Each young horse or old horse and each kid are
different. Some will work well together and some won't. Speaking as
a kid, I did all kinds of crazy things. I rode next to moving trains,
played cowboys and Indians, outlaws and good guys, swung to the ground
from a gallop (that rated me going to the hospital with my dad taking a brush to
get the gravel out of my knees), riding full tilt under branches and grabbing
them to swing off! My little part arab mare was incredible. She did
all this stuff without a twitch of her ear. I remember riding along a busy
highway and having a semi pass me with 6 inches between the truck and my
foot. At least it seemed like that. My parents knew nothing about
horses. But they sure found me a steady one and I sure never let on to all
the crazy stuff that I did. Of course when my kids came along, I was
pretty careful about what they could or could not do from horseback. BUT,
I have a feeling that they did just as many crazy things but were real
careful not to tell their mom. They have told me some of their antics 15
years later!!! Some kids will be fine with an unbroke horse.
Some won't. I have a feeling that whoever Kari sends to the free
horses that those kids will be fine and Kari will be a mentor. There is
never a true and tried method that fits every scenario. All are
different. Thank goodness there are folks out there that try to match kids
with horses and horses with kids. There are two sides to every story and
it behooves us to listen to both sides in order to make a valid judgement.
And even then I wouldn't count on our judgements being the right way to
go. Jeanie
