Frankly, I would consider it a tragedy if either a child or a horse were to die in an activity I encouraged him in. There's a matter of stewardship here. I am supposed to be smarter than the horse and more experienced than the child and I would hope that I would have the common sense not to put either at risk.
Of course, one might argue that my child is at risk when he passes through the front door each morning and climbs on the school bus, but my role for my son and my horse it to try to balance the risk (riding on rural roads with a stranger) against the gain (being appropriately educated).
