Fact: Little Girls Love Horses.
Almost every girl in the world has dreamed of owning a horse. Some, perhaps, may have simply dreamed of brushing a horse.
Most girls, by and large, are horse crazy at one point or another.
Why then don’t more little girls have the opportunity to get involved with horses?
Finances
From a financial standpoint, horses are one of the WORST hobbies a little girl could get involved with. Horses and ponies aren’t cheap to buy, or lease. Add board, vet bills, farrier care, riding gear, lessons; then, once they start, the girls are only going to get better, get more involved, possibly get competitive (horse shows can be VERY expensive), and need even more gear.
Geography
For girls living in cities or metropolitan areas, it may seem impossible to get a little girl into horses.
Most, if not all major cities, have horse farms in the near vicinity, some even within city limits. However, “driving to the farm” no doubt could be a chore, and for some, nearly impossible.
Knowledge
People are unfamiliar with horses on a whole. Though horse association is common, horses, to the general public, remain mysterious to most US citizens. For the average America, “horses” equals:
a. the Kentucky Derby
b. the trail ride they went on at summer camp, or
c. the things that poop in front of ole’ timey “anniversary night” carriages
Horses are big, horses are strong, and because of Chrisopher Reeves, everyone knows horses can break your neck. And they poop.
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So, to recap, horses are costly, difficult, and dangerous.
Ever met a girl without any hobbies?
Little girls need to scrub water buckets.
Though barriers to horse entry are all valid concerns, getting young girls into horses offers them opportunities to create important and meaningful responsibilities before boys, parties, and other influences begin encroaching on their lives.
Why do little girls love horses in the first place?
Horses are big. Horses are beautiful. Horses can make great friends.
Horses are magical.
Horses are very empowering. Riding horses teaches girls to be natural leaders in societies where many stimulus shout the opposite. Horses require a “take charge” attitude from the rider. Horses need riders to stand up, take control, and be outspoken. Horses require character and confidence, and for a little girl, horses are the anti-timid medicine they crave.
Additionally, horses allow girls unique competitive experiences. Horse and rider are a TEAM. This team bond between horse and rider is one that is special, thoughtful, fulfilling, and in more ways that it isn’t, SAFE. And though horse and rider are a team, the rider is in charge. The rider, in her ability to pilot, communicate, and command is responsible for the team’s performance. With just proper training, horse riding is a very skilled activity little girls can do ALL BY THEMSELVES. Horse riding takes confidence, and it builds confidence.
Horseback riding is also one of only two Olympic sports that men and women compete side by side. Although women and girls dominate the lower levels of horseback riding, the upper levels, and especially, international levels of equestrian sports are split even between men and women.
Learning to fail and learning from failure is also an important part of horseback riding. Little girls often have a fear of failure that seems to be somewhat built in to their being. Learning how to ride horses requires failure, struggles, and mistakes. Overcoming fears, mistakes, and failures takes patience and determination. Little girls will learn that with time, great things DO happen.
Horses are expensive, and they strike fear in the hearts of protective parents. Ever met a girl without any hobbies?
Horses bring another important quality to a young girl, individuality, which is sometimes so scarce in a suburban landscape. Often times, young girls are trying to figure out who they are, what they stand for, how they think, how they work, and how they act. So many young girls aren’t able to effectively express themselves, and with the big group activities that EVERYONE else participating in, how can a young girl feel like she stands out from the crowd?
Horseback riding not only gives a little girl the ability to be herself, it allows her to figure herself out in so many ways. She doesn’t have to dress like the other 40 soccer players; she doesn’t have to act like the other group of girls who are all doing the same thing, without any true passion for what they are doing. Following the pack is something that seems almost necessary for most young girls. Brownies, Girl Scouts, and softball are not only giant group activities, they are also activities that require conformity. With team sports, or other group think activities, no one really stands out, and no one is really different. Is that a good message to be sending any young person?
Whether on the ground or in the saddle, horse piloting takes a charm, a style. And to everyone, their horse piloting is unique. And sure, in sects (and albeit highly touted, pressure filled sects), horse riding too can become about conformity (big horse shows, Hunters, snooty barns), but unmolested, horsemanship is sheer freedom (and to the adults, isn’t it sad how the word ‘freedom’ has become molested over the last eight years?).
Horses invoke freedom, strength, and confidence, naturally.
The most important path to enriching a little girl’s life with horses is through her teenage years. With financial and emotional support, if a girl can get into horses early and be encouraged to stay with it, outside, recreational activities that could end up causing real problems in her life fade to the background.
Most teenage girls I knew who rode horses weren’t interested in boys (at least not to the degree of non-horse teenage girls) weren’t interested in parties, drinking, drugs, and other activities that are often a result of boredom. Healthy curiosity and experimentation was natural, but horses always came first, and personal, responsible decisions were made because of horses. “I can’t go to that party because I have a horse show that weekend,” or “I can’t sneak out and go drinking with my friends because I have an early lesson.” Horses are a huge positive distraction when there are plenty of negative distractions constantly bombarding the teenage girl.
Finding the right barn with other children around is important, not so much for interaction, but for the general environment. Kids also need to be at barns that require them to work. Barns filled with $250,000 ponies (and their associated parents) negate almost all aspects of hard work, determination, and self reliance that go along with young girls and horsemanship.
Little girls need to scrub water buckets.
As far as disciplines go, I would always suggest young kids start out at hunter/jumper barns. Equitation and Hunters lessons require massive amounts of discipline otherwise lacking from say, Eventing (or barrel racing [shudder]). I have seen a lot of kids do well with Dressage, but Dressage may well be too tedious for the young rider.
To the young girl, horses are magical. Go get her some riding lessons.
Having a passion for something special is an important part of life. If a little girl has a spark of interest in horses, why not give her the ability to find out if it is a true passion for her? Not enough young people today have enough true passion or motivation. Lacking interests leads to boredom, and putting a child into other sports just to pass the time doesn’t enrich their lives. Not to get all “children are our future”, but happy, passionate, motivated, confident, and positive adults have head start on the rest of the world if they start out as happy, passionate, motivated, confident, and positive children.
And though barriers to horse entry are real and numerous, add up those team sports trophy pools, gymnastics classes, swim parties, and softball tournaments: think there is some monetary and time commitment room in there? After all, we know most young girls are horse crazy, but how many five year olds are screaming for the chance to play field hockey?
If you know a young girl, anywhere, go buy her a helmet and some horseback riding lessons at your nearest English barn.
I definitely agree. I think riding gives kids so much more than anything else they could do in their lives. I work with kids with Autism and I’ve seen, time and again, the healing and bonding that goes on between kids and horses. I started out riding on ranches–doing roping, penning, trail riding and barrel racing. I think it gave me a pretty solid foundation. I think the key is to get kids paired up with experienced horse people who really care about their horses and start kids from the ground up. I teach beginner lessons at my current barn and I make the kids brush and tack up and untack and brush every time they come out. I let them take breaks if their tired and I lift them up to reach places that they can’t get to–but I never let them give up on anything. Above all, kids need to have a work ethic and experience the kind of success that can only come after they’ve worked hard.
i agree completely. i remember once when i was younger my mom asked the owner of the barn i rode at “why does she always want to be here and not at home?” the woman responded “she feels at home with the horses, and she stays out of trouble when riding” – I didn’t really realize how true that was until I was much older. The horses kept me from doing the drugs, sneaking out, drinking, partying in general. My horse always came first no matter what he was number one. If friends wanted to go to the mall, but i had to clean stalls they went, and I mucked. I started out taking 1 lesson a wk when i was younger, when i asked my mom for more lessons a week to get better she said she couldnt afford to pay for them. I ended up cleaning tack, grooming horses, cleaning stalls, helping the older girls with feeding and turning out to work off those extra lessons. I learned hard work gets you what you want in this world. I am a grown woman with a full time office job, but every saturday i go to the barn, and I clean 1/2 the 24 stall barn, feed the horses turn them out, and scrub and fill water buckets.. all for my horse and the love of horses.
I’ve tried to explain the bond and love i have for horses to people and they simply stare at me like I have two heads or speaking another language. This bond is unspoken, one between horse and rider. Having the horses in my life from the age of 5 on was something amazing. There is no doubt that this is an expensive sport especially today with the economy the way it is going. My parents paid for exactly 1/2 of everything, I however even at 12 when i got my first horse paid 1/2 his board, 1/2 his farrier bill, 1/2 his vet bill, 100% shows, and lessons – lets just say I walked a lot of dogs and cleaned a lot of stalls!
Make it affordable for people other than multimillionaires and maybe it will catch on more. The cost alone for the accessories (saddles, whips) are astronomical .. part of the problem is that in some cities and towns, there is little or no competition for existing riding apparel shops.
One thing that concerns me is that some girls and woman who get extra-passionate about horses (involvement with horse rescues, etc.) are compensating for other problems in life, and those problems should be addressed as well.
Riding (some aspects) are available to people who aren’t multimillionaires. I know a bunch of riders who work in the barn just to pay for lessons, ride lesson horses, only buy apparel that they really need, and participate in schooling shows instead of the bigger name shows. There are TONS of options for people on tighter budgets who want to learn, maybe they won’t be able to compete at higher levels, but they can at least be involved in the sport in a more casual way. An even bigger issue than money is the amount of time required for even the most basic riding schedule (e.g. even weekly lessons can be a 4 hour per week commitment between driving, grooming and riding).
What a great article! Horses provide many opportunities for young girls to learn. They learn about being responsible for another living being. They learn many riding skills (balance, coordination, and as these skills increase, they learn to ride with subtle cues). Being around horses also comes with many other important lessons including equine nutrition, how to provide basic medical treatments, and knowing when to call for the vet, as well as how to cope with loss. If paired with an experienced equestrian who enjoys sharing his/her knowledge with the next generation, there is a real opportunity for mentorship.
The only drawback about horses is that there are many dishonest people in the horse industry. It is the duty of parents to make sure that they find a reputable individual who is a knowledgeable instructor and focuses on pairing a child with a well-trained older horse. Trainers, barn owners, sellers… if you do not have the child’s best interest at heart, you are not a professional and it’s time for a career change!
Hi Kristine!
Hope you get to the training level you want to be at. I love this article about little girls and horses. I agree it does build confidence, originality, and discipline. I am like you super passionate about my polo career and my training. Check out my site and I just liked you all on FB hope you’ll do the same.
best,
Libby
wow i love this article. first ne ive loved well written!
This story reminds me of my friend. She is allowed lessons, and wants to go into high level icelandic horse competitions. She has wanted a horse forever, works at the ranch, and rides other people’s horses for them because she has no one else to ride. She took care of my horses when I went on a three week vacation. And even so, her parents won’t get her a horse. They’re even trying to convince her into another horse sport because it’s cheaper than the Icelandic horses. Maybe they have financial troubles, but they missed their chance to get a horse for cheap MANY. MANY times.
It also seems that the amount of money needed to get a horse and the danger involved is greatly exaggerated. Sometimes under-exaggerated, and those parents end up with a kid in a hospital.
This makes me grateful that my parents care enough to get me lessons, and at age 11 when I wanted to get into competitions got me a horse.
Wow, this article says everything I’ve been trying to explain to parents for the past 10 years. I run a mentoring program from my sister’s barn where children learn to take care of horses and to ride. Our goal is to give young girls (and boys) the opportunity to become educated and skilled horse people, without having to purchase a horse. Most of my students come from families who cannot afford to buy and board a horse, but through hard work and dedication to our program, they earn riding lessons and even show credit so they can afford to be riders. They learn responsibility, and they stay out of trouble…and many of them have become horse people who I admire!
As a kid I was obsessed with horses. Unfortuanately my parents were busy/didn’t have the funds/notice it. I am married with two young boys. I started lessons a year ago. A few months ago I started having the boys take lessons. They love it. They ask when we can go see Rocco. My friendships ‘s TB. Yes they make comments about the farting etc but you can see they are having a great time. Everyone stops and watches them. Plus I have only heard positive feedback about them learning to ride. Yes its expensive and I help at the barn to work off the lessons but it is worth it. I am spending quality time with them and they are learning important life lessons. I just wish more riding clothes were available for boys. Lol They want to wear what the guy’s are wearing in the Dover catalog