Clarion Farm, Inc.

 

76

165

JJ G.

Cambridge, MA

7/23/2008 3 photos

My five year old, Ruby, is a natural horse kid.  She doesn't clean her room, she mucks out her stall.  When I'm making dinner she doesn't play with dolls she practices her jumping on her hobby horse.  She was given a hand me down bouncy horse and spends hours 'riding'.  
Trouble is, no one wants to actually put a five year old on a live animal.  Five year olds, especially girls, are really still very little.  Their legs are too short to reach the stirrups, they don't have muscle strength in their thighs to grip, and if the horse bolts they will go flying, because they simply aren't strong enough to control the big animals.
I spent a lot of time asking and googling, and trying to find anyone who does riding classes for kids under 7, and finally I came to the end of my long journey at Clarion Farms.  
Carly, the sweet owner of the school, works with as many as 15 of these little budding equestrians at any time, as well as running a summer camp for young riders.
She keeps some very mellow ponies and undersized helmets on site, and she really understands how to work with very young kids.
A one hour class consists of saddling, including grooming the pony, leading it to the ring, 15 minutes of riding on a long lead, then brushing the horse down and cleaning tack.  Perfect!
I do highly recommend Carly to any parent who has a little kid who wants nothing but to get onto a horse.  I wish she wasn't so far away from us, and the drive does make it impossible to get there more than a few times this summer, but it is so worth it for the happiness I can see on Ruby's face when she is on the pony!

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