Hi, my daughter has only been riding two months, and I would like to buy her a horse. We don't want to spend very much, and don't want to buy something too old, so we have decided to buy something young and not particularly trained so they can learn together. It will be majikal. When can I come out and try the 3 and 4 year old horses you have for sale?
Seriously?
Would you send your child to a school that had someone their own age teaching the class so they could "learn together"?
Buying young/green because it costs less? It only costs less if you can do the training yourself...otherwise the cost will add up with training...and paying more for the horse is DEFINITELY cheaper than refitting your house to be wheelchair accessible.
But she is an "advanced beginner" and just loves horses. She will take weekly lessons to learn how to ride the horse.
Yes, because love IS truly all it takes to train a horse. Those of us with training issues just don't love our horses enough. And those of us who have taken YEARS of lessons to be able to ride a green horse are just really slow learners. And for those of us who are taking lessons to be able to ride well trained horses...well, you are REALLY slow.
It is just so darn hard to explain to some non-horsey parents about how much there is to riding and training. I am sure they mean well, but it is hard not to worry about the child's well being as you know someone is going to sell them something...suitable or not. The above parent was in sharp contrast to the parent I talked to on Sunday who had done their homework and knew enough to be reasonably safe horse shopping. I wish there was some pamphlet I could just had out..."How to not buy a horse that will maim or scar your child for life".
Sigh
Karen
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3 comments:
This just came to me.
If the parent can't get on the horse RIGHT NOW, they shouldn't buy it for the kid.
"Oh, but I don't ride"
(internal trainer monologue)"neither does your kid, really"
(external trainer monologue)"if you can't ride this horse RIGHT NOW then it is in no way safe for even the advancest advanced beginner"
Really, this should be virtually foolproof. Unless they really want a pony. Would you buy your kids a car that you were afraid to sit in or unable to drive? Cars don't even have bad days, but the best trained horses do.
Solution:
Invite them out to try a certain 17.1 hand 4 year old. Make sure they sign a lot of liability waivers first. Maybe before she gets on, she could also give Edgar some cookies.
Video what happens and send the link to all the other parents who want to buy their kid a nice horsey to learn majikal stuff with.
Amanda
I like both those ideas!
Apparently the daughter in particular had "issues" with the last trainer hence why she doesn't have one now. Owner is starting to agree that these people are bad news...
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