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Go horse riding
Don't panic! We know horse riding can cost an arm and a leg but young children can get lots of fun horse riding without horses!
Of course it does help to have a go at the real thing and you can contact a local stables via yellow pages or the local vets or RSPCA. Riding costs from about £8 an hour and you may find the stables will be pleased to have your child, if ten years old or more, to help around the stables once they have become known to the owners. This is a good way of not seeing your offspring from dawn till dusk.
However if this is not an option or doesn't work out you will find that young girls in particular love riding and managing imaginary horses.
They could have a gymkhana in the back garden and have lots of fun making up jumps and courses and even competing between each other but we have found that even a lone child can have fun running a gymkhana, using all sorts of household and garden bits and bobs and the marvellous imagination that mum and dad have no doubt forgotten about. One child can have a great time being the commentator. A microphone is a good prop for this and can be anything from a real one plugged into the radio, a toy voice changing “mike” or even something made out of cardboard or whatever - you can do anything with imagination.
Mum and dad should join in the fun, let your hair down - you will enjoy it. Never in any way make fun of a child's imagination no matter how bizarre it may seem to a boring old adult.
A neighbour's ten year old daughter used to spend all day taking her imaginary horse over the jumps and endlessly filling up buckets of water and carting them about the garden. She was immensely happy doing this even though she did actually go riding twice a week. She is now a very successful vet