Chapter 9

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Let’s think about what kind horse might match best with a teen age rider. This is quite a general statement since I’m sure there are as many types of teenagers as there are types of adults. Everyone is an individual; we have established that as true. Generally speaking though, a teenager has a strong young body, a quick alert mind and reflexes, and much more energy than the average 40 year old (although there are exceptions to every rule!). A teenager however, does not have the potential for as many years of experience as an older more “seasoned” rider and therefore may not make decisions that may be based upon this lifetime resource of information (a teenage brain has been known to make hasty or rash decisions about many topics… not just regarding horses…. Horses are usually the area where a teenager shows the best discretion!)

Let’s try however to find some helpful guidelines for finding the right horse for our teenage equestrian. First let’s assess how much mileage our youngster actually has in the saddle. Has our young adult had lessons since they were 6 years old, or have they just started lessons because a friend from school talked them into it? Does this kid stay at the barn all day every Saturday and every Sunday and have to be dragged home for homework on weekdays? I work at a public high school which (believe it or not) has a riding program as part of the large animal science curriculum. The students that I work with have the opportunity to ride four days a week. Sometimes these kids take each and every opportunity that they possibly can, and sometimes they hang back and find things to do other than ride that are horse related.