On the Fence

Janet Barrett

Description

Unless you're familiar with the sport, you're probably intimidated! This practical book helps you get your child off to a positive start. It answers your questions, helps you avoid common pitfalls, shows you how to get your child into the saddle without saddling yourself with debt, and helps you ensure that your child has a rewarding, enjoyable experience. It takes you step by step from the initial "get acquainted" period through decisions and purchases you need to make as your child progresses, covering:

• Sampling the sport, including package deals that give your child exposure without necessitating a commitment
• Choosing a stable, riding style, instructor, and course of lessons
• Comparison shopping to save on equipment and apparel
• Proceeding through more advanced training
• Participating in horse shows or other competitions
• Buying a horse (or not)

On the Fence gives you the inside scoop on how to help your child get started and progress as a rider. It shows you how your child can enjoy horseback riding in a way that suits her, your family's lifestyle, and your budget.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

1 So, Your Child Wants to Ride a Horse.

One Sport,Many Choices.

Introducing the Horse.

First of All, Riding Is Fun.

Benefits of Riding.

Any Drawbacks?

When to Begin?

Getting Acquainted with Riding.

What's Next?

2 First Steps Toward Riding.

Finding a Stable.

Good Stables and Not So Good Ones.

Stables for Every Taste.

Calling Stables.

Types of Lessons.

Checking Out the Stable.

Meeting the Instructor.

Special Considerations for Your Child.

Scheduling the First Lesson.

3 The First Lesson.

What to Wear.

Should You Watch?

What to Expect at the First Lesson.

Spotting a Poor Lesson or Instructor.

How Much Can You Judge from One Lesson?

4 Continuing with Riding.

The First Few Lessons.

The Right Horse—or Pony—for Your Child.

A Small Investment in Equipment.

No Coaching from the Sidelines, Please.

Learning to Communicate with Horses.

5 How to Survive in an Expensive Sport.

Keeping Lesson Costs in Check.

Finding Equipment to Fit Your Budget.

Making Shows Affordable.

To Buy or Not to Buy a Horse?

Keeping the Reins in Your Hands.

6 Walk, Trot, . . . and Now Canter.

What You're Both Learning Now.

Getting a Little Nervous?

Equipment Considerations at This Point.

Keeping It Fun.

Being an Interested, Knowledgeable Parent.

7 Starting to Jump.

Is Your Child Ready to Jump?

Is It Too Soon to Jump?

Starting Slowly.

Safe Jumping.

Beginner Jumps.

Understanding Jumping.

When to Slow the Pace.

8 Your Dedicated Rider.

Living with a Rider in the Family.

Increasing Benefits of Riding.

Keeping Watch over Schoolwork.

Equipment Considerations at This Point.

9 Getting Involved in Horse Shows.

Is Showing for Your Child?

More Than Ribbons: Benefits of Shows.

Types of Shows.

Can You Afford Showing?

When Is Your Child Ready for Showing?

10 Your Child's First Show.

What to Expect at the Show.

What to Expect from Your Child's Instructor.

How You Can Help . . . and Hinder.

Equipment Considerations at This Point: Show Clothes.

11 Looking to New Ventures.

Will Your Child Continue Riding?

Adding More Learning Opportunities.

Getting a Solid Foundation.

Expanding Options: Deciding Where to Go Next.

The "Horse of My Own" Bug.

12 Buying a Horse for Your Child.

What about Co-Owning?

It’s Not the Purchase Price, It's the Upkeep.

Involving Your Trainer.

What Makes a Good First Horse?

Vetting before You Buy.

Life with a Horse in the Family.

13 Riding—A Family Affair.

APPENDIX: THERAPEUTIC RIDING PROGRAMS.

What Can Be Achieved?

Is Therapeutic Riding for Your Child?

Choosing a Facility.

Beginning a Program.

Parents as a Part of the Therapeutic Riding Team.

GLOSSARY OF HORSE AND RIDING TERMS.

INDEX.

Sujets

• Animal Sports
• Sports
• Equestrian
• Recreation
• Sport équestre
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 06 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470244876
• Langue: English

Extrait

On the Fence
On the Fence
A Parent s Handbook of Horseback Riding
JANET BARRETT
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved.
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, Howell Book House, and related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising here from. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Barrett, Janet, date.
On the fence : a parent s handbook of horseback riding / Janet Barrett.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-471-75474-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-471-75474-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Horsemanship. I. Title.
SF309.B323 2006
798.2-dc22
2005027094
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Book design by Scott Meola, with Melissa Auciello-Brogan and Elizabeth Brooks
Cover design by Jos Almaguer
Book production by Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
Contents
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
1 So, Your Child Wants to Ride a Horse
One Sport, Many Choices
Introducing the Horse
First of All, Riding Is Fun
Benefits of Riding
Any Drawbacks?
When to Begin?
Getting Acquainted with Riding
What s Next?
2 First Steps Toward Riding
Finding a Stable
Good Stables and Not So Good Ones
Stables for Every Taste
Calling Stables
Types of Lessons
Checking Out the Stable
Meeting the Instructor
Special Considerations for Your Child
Scheduling the First Lesson
3 The First Lesson
What to Wear
Should You Watch?
What to Expect at the First Lesson
Spotting a Poor Lesson or Instructor
How Much Can You Judge from One Lesson?
4 Continuing with Riding
The First Few Lessons
The Right Horse-or Pony-for Your Child
A Small Investment in Equipment
No Coaching from the Sidelines, Please
Learning to Communicate with Horses
5 How to Survive in an Expensive Sport
Keeping Lesson Costs in Check
Finding Equipment to Fit Your Budget
Making Shows Affordable
To Buy or Not to Buy a Horse?
Keeping the Reins in Your Hands
6 Walk, Trot, . . . and Now Canter
What You re Both Learning Now
Getting a Little Nervous?
Equipment Considerations at This Point
Keeping It Fun
Being an Interested, Knowledgeable Parent
7 Starting to Jump
Is Your Child Ready to Jump?
Is It Too Soon to Jump?
Starting Slowly
Safe Jumping
Beginner Jumps
Understanding Jumping
When to Slow the Pace
8 Your Dedicated Rider
Living with a Rider in the Family
Increasing Benefits of Riding
Keeping Watch over Schoolwork
Equipment Considerations at This Point
9 Getting Involved in Horse Shows
Is Showing for Your Child?
More Than Ribbons: Benefits of Shows
Types of Shows
Can You Afford Showing?
When Is Your Child Ready for Showing?
10 Your Child s First Show
What to Expect at the Show
What to Expect from Your Child s Instructor
How You Can Help . . . and Hinder
Equipment Considerations at This Point: Show Clothes
11 Looking to New Ventures
Will Your Child Continue Riding?
Adding More Learning Opportunities
Getting a Solid Foundation
Expanding Options: Deciding Where to Go Next
The Horse of My Own Bug
12 Buying a Horse for Your Child
What about Co-Owning?
It s Not the Purchase Price, It s the Upkeep
Involving Your Trainer
What Makes a Good First Horse?
Vetting before You Buy
Life with a Horse in the Family
13 Riding-A Family Affair
A PPENDIX: T HERAPEUTIC R IDING P ROGRAMS
What Can Be Achieved?
Is Therapeutic Riding for Your Child?
Choosing a Facility
Beginning a Program
Parents as a Part of the Therapeutic Riding Team
G LOSSARY OF H ORSE AND R IDING T ERMS
I NDEX
To my husband, Walter Terlecki, and to the memory of Rio

Acknowledgments
To some wonderful friends for their support: Angele McGrady, for her unending encouragement; Cynthia Parkinson, for reading the manuscript through the eyes of the uninitiated and offering many excellent suggestions; and Dawn Papachristopoulos, her late husband, Theodor, and daughter, Amy, for being my special role models.
To Kitty Stalsburg, program director of High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc., in Old Lyme, Connecticut, for helping me to appreciate how much is available to children with special challenges.
To Roxane Cerda, senior editor, for her enthusiasm and support; and to Kitty Jarrett, development editor, for all her help with this project.
And to the many parents I ve met through my years in the sport-people standing at the fence, as happy to talk as I was, who shared many of their delights and concerns as they watched their children learning how to ride.
Chapter One
So, Your Child Wants to Ride a Horse
It started out with such a familiar ring, you only half paid attention.
Hey, mom, you know what I want to do?
No. What?
I want to ride a horse.
Pause. Long pause. You d heard that question a thousand times before, but this answer caught you completely by surprise.
And there was such intensity. Can I, please? Can I?
A jumble of thoughts raced through your mind, if not right out of your mouth. You want to do what ? Whatever gave you that idea? Or maybe, I don t know, ask your father. Or an incredulous, Ride a horse? No, it wasn t what you expected. But if you have opened the cover of this book, maybe you are willing to give it some thought.
Of course, there are many variations on this opening scenario. In fact, parents, noticing a child s interest in horses, will often be the first to think about riding lessons. But there the idea sits, for lack of knowing how to proceed.
Now this book can guide you by answering your questions, helping you avoid the pitfalls, and trying to ensure that you and your child will have a positive, enjoyable experience in the world of horseback riding.
The idea for this book came out of my own experience, though I was neither a child rider nor the parent of one. I actually took up riding seriously as an adult, starting as a beginning rider at thirty-eight, to be exact. Because of my age, however, I got to know lots of parents. And, as I progressed, I helped to answer many of their questions.
As you read on, you will notice that I refer to the young rider as she and the instructor as he. To be sure, there are many young boys beginning to ride and women instructing them, and my choice is obviously not politically correct. It is merely meant to simplify the use of pronouns. You can switch them in your mind s eye to suit your own situation.
Have you noticed how many children are intrigued by horses from a very early age? Whether they are the polished mounted police horses used in cities, those graceful horses ambling about as they grazed in rural pastures, or the spirited horses seen in Hollywood Westerns, they captivate children. Yet, unless you, another family member, or a close friend was or is involved in the sport, from a distance, riding can seem rather intimidating and inaccessible, not to mention costly. It doesn t have to be any of those things.
How you react to your child s insistence on riding a horse probably has a lot to do with your own experience or lack thereof. If you rode horses when you were a youngster and remember it as being fun and exciting, chances are you will be receptive to your child s wish to do the same. All too often, it is the other