Would you let your daughter take up horse riding?

[waterwonder]

BlackLabel said:

Melanie Reid, the Times journalist, broke her neck horse riding 5 years ago and wrote about it extensively. She is now a quadriplegic and has written about this topic - she said she would still recomend horse riding as an activity for any young members of her family.

I also recall reading about a young guy who broke his neck playing rugby and it left him completely paralysed below the neck. He comes from a rugby playing family and many of his family members still play.

It's funny isn't it. I know of two people paralysed by horse related accidents. Both still advocates of horse riding.

I can't see me entertaining the idea if/when the time comes. Understand why people like it bit it's expensive, time consuming and risky (in my anecdotal experience amongst my peers).
Which ever way you cut a horse is more unpredictable than a ski or a motorbike etc etc to me that makes it seem fundamentally more risky.

Edited by waterwonder on Wednesday 18th March 23:10

[omgus]

Pothole said:

KFC said:

miniman said:

Nail. Head.



Set of tts IMHO.

I always make sure to give them an extra blip on the throttle when I see these tossers.

talk about pot and kettle, the horse has done nothing.

Cocksprocket. The polite riders are tossers, but deliberately trying to startle the hoss is a fking stupid idea.

[LooneyTunes]

vixen1700 said:

Two does seem a bit young, but hey what do I know?

Maybe it's better to start young? But at that age it does seem a bit 'forced' rather than a choice.

Both of my kids have been riding since two, albeit all rather pedestrian stuff so far.

You can't force them to do it (they'll just get off) and you need to have:

1) The right horse (in our case an ancient shetland) that has seen it all before; and
2) An acceptance that they'll sometimes go for periods of time without wanting to ride (before suddenly wanting to do it again); and
3) An acceptance that a 2 y/o "riding" is likely to be him/her getting supported in the saddle for a lap, maybe two, of the arena.

I can't imagine a 2 y/o having a programme of lessons working out terribly well and/or having to do it on a livery yard would work. Much easier to do that when they get to 5 or 6.

I don't ride but I love having the horses around: they're pointless (and time consuming) creatures but give me carte blanche to spend on cars without any risk of long term aggro from the wife.

[Don]

No, personally. But you'll have to. Your OH won't stand for a "no" would be my guess.

[ClaphamGT3]

BlackLabel said:

Melanie Reid, the Times journalist, broke her neck horse riding 5 years ago and wrote about it extensively. She is now a quadriplegic and has written about this topic - she said she would still recomend horse riding as an activity for any young members of her family.

I also recall reading about a young guy who broke his neck playing rugby and it left him completely paralysed below the neck. He comes from a rugby playing family and many of his family members still play.

Anna Turney, the UK para-Olympian down-hill skier broke her back in a snow boarding accident. She (obviously) and all her family are still passionate skiers.

The Dutch royal family all still ski, despite losing the Kings brother in an avalanche a few years ago.

My mother now walks with the aid of a walking frame following the degeneration of her hips and pelvis following a hunting accident ten years ago but I, my children and my brothers/sisters-in-law/nephews and nieces still ride

I think that intelligent people just accept that these sort of sports carry risks

[KFC]

omgus said:

Cocksprocket. The polite riders are tossers, but deliberately trying to startle the hoss is a fking stupid idea.

If there was an easy way to ps off or inconvenience the rider without upsetting the horse, I'd go for that. But there usually isn't.

They want to act like cocks and force people to slam on the breaks by pretending to be police officers, so I don't have any sympathy for them at all. I did stop one time and try and report a crime and laughed when she sheepishly tried to explain she wasn't actually a police officer.

[Tony 1234]

Not read all the thread but I agree with you OP, in circa 1983 one of my office girls used to go horse riding every week, however one time the horse bolted out of the field over a hedge and onto a main road were she was hit by a car and died, all my employees attended her funeral which was very sad because she was only 17.

I had many, many arguments with my daughter a few years later when she was about 17 and wanted to go horse riding, we compromised in the end and she used to help out with the local Riding for the Disabled group.

[CrutyRammers]

KFC said:

omgus said:

Cocksprocket. The polite riders are tossers, but deliberately trying to startle the hoss is a fking stupid idea.

If there was an easy way to ps off or inconvenience the rider without upsetting the horse, I'd go for that. But there usually isn't.

They want to act like cocks and force people to slam on the breaks by pretending to be police officers, so I don't have any sympathy for them at all. I did stop one time and try and report a crime and laughed when she sheepishly tried to explain she wasn't actually a police officer.

They wear those jackets precisely because dicktards come blatting round corners and "have to slam on the breaks[sic]". Now who, exactly, is being the tt in that situation? Why do you feel the need to piss them off? Because they are using the road and in your way?

[walm]

KFC said:

I did stop one time and try and report a crime and laughed when she sheepishly tried to explain she wasn't actually a police officer.

Not sure why she needed to be sheepish.
Perhaps she wasn't used to dealing with illiterate retards.

[Pothole]

KFC said:

omgus said:

Cocksprocket. The polite riders are tossers, but deliberately trying to startle the hoss is a fking stupid idea.

If there was an easy way to ps off or inconvenience the rider without upsetting the horse, I'd go for that. But there usually isn't.

They want to act like cocks and force people to slam on the breaks by pretending to be police officers, so I don't have any sympathy for them at all. I did stop one time and try and report a crime and laughed when she sheepishly tried to explain she wasn't actually a police officer.

Or they're just trying to not be thrown off because impatient impolite arses won't slow down...

[Pothole]

doogz said:

KFC said:

If there was an easy way to ps off or inconvenience the rider without upsetting the horse, I'd go for that. But there usually isn't.

They want to act like cocks and force people to slam on the breaks by pretending to be police officers, so I don't have any sympathy for them at all. I did stop one time and try and report a crime and laughed when she sheepishly tried to explain she wasn't actually a police officer.

It's spelt "brakes" and you shouldn't skam on your brakes when you see what you think is a police officer. You should be driving at an appropriate speed regardless of whether it turns out to be a police officer, joe public on their horse, or a bike, whatever.

And your last sentence, that didn't actually happen, did it? Why make st like that up? To make your point more convincing?

Did you mean 'slam'? Here's your petard...

[p1stonhead]

KFC said:

miniman said:

Nail. Head.



Set of tts IMHO.

I always make sure to give them an extra blip on the throttle when I see these tossers.

fking moron.

The horse hasnt done anything to deserve you bring a fking prick.

[mph1977]

KFC said:

miniman said:

Nail. Head.



Set of tts IMHO.

I always make sure to give them an extra blip on the throttle when I see these tossers.

while i do not advocate the mis representation that these particular ( none approved) Hi-vis play with ( as seen on motor cyclists as well ) have you seen the damage that a horse can do to a car when some fartwarbling cockwomble decides to play silly sods ?

just think it throughj the better part of a tonne taking a flying leap at your car ...

[P-Jay]

Pothole said:

The insurance will be based on their opinion that horse operators won't be very safe, I would guess, but it would only be a guess.

So your 'knowledge' is based on some vaguely remembered half-arsed "research" you did years ago? A truly excellent contribution and a great help to the OP, I'm sure!

Their 'opinion' will be based on the number and size of claims made as a proportion of people partaking in any particular activity - after all, as specialist sports insurance providers they have far better data on what their customers intend on doing on their holidays. Underwriting is not blind guesswork, based on the opinion of people sitting in the room saying "ooo, that looks risky".

At least my knowledge is based on fact, historic, half-remembered or otherwise - not just opinion based on whether the poster is pro or anti horse riding.

[DoubleSix]

Thanks. All very thought provoking, appreciate the first hand experiences shared.

On the whole my worry has been tempered a little by the responses. Someone mentioned that we are talking about trotting around a paddock on a long rein not show jumping and I think that is a useful perspective as well as the benefits of caring for an animal and mixing with adults - all good stuff I suppose. Unless someone has some really compelling stats I'll have to accept that the anecdotal tragedies are just that.

Some of the other comments are amusing and just to address a couple of recurring themes;

a) I'm not worried about 'sets'. tts come in all shapes and forms and you'll find many at track days, sports events etc etc. Besides my in-laws situation is more rural small holding than full fat RR land Surrey.

b) Costs are not my concern here. Firstly because if they want her to ride then they will have to pick up the tab afaic. And secondly because if we don't have it then we can't spend it so no amount of whinging from a teen can change that. If we do have it I'm quite happy saying "no" when things get excessive.

So, my concerns always centred around the danger involved rather than any other aspect and I still have significant reservations there but feel some of the points made will probably stop me from slamming the anchors on this too early, I think.

[Timmy40]

mph1977 said:

KFC said:

miniman said:

Nail. Head.



Set of tts IMHO.

I always make sure to give them an extra blip on the throttle when I see these tossers.

while i do not advocate the mis representation that these particular ( none approved) Hi-vis play with ( as seen on motor cyclists as well ) have you seen the damage that a horse can do to a car when some fartwarbling cockwomble decides to play silly sods ?

just think it throughj the better part of a tonne taking a flying leap at your car ...

Is reasonableness on both sides perhaps needed? Horse riders on a single track lane IMO could very reasonably expect passing traffic to slow to a virtual crawl as they pass the flighty beast and it's horse, however if a rider decides to take their horse onto a busy NSL A road then it's reasonable IMO to expect the horse and rider to be suitably experienced with traffic that passing car could slow from perhaps 50 to 30-40mph without the rider and horse having a fit.

It is the latter case that causes a lot of issues where I live with some members of the horsey set deciding to take very flighty horses out on a busy A road at rush hour and then gesticulating wildly at passes cars who fail to slam on their brakes and decelerate from 50 to 5 on immediate sight of a horse. It's dangerous for everyone.

[Munter]

My horse mad cousin has only fallen off and fractured vertebrae in her neck once. But after several months of her neck being immobilised in various ways, she's fine, and back riding.

Given the rock climbing, caving, "tyre rolling", and other more dumb stuff we did as lads in my family. A bit of horse riding seems fine. Just wear the best safety kit you can get your hands on and go for it.

[mph1977]

Timmy40 said:

Is reasonableness on both sides perhaps needed? Horse riders on a single track lane IMO could very reasonably expect passing traffic to slow to a virtual crawl as they pass the flighty beast and it's horse, however if a rider decides to take their horse onto a busy NSL A road then it's reasonable IMO to expect the horse and rider to be suitably experienced with traffic that passing car could slow from perhaps 50 to 30-40mph without the rider and horse having a fit.

It is the latter case that causes a lot of issues where I live with some members of the horsey set deciding to take very flighty horses out on a busy A road at rush hour and then gesticulating wildly at passes cars who fail to slam on their brakes and decelerate from 50 to 5 on immediate sight of a horse. It's dangerous for everyone.

pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians have an unequivocable right to use the roads, the operators of mechanically propelled vehicles do not.

care to re-phrase your assertion after reading the HC and cited Legislation .

[mph1977]

some of the comments about ' the horsey set' can be applied to any activity

arguably ' football dads' are just as bad if not worse than anything the horsey set produces - i've seen more violence and insults from football dads than from banger racers - and banger racing really is a 'salt of the earth' type activity ...

and there is a certain amount of ironing and huge manatees aobut directing her to ballet rather than activities equestrian ...

i thnk we shall those wondering with the sage thoughts of one N Coward esq.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt7FvKkgl7o

[bishbosh66]

Having read in wonder some of the responses on here, I can only feel sorry for the future of the OPs daughter. A lifetime of cotton wool and hand washing beckons. Please let her at least find out if the whole horse scene is for her. We have two horses and my step daughter wants nothing to do with them, despite having had some lessons (at her own request) at a younger age. My wife gets as much pleasure out of tending for the horses as actually riding them. The combing, cleaning, washing thing gives her a chance to get much closer to the animal, and therefore get more attached and involved with it. Maybe caring for the horse will provide a good lifeskill for the OPs daughter.