Re: Children

[mkgehrin@n-jcenter.com]

Kelli,

As usual with any question, there are a variety of responses.  Most
people did not recommend peacock stirrups (the ones with the rubber band
thingie on them) however.  Several people recommended letting the child
ride bareback and several others suggested using tapaderos (but make
sure that the child's foot can't get caught in between the hood and the
stirrup.  I am not a real fan of western saddles, personally, probably
because I grew up riding English and that horn always gets in my way. 
The horn seems like an accident waiting to happen to me.  I've ordered a
leadline saddle that has a little hand hold on it.  Its synthetic which
is a lot more secure than leather, I think.  You stick to it better. 
I'm going to experiment with letting my daughter ride bareback, with
saddle and no stirrups and saddle with tapederos and see which works
best.  Even though the saddle will have a hand hold, I'm going to
encourage grabbing mane as that has saved me more than once.  Lastly, I
was encouraged to always make sure my daughter has a helmet on (I'm
really supportive of this) when she rides and also when she is grooming
(which I hadn't really thought of, but sounds smart to me).  Hope this
helps.  It sure helped me to get all this feedback.  What a great
resource this list is- never ceases to amaze me.  

Karen Gehringer
Ormond Beach, Fl