having a horse farm myself I would love to point out horses do have a mind of there own. They will act out, and if you are afraid or timid they will take advantage of that. Horseback riding is extremely dangerous, at anytime a horse can be spooked and flee or cause serious injury. While beautiful, horses are 1000-2000 pound animals. ATV are also dangerous however it is up to you how they are handled, they do not have a mind of their own. But statistics are high in injuries, rollovers, being paralyzed or getting killed. Until my child was responsible thye would be on neither. With that said most adults are not responisble and they lead the injury/death list on both.