There are kids that turn up to ride (and they are not that young anymore) that parents are still running around behind them ; tying their hair, helping them put the helmet on, helping them adjust stirrups, helping them get a drink of water, and this drives me just a little nuts.

No, no, I am not being the mean b**** from hell but I would really like to see kids being more self sufficient. Many kids have no idea what to do with a buckle, so stirrup leathers become hard to adjust and headcollars take forever to come off.

Having parents help the kids with these things are not teaching them how to figure things out. It is not teaching them how to be independent or self sufficient.

Horse riding is a sport where yes, we often have eyes on the ground to help, correct and guide us, but ultimately when the s*** hits the fan, the rider is the one that needs to have the instinct and knowledge and the quick reaction to know what to do.

When kids are helped too much, their sense of self preservation and confidence in doing something that may seem a little strange at first is very much dampened. When they get on the horse, and when the horse puts his head down to eat grass, or worst still, spooks at the black garbage bag that was definitely not sitting there yesterday, waiting to eat him, the lack of self preservation dooms them to eating sand. In the best case scenario, they sit there stunned, waiting for someone to rescue them or tell them what to do.

I know parents love their kids dearly and want them to do well, but teaching them skills to cope with life is probably one of the best ways to love them. At the end of the day, the kid has to go out into the big bad world and learn to survive. The stable is a good place to start.. baby steps!

I don’t have kids so how do I know this? From an early age, I was taught to be independent and to deal with things, on my own or with some guidance from my parents. When I was riding, my parents never interfered or never tried to do things for me. So I ended up having to learn! And if I may say so myself, I don’t think I turned out that badly. (I know some of you may beg to differ!) 

Day 18 of the MCO. Halfway there… stay safe and stay at home.