From Crash-Landings to Cookies

Help your young rider prepare for a fall, recover quickly, and move past it.

- JESSICA BEIN, JENNIFER PAULSON

When you've been riding your entire life, getting back on the horse after a fall has probably been drilled into you since the first time you stepped a foot into a stirrup. But when you're raising a young rider, you'll have more luck helping them grasp that concept with a little more nuance, a sense of humor, and fundamentals that become part of their muscle memory.

Taking a tumble from horseback can best be handled in three phases. I'll cover each of those phases in detail below, all of which I use to teach my riders, from the smallest to the most mature.

Phase 1: Preparation

When your child begins riding, I suggest teaching him or her to be ready for an emergency dismount. This means practicing a dismount at any time, off either side of the horse. I prefer to practice these emergency dismounts at the walk while doing other riding exercises..