worried about getting insurance due to the fact that all the kids that I am teaching I am good friends with the parents, and some of them are related. Thankyou for the precaution. If I do wind up teaching other kids that I dont know much about, I will get insurance!
 
Marypeac25 said:
I do not have insurance. I am not worried about getting insurance due to the fact that all the kids that I am teaching I am good friends with the parents, and some of them are related. Thankyou for the precaution. If I do wind up teaching other kids that I dont know much about, I will get insurance!
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That's your choice, but even good friends may feel differently if their child ends up with life changing injuries or dead - yes those are worst case scenarios, but they do happen.
 
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SpooksHavinFun said:
Are you certified? Do you have insurance? Are you a minor? If you're a minor your parents are on the hook for accidents. If you board then so is your barn owner/land owner. Even if you aren't a minor If you board then they can be held responsible here in the states. Especially if you have no qualifications. As you don't know how to proceed from this point I'm going to say you aren't ready to teach. You need lessons yourself and a good mentor to train under and work with when you get ready to.
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I am not certified, I am in high school. Pretty soon I will be taking college riding instructor classes. The horses, and equipment they ride with is all mine. The kids that I am teaching are all family friends, or relatives.
 
carthorse said:
That's your choice, but even good friends may feel differently if their child ends up with life changing injuries or dead - yes those are worst case scenarios, but they do happen.
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I gotcha... The horse I have been teaching them on is a older slow horse that has a lot of riding time on him.
 
I do have experience with horses, and the show ring... Being a competitor, a horse trainer, and having horses of my own for years, I wouldnt call myself non knowledgable.
 
All it takes is one, one serious or even not so serious accident and no matter how nice you think mommy and daddy are, THEIR insurance company that will be footing the bill... They aren't so nice. They'll come after you and your parents. And those little horse riding is a dangerous sport signs and waivers (that I'm betting you don't have) don't protect you like you'd like to think they will. Your parents homeowners policy? Well that will be history when they get approached for payment. The risk is you could lose everything they worked for. If you board then it gets even more sticky.
 
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