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[RC] Little Big Man - Bruce Weary DCWell, Joe, we will agree to disagree on this one. As a father, I hold to the premise that when children are young, they are safest when with their parents, no matter what the activity--sky diving, skiing, snorkeling, sledding, skating, or speelunking. Even horseback riding. I have two daughters that rode endurance for years, beginning at ages 8 and 9. One of them ended up SW junior champ. They were on safe, predictable horses that never misbehaved, even when they had cause to. The parents made sure of that circumstance. And they were always within voice command distance. They were at FAR less risk than many of the adults I see riding on fractious horses with poor conditioning themselves, often with little core strength to keep them on the horse when it shies. I have seen dozens of adult injuries at endurance rides. As precious as children are, adult's lives and bodies are pretty precious to them, too. Just ask them. Remember, it's the adults bodies that go to work to provide for those kids. So where is the bigger risk, really? Can't remember an injury involving a child, although I'm sure they must occur.The alternative, leaving the child home at all costs when Mom and Dad go to a ride, in my mind involves potentially as much or greater risk to a child. He can stay home and eat chips and watch cartoons, and slowly join the ranks of our ever more obese population. By so doing, he can work toward diabetes and early joint replacement. It has been shown now that a sedentary lifestyle shares the same mortality rate of a pack-a-day smoker.And it begins in childhood. He can run around unsupervised inside or outside of his home, and encounter everything from adult medication bottles to drain cleaner. He can miss out on the bonding with his parents, a nationwide problem now. He can be at risk by being placed in the care of an unscrupulous but trusted sitter who may do him harm. I have a family member who was molested by a babysitting cousin as a 2-year-old, while the parents were away. At least the child wasn't riding a horse, though. Broken bones can be fixed. Some other things can't. There are good things that come of kids on a horse. I'll bet many or most of the people on RC had experiences on or with a horse as a kid. I know I did. My mother would cringe if she knew what I was up to. But I never got hurt. This presupposes that the horse a kid interacts with has been carefully screened and chosen. I loved Roy Rogers, and when Dale Evans was younger, she was hot! My first horse was a golden Palomino. No connection, whatsoever. Interestingly, all my horse related injuires came as adult. None as a child. Kids know all the nursery rhyme songs that make the day go by faster on the endurance trail. They charm everyone at the vet checks, and they don't drink all the beer. And, at the awards ceremony, they can run up and get Dad's award for him, so he doesn't have to get his tired ass out of a chair one more time. Joe, I understand where you're coming from on this. I really do. You're concerned about the safety of the child. We all are. We all come into this world at risk. And we expend great effort working to minimize that risk--everything from helmets to insurance policies. We can never eliminate it all. I think it is reasonable to understand "relative risk" and make choices that suit every situation. My kids wouldn't trade a minute of their memories of being in the saddle with Mom and Dad. And, with far more safety factors in place than risks, I would do it again. It's a choice, and with proper preparation, not an unreasonable one, at that. Thanks, Joe. Bruce Weary =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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 Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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