That's a good age to be getting started at:)
I can see a conflict developing for Jenny. I'm at a loss what to do. The horse that Blake, her stepson, rode last year at playdays probably won't be able to be used this year. He is very old, and they have a terrible time keeping him sound. I'm think his problem is arthritis, and/or founder. He belongs to Jenny's inlaw parents. They bought him for the grandkids, 3 years ago. They have another grandchild who use to ride him too, but last year she switched to a different one, so that the old horse wasn't getting used so much. She gets to ride alot more then Blake because in the summer Blake is with his mother.
Anyway there was talk last night (I kept my mouth shut:), about Blake riding Dot this year at playdays. Jenny doesn't really want to do that because Dot isn't really trained thoroughly for barrels. She'd be safe, but he could also confuse her on the barrels. The grandparents, (and I'm not critisizing) never really have made the kids learn to run barrels properly. It's just been whup and ride. And to be honest, I don't know if you could get kids to really do it properly, their legs aren't long enough to really give signals with. I think they could be made to use their reins better. But it's not for me to say:)
Anyway. I know Jenny does not want to be selfish with her horse, but she doesn't want her messed up either. She showed alot of promise last year at the clinic. With some consistent riding, which Jenny hopes to do this coming year, she could be really good.
The thing I'm looking at mainly is, at this point I don't believe Blake is alll that interested in riding. He pretty much told me so. He doesn't mind getting out and piddling around down trails, but from what he says to me and watching him, horses right now are not his thing. I told Jenny that and she agrees, but his daddy, and grandparents aren't resceptive yet to hearing that.
Becky
Sounds like a lot of people deciding what Blake will do without asking Blake ;~D How often are these playdays?
My suggestion, knowing the smartest thing to do is to not say anything, is to maybe have Jenny work with Blake to not confuse Dot... or if the playdays aren't very often, don't worry about it. I don't think Dot would be ruined if it's only occasionally running around with a kid. If it's every week though, it'd be more of a problem.
On the old horse, have they had a vet out? might be that with some treatment for his symptoms, he would be more sound... Maybe Bute him the day before and on playdays.