# At What Age?



## Andieve (Aug 6, 2012)

I was just curious how old everyone was when they started riding? My daughter loves horses and just started lessons at 4 1/2 years old. She is surprisingly quite good for a kid but taking it slow (learning to groom and tack up with a short period of riding in the middle).

I was just wondering how old everybody else started at? 

(I love reading everyones stories and posts by the way! )


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

My aunt had me up with her at 2 yrs old. My first horse was also that same horse she had me on at 2 yrs old an older mustang gelding named musty haha.


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## BubblesBlue (Jun 29, 2010)

I've been told repeatedly that when I was little, not even able to walk, that I used to ride on my mom's back as she rode her horse.
I don't know if that's true or not but I do know I've been riding ever since I could.


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## Jore (Dec 4, 2010)

I started when I was nine. I was bitten by the horse bug way before that, but my mom made me wait until I was nine to start taking lessons. Much to my annoyance, she let my younger sister take lessons around the same time.. I was quite sure that she was the favourite for awhile after that. She's quit though.


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## TheAQHAGirl (Aug 10, 2012)

I think I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade when I started to ride.


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## EthanQ (Sep 5, 2011)

My dad always has told me that before i could walk, he'd sit me down on the horse's neck in front of the saddle and let me ride with him because he couldn't keep me away from them, then I remember my third birthday, he turned me loose on an old gelding who only walked and ate.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

I think around 7 or 8? I got my first horse at 11 and that's when I consistently started riding multiple times a week. Before that it was once every 2 weeks or so.

I had my niece on a horse at 2 and my newest niece on one at 10 months. The younger one (15 months now) is going to be the horse guru. The older one is into clothes and makeup. (AT 7!)


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Gosh, I've been "riding" pretty much since I was old enough to hold my own head up. When I was an infant, my Dad would sit me in front of him in the saddle when he was warming up his show/roping horses. My very first memory is of one of those times. I just sort of progressed from there. As I got a bit older, whoever I was riding with would give me the reins and let me steer while they rode behind me. 

In this picture, I was about 5 months old









When I was 3, I got my very first "horse" all to myself...which was actually a 34" tall mini-burro.









Then, when I was 4, I graduated up to our old 16hh "outlaw" roping horse


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## Houston (Apr 15, 2012)

I started riding on a regular basis when I was 20...a little more than one year ago.

Sometimes I feel a little behind, but better "late" than never! :-o


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I rode a horse for the first time when I was 8 and was lucky enough to get a few, maybe 3, lessons for my birthday that year. After that I basically had a horseless existence until I was 13 when I got weekly lessons for my birthday. 
And then I got Lacey right before I turned 17 and have owned her since.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I had been on a few dinky trail rides at national parks when I was little but I learned from books. I could read when I was 4 and went nuts on horse books and drove my parents crazy for one!
I started riding when I was 7. I was at a local fair and met the pony ring people, they hired me to ride their ponies on their off days to keep them sane. I went with them to other fairs and mucked, groomed, tacked, and help manage the operation. First riding and first job!
I got my first horse Babe a little black Arab mare when I was 8 and only got to ride her for a few months. She sadly passed foaling. Then at 11 I got my first real horse, a "green broke" 18 month old Quarab. She was nuts and I had to train her myself, we were going to learn or die trying! I've had several horses other horses but Sky taught me everything I know.

I started my kid when she was a baby, I think she was only 8/9 months the first time I held her on a horse. I had her riding bareback at 2 but on a lead. Now she's 7 and has had two horses. Not quite the fearless little cowgirl I was but no pressure, hoping she'll grow into it some day!

My old man Rooster that carted her around.








Her first Pony.
















Her horse now, Cowboy.

















Smrobs your photos are FANTASTIC!


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## Andieve (Aug 6, 2012)

I love the pics and stories everybody! I guess I forgot to add my own! I didn't start riding until I was 14. I knew a lady who lived close that had a gorgeous paint, she also ran a bait shop that my dad bought minnows from. One day while we were there I asked her if I could come over and just spend time grooming her horse or something. I was lucky enough for her to say that I could do that and ride occasionally. From there I did a short stint in 4H with the same horse and started riding with the ladies niece who had a little brown pony. After that I "worked" for a stable that offered trail rides. I rode along on trail rides for free as a helper...it was awesome. LOL

It's been...eh...probably 14 years since I've ridden a horse, but being around them while my daughter takes lessons is great  Such beautiful animals


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## 4everiding (Jul 3, 2012)

I pet my first horse when I was less than a year old and that's when my mom said horse fever hit me. She took me for my first pony ride before I was two and I started regular lessons when I was 5...now at 26 I think my horse fever has only gotten worse, but I certainly am not looking for a cure .


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## kccjer (Jul 20, 2012)

I really don't remember the 1st time I rode a horse. Mom says Gpa use to lead us kids around and around for hours. I DO know that Gpa got sick and couldn't walk after I was around 4. When he died (I would have been 7) I had been riding by myself for quite some time. My older bro and I would ride our mare out from the house and then RUN back....got my little bro thrown that way cause he didn't like to run. BTW...it was the only way WE could get her to run so that's why we did it...I don't suggest doing that and stop my daughter when she does. My boys were on a horse with me when they were a few weeks old. My daughter wasn't so lucky as we lived in Germany when she was born and her only access to horses were at the fest. My granddaughter was put on a horse with my daughter when she was only 5 months old (gave her mama a heart attack when she saw the pics too!! hehe)


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## kayleeloveslaneandlana (Apr 10, 2011)

I've been riding since an infant. I used to sit up on my sisters horse with her and walk around. You could never get me off! Then started taking western lessons at 4 I think, changed to a Hunter at 7, and at 8 went to Dressage full time! At that time I had gotten a horse (who I don't own anymore) and have been riding almost everyday since!


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## soileddove (Jul 27, 2010)

I've been riding since I could walk supposedly.. ha ha I sure don't ever remember not riding, anyway.. I was riding by myself on a regular basis by 4 though. I started out riding with my grandpa and then by myself on an awesome QH gelding named Duke.

Here we are at the start of a parade. An old Native American friend of ours always used to ride Duke for parades.










Here's me and Duke.. I think I'm 5 or 6 in this picture.










I rode Duke until I was about 11, when he was put down. Then my grandpa got me a greenbroke 3 year old named Bo.. He was an awesome horse too.


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## Customcanines (Jun 17, 2012)

My first ride was when I was 2/ My dad rented a horse and put me on in front of him. He said I spent the whole ride throwing a temper tantrum because I couldn't ride by myself. After that, i started lessons when i was 9 and had my first horse at 11. (A 3 year old unbroken quarter horse ridgeling) I kid my mom about trying to kill me, but he never hurt me OR bucked me off (miracles DO happen LOL) Anyway, boy did he teach me to ride!!


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## Princess Bubblegum (Jul 3, 2012)

I started at 7. My 10 year old sister got me into it.

We "worked" for 2 hours, rode for 2 hours.. Not allowed to use saddles though. It was crazy when I look back, but it made me such a great rider!

One day, I made another rider friend at school who came with me to a day at the barn.. She was shocked that we didn't use saddles, and told me how dangerous she thought it was, and I was scared to death after she told me. I left the barn and started proper lessons, LOL. My mom has absolutely no horse knowledge and wad just trusting the BO. It was a breeding farm, not a lesson barn.

But heck, I used to post bareback!! I can't even hardly do that now! Lol.

First horse was a present from ma, a young super green Haflinger. Taught me a lot.. Still have her, and gosh, she's still a ton of work!


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

I'd always gone pony trekking for an hour once a year when on holiday, but I got my first riding lesson for my 13th birthday (two years ago), and then a month later I started regular lessons. 

Princess Bubblegum, I would love to have learnt how to ride bareback! I'm not allowed to at my stables unless I go to a pony camp which I can't afford


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## chukka (Jun 14, 2012)

my dad used to put me up in an english saddle with him when I was 4 1/2 years old, and i was up there on my own by the time I was 5!


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I started weekly lessons when I was eight, then started having two a week and then three a week, and then got my first horse for my 11th birthday. 

I had horses up until I was 17, and then have been going in and out of them for a couple years, up until now. Kept getting the wrong horses, but now I have Rosie and I think she's right


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## AnnaHalford (Mar 26, 2012)

First time on a horse probably around 3 or 4, a fairground thing. Hooked. Lucky enough to have weekly lessons at a local school until I was 13 or 14 - I spent lots of days hanging round the stables helping and so sometimes participated in longer day events as a return for that. When I was 13 I rode a pony for a family whose son - the owner - was away at boarding school. I groomed and did stable work for another family with a few horses. 

Then, at 16, I discovered motorbikes  

I still rode occasionally between then and going to uni, but less. During uni I was racing motorbikes so had no money left for anything, but I groomed for a livery stable as one of my many part-time jobs and rode from time to time if someone needed their horse exercised. 
Then after uni, I started working abroad and with no fixed base, it's been a largely horse-free zone until last year, so a gap of nearly ten years. I rode when I got the chance - I've ridden some lovely Arabs in Chad, and in Somalia, and a couple of imported warmbloods in Kinshasa. Here in Afghanistan I am supposed to be going to see some buzkashi horses - that's the game a bit like polo only without mallets, and with a headless goat/calf instead of a ball... - next week. I'm quite excited!


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## SamBadger (Aug 7, 2011)

I had just gone 14 when i started lessons, because i remember i had been riding for a few weeks and they made me trot in a circle on my own whilst everyone sang happy birthday to me


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## busysmurf (Feb 16, 2012)

My first time on a horse that wasn't a pony ride, was when I was 5 on my best friends horse. That's when I became impossible to live w/, EVERYTHING was about horses, LOL. 2 yrs later we moved to the family farm, & I joined 4-H and the horseless horse program. I did that for 2 yrs, until I got my first horse, Chancy. He was a free lease from a 4-h leader. We kept him for 5 yrs ( he died at age 42!). When I was 12, we bought a McCoy "breeder" mare, who turned out to have a few issues & wasn't safe to ride.

At 13, I got Odie, who I still have today (he's the one in my avatar). Shortly after I got him, I started training & riding for other ppl.

I had my daughter when I was 22 and she was on Odie, by 3 months old. She's been on a few trail rides here & there but only started getting serious about it in the past 2 yrs & been taking lessons. She's 9 now and going to be learning huntseat w/ Odie now so she can show him.

My son who's almost 4, I can't keep off of Odie. I caught him in the stall with a step ladder trying to get on Odie! (My son is Hudini at escaping out of the house w/o us knowing). Odie was just standing there, stall door wide open, waiting to see if he could do it or not
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## fkcb1988 (Aug 16, 2012)

I was about a year old when I went on my first trail ride behind my mom with my family. I was 2 1/2 when my mom got her horse Big Boy whom she still has today.

It was shortly after around 3 years old a friend of my parents would let us borrow their little dark grey and white pony for me to ride on the trail rides we would go on. I started to hate ride him cause his skin was so loose the saddle would move when he walked. I hated that feeling lol. So I opted out of ridding him and would ride with my mom or in the wagon until lunch break and I would eat quickly then my mom would let me ride Big Boy around all by myself. 

Mom and Dad let me ride Big Boy in the pasture but he would only walk no matter how much I kicked my little legs to get him to trot. Finally one day he started troting! My mom said "I guess he thought you were ready." Finally I guess when he thought I was ready to graduate to the next level he would canter.

I was 7 when my parents took me to the sale barn and I picked out my first horse White Lightening. He was sold ad 18 from a dude ranch but ended of being 29/30. He was my heart! He had to be put down at 39/40 

My	boys were a few months old when they got first put on. I believe my oldest was 3 months and my youngest was 4 months. They are 5 and 3 now and my 5 yr old wants a black and white paint that he wants to name Avinon. Lol he came up with that some how!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## fkcb1988 (Aug 16, 2012)

This is me on Big Boy at 3 or 4!
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg581/fkcb1988/1a16c541.jpg
My youngest at 4 months on my dads horse Tank!
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg581/fkcb1988/867b441e.jpg
My oldest with my cousin on Tank back in Sep. 2009!
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg581/fkcb1988/1a16c541.jpg
My boys on Big Boy this past winter! Big Boys 26 now.
http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg581/fkcb1988/de4b1148.jpg


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I think I was 2 years old, my brother took me on his pony, I do remember vaguely being very young. In fact I can't remember at time when I didn't ride. This is my granddaughter, she's been on horses since birth, part of the heritage in my family!


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## DotDotDash (Sep 13, 2012)

I really wanted to ride from the time I was 4-5 and I saw a particular horse movie. I think I was 6 when I went to horse camp for the first time - I did a week of that 2 summers in a row, then when I was 8 I started taking riding lessons. I would have started sooner, but when my parents first started looking for them they couldn't find anyone who taught kids younger than that.


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## wild old thing (Jun 15, 2012)

I started at 64. But had an accident on skates, stopped and started up again at age 65. 

Should have started 62 years sooner, but this will do. :thumbsup:


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## attackships (Jan 12, 2012)

i dont remember the first time i was on a horse, but i started taking lessons at 6 when my dad mistakenly took me instead of my older sister to her horse back riding lesson when he was watching us after school. 

a year later at 7 i got my own pony!









i took lessons and boarded my pony on that ranch until i was 10, and then my parents bought property that was suitable for horses so we moved there and i stopped lessons. 

I'm 22 now and im thinking about taking lessons again. 

my old boy now!


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

I started riding aged 18 months, 
I was competing at 4 yrs old,
I think i was probably 4 or 5 in this photo


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## samshane (Feb 5, 2012)

39! I hit the big 40 at the end of the year and it is something I had always wanted to do so I decided that who not start now. I'm in lessons now and loving every minute of it.


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

Andieve said:


> I was just curious how old everyone was when they started riding? ........


Got my first horse at age 10. A sale barn treasure of unknown breeding but I loved her....

More followed soon after and I hope I never spend another day without at least one!


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## barrelbeginner (Jan 31, 2012)

Starting riding before I could sit up.! haha.. Im 15 now.. probably got my first horse when I was like 4.. a paint mare named velvet.. then just rode any 27 of my families horses.. now I have 2 that I call MINE.. a filly( in training from me(;...) and a barrel gelding..


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## WesternJake (Jan 29, 2011)

I've always been horse crazy. 
I'd get "pony" rides out at my aunt's QH farm when I was a tiny little kid - probably around the age of 4, but I never started really riding until about 13 or 14? I honestly don't even remember! LOL. And even then it was just every few months. After I graduated HS, I cleaned stalls on the weekends in exchange for riding. That's where I met Jake. Now 2 years later and I own him, and I made a lot of lifelong friends from that barn. I think of them as family. 

Emily


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## z0mbie (Sep 19, 2012)

I only started right before my 15th birthday this year. Wish I started earlier


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