Maybe an alternative would be to find out if it causes long term damage. (And I have no clue how you could do that, or if it is prohibitively expensive research, much less who would be the guinea pigs.) Then make a "informative release form" (ah, more paperwork) for the parents to sign. So they could make in "informed decision". (Some of us parents really don't know everything, we are even stupid on occasion :} ). But the other concern about the "unexpected" and the "unpredictable" nature of horses in a group, moving fast, with unresolved herd dynamics, green anxious horses, etc. That is usually what concerns most beginning riders it seems, the most. But perhaps , the statistic is so low on that problem: falling off, from getting bumped; having a horse back up and kick you in the knee, not being able to rate your horses speed, because he is "carried along", getting "run down" by a "win or all else" competitor the last mile: that is miniscule and not really a viable danger. Having had my kids in 4h, pony club, local saddle club, and trail rides with small kids, I have seen (some) thankfully rare, dangerous situations for the kids urged on by trainers or parents. A trail ride comes to mind with a tiny 5 yr old on her pony (sans helmet) , safe old pony, but another horse was scared of the pony and tried to back up and kick the pony and the little girl kept forgetting to stay away from the horse and the rider was just trying to barely control the horse. Or the trainer at a show who kept ridiculing a friend of my daughter to ride this pony in class after class with higher and higher jumps who was refusing ("just Kick him!!! she screamed") the kid was game ,fell off twice as he refused ,till she got dumped on a jump standard and hurt her tailbone and back. I think that is the kind of situation people are concerned about, where the adults are either idiots or competitively neurotic. (Returning back to just reading these posts, who have very valid concerns and reasons about protecting the kids)--- Laurie , mom of 4 homeschooled kids, and Rascal and Honey ----- Original Message ----- From: sharp penny Sent: Saturday, October 26, 2002 6:10 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] What are the facts on min age issue? I have been following this debate with great interest. As
another on this list has stated, I have been torn between
having a min. age and not. I feel in 98% of the cases the
parents have their child's best interests at heart and we
all agree no one wants more rules. However, even well
meaning parents can unknowingly hurt their
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
If you are an AERC member - PLEASE VOTE in the upcoming By-Laws
Election!!!! (it takes 2/3rds to tango!!)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
|
