Teaching a 3 year old to ride a pony?

Question

how did you approach it etc? all advice appriciated

Answer 1

Make it all fun and just do a little at a time. Let her groom, do his mane and tail and generally treat him like a my little pony, lead him about and stuff.  Obviously you need a pony that is very tolerant and enjoys fuss.  Use either a cub saddle or attach a handle to the front D rings on the saddle so she has something to hold onto.  It is a good idea to have someone leading the pony and another person to hold the child (have some sort of loose clothing on her that you can hold onto so don't have to grab her limbs and unbalance her)

When she is riding just let her get a feel of the pony.  Put cones and poles out for her to just walk over an round and make it all into a game.  Teach her to do round the world and other exercises and if there are any other little ones about get them to do it at the same time so it can be a contest.  Only do as much as she is happy with and keep it to short bursts.  

One of the main problems I've seen with the really young ones riding is if they do fall off, the parents get very protective and worried.  Yes this is understandable but it tends to feed through to the kids and them they are scared too.  So unless she is really hurt, pick her up, wipe the tears away and stick her straight back on and take her attention away from it by doing something she enjoys on the pony.  

Good luck with it!

Answer 2

Make sure she has a helmet on and more power to her!  If she really likes it, she'll be a pro rider at a very young age.  I wish someone taught me how to ride at a young age.

Answer 3

My little girl (she is now 6) rode in front of me for many miles on the trail.  I would sometimes let her handle the reins.  Then she got ponied behind me on another horse for almost two trail riding seasons.  Last fall I turned her loose and let her ride by herself, but until she was four she was attached to me by a harness (started in a snuggly before she could walk) so that if she fell off I would have her.

3 is an iffy age.  A lot of horses will not tolerate a child's reining.  And in the US ponies often have a bad reputation for being temperamental(though I understand that in Great Britain they tend to be much more docile).  Also 3 year olds tend to be a bit clumsier than older children.

One thing to consider.  If the little girl falls off at the age of three she could develop a fear of horses and not want to ride again.  I only mention this because I have seen this happen occassionally.

Answer 4

My step-daughter was 4 when I met her dad and we stated dating.  He had a horse and so did I.  She started riding not long after we met.

Start off my putting her on the pony and have someone walk alongside holding on to her leg as you lead the pony around.  For extra safety, make sure she is wearing a helmet.

Once she gets a good feel for riding and keeping her balance, begin teaching her how to make the pony go and stop.  Of course, you should still have a lead rope attached where you can control the pony from the ground.

From there, start teaching her how to turn the pony left and right.  What I have found helpful is to put a red ribbon on the right rein and a blue on on the left rein.  This will help her know which way to pull the reins should she get her left and right confused.

Until she has mastered all of these, you should keep a lead rope attached so you can step in if needed.  From there, you can put the pony on a lunge line and direct your child from more of a distance while still maintaining some control of the situation.

Keep your instructions as simple as possible and go step by step.  Giving a 3 year old too much information at one time can cause her to forget what you have said or what she is supposed to do.

Come up with some simple 1 or 2 word commands for her.  For example, use the word "Stop" when you want her to pull back on the reins and stop the pony.  Use the word "Go" when you want her to squeeze the pony and make him go.  If she gets "Right" and "Left" confused, use the color of the ribbons on the reins.  Use words such as "Walk", "Trot", "Canter" when she is ready to pick up some speed on her pony.

When my step-daughter started riding, she actually rode with me in the saddle until she got a good feel for how the horse moved.  From there, we actually put her on a very well-trained horse (mine) and rode next to her giving her some instruction as we went.  It really helps if you've got a calm, well-mannered horse to begin with.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 5

Whoa there... a 3 year old child.

This is too young to teach. If you are talking about getting your child used to horses and ponies that is one thing, but to give a 3 year old child instructions and expect that child to have the motor skills to follow those instructions is something else.

It sounds to me that you are pushing this child a little early in its life.

There is nothing wrong with sitting your child on the pony and LEAD the pony around while you constantly check your child's basic riding position, this is safe.

Please don't let your 3 year old out on a pony by itself, it just isn't safe!!!

Answer 6

3 is pretty young to start, but there is no reason why you can't begin to work with the child and the horse on the ground.  I would make sure that the child wore a helmet on and off the horse.. also make sure that shoes are appropriate to protect sensitive toes.  I would start with leadline w/no reins and a western saddle where they can hold onto the horn.  Try to get a saddle where the child can put their feet in the stirrups.  

You can work on excercises like three point and other balance issues at first w/no reins.  After the child is comfortable at the walk and jog, you can go back and add reins.. (still on leadline).  If you have a round pen to work in, that is great since if the pony or horse gets away from you, you are in an enclosed space.  you can teach the mechanics of whoa and left/right backing on leadline.  Once comfortable on leadline.. you can move to lunging the horse.  the child can practice halting the horse at walk and trot gaits.  I imagine that this would be about as far as you would want to go in the first year.  You could also pony the child from another horse if you are very confident that the child could stop their horse if they got loose.  I would wait until the child is closer to 5 to do much "independant riding".  however, if you have a prodigy on your hands and a super safe mount.. some walking off lead in a round pen or small ring may be ok.  Better to start slow and safe than scare the child right off the bat and turn them off the sport for life.  Good luck!

Answer 7

At my barn, children over age 6 can be taught. It really isn't safe to let such a youg child ride. Even though you think the pony is calm and harmless, it is a living creature and can react in any way. If you're that desperate, ask your trainer or vet for advice

Answer 8

I'm both a mom and a riding instructor. I personally won't start a child younger than 5 in lessons. Pony rides & playing walking games on a leadline are fine, but to ride independently a child needs to be able to process thoughts fairly quickly, which a 3 year old cannot do. There is also a certain amount of physical strength and coordination that a 3 year old will not have developed yet.

But if you want to get the child comfortable on the horse, this is what I would do.

Put the pony on a leadline,use an appropriately small saddle with safety stirrups, and a horn or handstrap. No bridle, but rainbow reins attached to a halter are ok.  Stay in an enclosed area with no hazards.  Put a helmet, boots & preferably a body protector on the child. Keep "lessons" short - 15 or 20 minutes, and work on the simplest skills. I like to put brightly colored rolled up polo wraps on fence posts/jump standards around the arena and have the child go around picking them up - teaches looking ahead, stopping, starting and steering. We can make up endless variations on the theme, so the kid stays interested. Plus young children know their colors, so you can say "lets turn right toward the yellow polo" and the child will understand, when saying  "turn right" might not work. I wouldn't trot a 3 year old - walking is enough. Good luck!

Answer 9

My son started riding alone at about three. He has been around the pony for a year by then and had learned horse safety by then. Teach safety first. No loud noise, no walking behind the pony, always wear a helmet, no hitting the pony, ETC.

   Have the child spend time with the pony feeding, brushing, and petting this will allow the child to feel confident around the horse and the horse to be comfortable with the child.

   Start of with the horse on a lead and teach the child simple commands such as how to stop the horse. As my son became more comfortable with the basics we let him ride in the round pen and he did very well. It helped that we had an experienced pony!

   My son will be five next month and he now rides alone even on trail rides, with me close by of course.        My eight year old has his own horse as well. He learned on the pony and for his eighth birthday he got a welsh.

   Good luck!

Answer 10

sounds so cute. but i would recommend the rides be pretty short just because 3 year olds have a short attention span and some will just get bored pretty easily. first of a helmet is a must. put the pony on a lead line and walk beside your child and teach him/her to balance holding the front of the saddle or if you have one of those straps that attaches to the front of the saddle she can hold on to that. . if she does that fine. have her do some simple stretching excerses because this helps alot with balance and also its simple enough so she doesnt feel uncomfortable and confused. tell her to reach for the ponys butt!! hold for about 5 seconds then switch hands and do the same. then tell her to reach for the ponys ears! hold for 5 switch arms. then she can reach for each of her toes with each hand etc.  then teach her to hold the reins. set up some cones to weave in and out of to learn how to steer. you can set up some ground poles to just walk over so she can feel it and steer to it. doing circles and cerpentines also is great for learning how to steer at a walk. you can also have her learn starting and stopping by having a mail box or a bucket and put something inside like a news paper. start at one end of the ring at a hault. whenever you want her to stop tell your child to tell the pony woah or ho which ever you prefer using.  then tell your child to squeeze and say walk ( i doubt her legs with reach so your probably gunna have to get the pony started) then walk to the end with the bucket and tell her to stop next to bucket. you can set up some cones for him/her to weave through going to the bucket. then he/she she can reach for what evers inside. this is jsut one of many obstical courses you can have to teach how to steer and stop. you can do these learning how to trot too. when you think shes ready to trot. i would have her learn in the half seat position and tell her to grab on to the mane so she has some support. tell her to squeeze and say trot. trot one end and then go back to a walk. when teaching her to post help her by saying up down up down and teach on a pony that trots slow and even. you can then teach to steer and stop with the obstical courses. then teach the sitting trot or you can teach before posting.  i would wait a while to canter because 3 year olds are pretty small. hope this helps! good luck

Answer 11

throw ur 3 yr old on the poney and lung it get her us to the way the horse moves then tech the rest after shes not scared

Answer 12

i dont think its too young. the way you should approach it is to have them next to you at all times. in fact you might try double riding a horse with him/her at first. just keep in mind s/hes still a baby and you want it to be a good experience.

Answer 13

I started my little sister off riding when she was 3 (almost 4) and I first put her on (with a helmet and saddle) with someone holding onto her and someone leading the pony. Then, after a few times of this, I held one hand on her and one hand on the bridle. After this went well a few times, I started just walking alongside the pony and letting my sister steer. After a while, she was confident enough to steer by herself, with me just standing away from her. We are still working to teach her. I would definitely use a trustworthy pony and do not push the child any farther than they want (let them get off when they ask); then it won't be fun anymore. Hope this helps! :) Good luck! <3

Answer 14

Hi,

Well, I have 4 kids!  My two oldest are some of the best hands you have ever seen riding!  They learned at 7 and 8 years to ride, now they are 17 and 15...  Both are 1D Barrel racing champions and team rope, ranch sort, pole bend and trail ride.

My 10 year old started riding at 4 years old, we ponied her out on the trail.  She had a 13 hand horse, which was nice because she could have one of my older kids or myself get on her and remind her of her manners and keep her toned up!  She is my more timid rider and we are on her 4th horse now.  She isn't a speed freak, but knows how to ride fairly well.  She has been bucked off once, sunk in quick sand, had the horse take off after stable mates (she stayed seated and stopped the horse) but all of these things made her more resistant.  It has really taken my BIG paint at 16H that is 100% trusted and kids safe to bring up her confidence.  While she never gave up riding she never has had a huge passion like her older sisters.  We have a new horse shipping in this week for her!

My 6 year old (only boy), just got his own horse last week and is mad as a hornet that we are insisting that he is ponied on the trail.  While he is riding her alone and fine in the arena, I want to know this horse better and his skill level on her before I would even set him free to follow us on the trail.  I found that while he is getting riding lessons in a holding pen from his sister (who gives lessons) his attention span is SHORT.  MAYBE it has to do with riding double with us since he was 2 and riding my horse alone too.  BUT, we did get him a 14H paint, so that we can keep the horse toned up and knowing that she has to mind.

While many people have luck with ponies, our experience has been better with horses.  Ponies do turn out some nice confident riders, but all of the ones my kids have given lessons to their owners on have been trouble.  So we tend to look for a quiet, smaller horse that we can ride too.

Your 3 year old is plenty old enough to be lead around, and taught the basics, but this depends on the pony.  SOME of them are born babysitters, and some of them LOVE to have the little ones on them, because they can do what ever they please!

Use your best judgement, you will know, just take it slow and easy.  Watch for signs that the pony is frustrated, teach you 3 year old how to be soft in the face.....

IT is a lot of work, but lots of fun when you can all ride together!

Answer 15

I teach young children to ride .... FIRST HELMET!!!!  Troxel now makes a 12 oz toddler helmet!  Find a small trust worthy pony ... you need 2 adults to start ...

Have one adult lead the pony and one adult side walk.  Do NOT use any reins ... if the pony drops his head he can and will pull a child forward and either off over his head or down on the front of the saddle hurting the childs belly.  The side walker is the IMPORTANT person ... stand on the left side and place your right hand on the child's thigh ... NO SAFETY BELTS ... just picture your child "tied" to a running pony ... or a loose saddle hanging on the side of the pony ... you are the safety belt ... and off you go.  If there is trouble just grab your child and pull them off .... work slowly from there .... rememeber "shaken baby syndrome"  

it is NOT good to be trotting young kids all over the place ... their necks are not strong enough ... their heads are heavy and even heavier with a helmet .... you will be able to tell when they are ready to go solo ....

A good exersice is "posting" or "rising" walk ... really builds the leg muscles.  Once they master that exercise make them drop their "sturrips" or "irons" ..... 2-points helps with balance.

Good Luck ... remember not to push .... it has to be their love not ours .... my 3 year old rides maybe 2 or 3 times a month .... but loves it!

Answer 16

Well if she is scared of the pony. Try to get her to be used to him. Have her brush him, give him treats, and bond.

If you are able to (thats if your pony isnt to small for you too) then ride him with her for a while. Or stand next to her while some one else leads the pony.

Thats what we did with my cousin when he was riding my horse. and he was two. So im sure he/she can try it. Thats if she likes it. Which i hope he/she does.

But yea try that and see if he/she likes it then contunie it and eventually let her ride by her self.

To let all of you know a three year old can ride a horse, or a pony with out it being dangoures. There are even competitions they can enter.

here is a video of a three year old riding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsyfxhnYg...

Answer 17

First, you start with a dead broke, dependable pony or horse, of a height that a person walking alongside can easily snatch the child off if need be...

Add helmet and body protection vest...

And keep them on leadline, regardless of how fearless they are, with one adult at the head and another at the side.

And do it knowing that it is an inherently dangerous activity we love, and even when you do everything right, and take every precaution, tragic accidents still happen.  As they do in strollers, on bikes, in pools, etc.  Constant vigilance, no shortcuts, no "just this once."

We can't wrap our kids in bubble wrap and keep them indoors...they are going to be out and doing things...you just have to use your head and diligence to minimize the risks as much as possible.

Answer 18

Assuming the pony is sensible and fairly well behaved, I 'd start out leading your child bareback with a hunk of mane to hold. My three kids,and many others I have known, started out this way. I used to lead them in from the pasture on the bareback horses as early as two years old. Teach in an arena with no grass if possible...otherwise the pony will want to eat.

Periodically trot (warn the child to get ready) and go back to the walk if the bouncing is severe.  Tell the child to hold fast to the mane so falls can be more like sliding off. Keep walking, trotting, walking (you should be alongside the pony's head) until the child can sit the trot without hugging the pony's sides with his/her legs.  The balance being developed stays for a lifetime, so this is a wonderful foundation for all future riding pursuits.

Next, do the same thing with the pony under saddle...the feeling is different so it takes adjustment.  A western saddle with a horn is great for this...keep on with this until the child can sit the trot with arms held out to the side, feet out of the stirrups, and no bouncing.

Next bridle the pony and put a halter on over the bridle with your lead attached at the side.  Explain the sensitivity of the pony's mouth to instill a hesitation before any pulling occurs.  At a walk, have the child turn the pony left and right...this is very important since turning is the slower- downer- stopper control. The last thing to teach is the straight stop.  Have the child dig his/her bottom deep into the saddle and tighten one rein.  Teach to release and tighten again more...release...tighten until the pony stops.  Be sure the pulls are not held more than a few seconds before a release.  If that goes well, try it with both reins at the same time.

I let my kids start riding independently in an arena when they could turn and stop consistently, and get the pony to move out at a walk after the stop. I was always right there with them, of course.

I was able to use a lunge line to teach the canter...but I didn't start them cantering until they fully understood everything at the walk and trot.  This will be enough to keep you busy for awhile.

EDIT: Hi again.  I decided to add to this after reading back through all of the answers you have received. A three year old has to be observed and assessed to determine what's next at each step along the way. Those who are instructing as professionals face liability issues, and cannot risk what we as parents can determine for our children. That said, in my experience, children are capable of far more than they are being given credit for in some cases here. I'm also a nurse of almost 40 years, with 10 years as an orthopedic nurse and 4 years in pediatrics, so I know what can happen to children. I have full respect for the safety concerns of parents and instructors alike.  That said,my children were balanced, confident, and could do things at five on horseback that were the direct result of their beginnings. My children fell off and got back on many times...none of them developed a fear because of it. In fact, falling off is a part of riding...with mom there to catch them, the falls are part of the learning. I think we can get so carried away with safety concerns that it actually increases the risks for injury.

Answer 19

Leadline!  A three year old definetely needs an adult helper walking next to them at all times while learning, and the pony should also be led on a lead.  Reins can be attached for the child to hold and learn on, of course, but the child shouldn't be "in control" of the pony themselves.  I would not ride on the pony with the child, because then you have practically no control over the horse or the child.  Also, the only thing that will teach the child about riding is that they just have to sit there and enjoy the scenery where someone holds onto them.

An anti-grazing device (i.e. a string tied from the bridle to a dee ring on the saddle) needs to be worn by the pony to prevent him putting his head down to graze, as a three year old will likely tumble right off if that happens.

I am no expert on young children, but I would have to think that at age three, the main objective of riding lessons would be to get used to the way riding a horse feels, and letting the child get experience in the saddle so they can get an idea of how sitting on a horse requires different balance than, say, walking on the ground or sitting on a swing.  They can also be taught proper behavior to use around horses, such as watching the volume of their voice and not making any sudden moves.  They should also be taught that if at any time they want to get off the horse and/or are feeling frightened, they need to tell their adult helper in a "regular voice" as opposed to throwing a mini-tantrum and trying to scramble down out of the saddle by themselves.

EDIT:  !!!  There I go assuming things go without saying...!  The child (and any rider) MUST wear a properly fitted helmet.  Must must must!  The suggestion of a body protector vest isn't such a bad idea, either.

Answer 20

start the 3 year old on lung line while the 3 year old sits on the pony. show her all the different gaits of a horse and show how to sit and what to do