Pressure and Release

Listen to your young rider, and put your own feelings aside. Pushing too hard can drive them away from horses. Timing is everything, just like with your horse.

- SHYANNE POSEY, WITH JENNIFER PAULSON

Improvement comes from hard work and outside pressure, but those two things could also be what drives your child away from riding if they're not mindfully implemented. Just as we do with our horses, a parent or trainer must know when to push and when to pull back to keep the child from resenting riding-or even abandoning it altogether.

In my experience working with young riders, I've learned how to "read the room," so to speak. I work to understand the child's level of maturity, what's going on at school and at home, and what they truly want out of riding, paired with their age. Then I can start to identify when to push them and when to cut some slack.

Age and Maturity

I have a 4-year-old girl riding in my barn right now. I only allow her to come for 30-minute lessons, once a week. The brevity of the lesson allows me to keep her attention, and the weekly lessons mean she looks forward to it and craves more every time she comes to the barn.