Basic Horseback Riding Lesson!

There are a few things that some people wish to do before they die. For some they want to climb Mount Everest, some want to see the ancient pyramids, and some just want to learn to ride a horse. Fortunately for me I was able to learn to ride a horse at a very young age and it’s something I have enjoyed my whole entire life. If you wish to learn to ride a horse I’ll give you just a couple of things that you should learn to do right at the start.

One of the first things that you should do when you learn to ride a horse is to learn how to lead one. That’s probably not what you had in mind but still, it’s kind of important. You shouldn’t be standing at the end of the lead rope trying to pull your horse along and you also shouldn’t be standing at their shoulder letting them lead you along. There’s no control in either of those methods. The best way to lead a horse is to stand with your shoulder pretty close to their throatlatch and about a foot over to the side of them. That way you have enough room between the two of you for comfort. With one hand right below the lead snap and the other holding the rest of the lead line, you will step forward with the horse hopefully following. If it doesn’t then you just simply push gently in the direction you want to go with the hand that has the snap. That will give you the most control over the horse.

Now that you know how to lead a horse your horseback riding lessons will flow smoother. When you learn to ride a horse you have to be in control and if you can lead one with control on the ground you have a better chance of being able to learn to ride a horse. Riding a horse works best when you know that you’re in control. If you think that you can’t ride a horse, you will never be able to learn proper horseback riding. They will know that you’re scared and take total advantage of you. That’s all there is to it. If you get scared just take some deep breaths and tell yourself that you’re the boss. Any time my mare and I have a "discussion" and she thinks that she’s the boss I calmly let her know that I’m the boss and that I’m always going to win. And I always do. You can’t get rough and be mean but you have to be firm. If you start beating and thumping on a horse, odds are it’s gonna scared and then you might get scared. Not a good thing.

You can learn to ride a horse by taking lessons but unless you are with a trainer that has a goal of teaching you something in particular, you might be able to get the same effects by watching a few videos or reading some horse training books. And a lot of those books you can purchase online for a reasonable cost. No sense making horse ownership any more expensive than it needs to be. If you learn to ride a horse, you are learning a skill that has been around for hundreds of years and obviously is still important to this day because people still do it. Mainly some will learn to ride a horse for pleasure, relaxation or just time by themselves. What’s you’re reason?

By: Clinton Lyons Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Clinton Lyons has been raising foals and horses for over 35 years. He is a professional horse trainer and expert horseback riding instructor. Visit his website to learn more about horseback riding lessons guaranteed to improve your horse riding skills: www.horsetrainingranch.com

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pm and is filed under horse safety, horseback riding, horse riding.

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Instructors specializing in teaching beginner riders are more accustomed to working with children and teens. But working with the adult beginner rider offers its own challenges and rewards.

When one says "beginner" rider, most instructors envision a young rider, approximately age 8 to 16. But what do you do when your beginner rider is getting on a horse for the first time in her 45 or even 60 years?

Working with young beginners, I’ve found that they are much more bold, lack fear and lack an awareness of the potential danger horses hold than adult beginner riders. Young riders are always asking when they can move on, go at a faster gait or jump. Sometimes the challenge with these young riders is helping them to understand how to stay safe and to recognize the fact that horses are capable of being dangerous while, at the same time, not scaring them into fearing horses.

In contrast, the adult rider has more concerns for personal safety. Diane, a 64-year-old rider, who rode when she was 10 and then started again in her 60s, explained it this way:

"The adorable 10-year-old at our barn was so concerned about falling off for the first time because she thought ‘it would hurt.’ When she finally did fall off, she was so excited that ‘it didn’t hurt.’" Diane laughed. "For me, I’m concerned I’ll fall off and get hurt…seriously injured."

According to Marie, a riding instructor specializing in all levels of hunt and balanced seat riders, "Adults bring with them a world of experience and knowledge; whereas children are naive to the potential dangers of horses."

She explains that several of her adult riders have joked that they "don’t bounce like they used to."

Marie noted that regarding the training of beginners, she spends much more time on the basics with adults. "Adults have spent years of training their bodies to do things a certain way every day of their lives," she said. "For adults, I spend more time retraining their muscles and posture. Then I can go into working on training for the horse."

This retraining of muscles and posture can be extensive as more mature riders tend to be stiff, their potential fear or nervousness further exacerbating the condition. Young riders are often more easily malleable.

Because of this, Marie sometimes finds more mental resistance from adult riders as they try to get their bodies to do new things. However, the same mental focus brings the adult rider more determination, as they see no issue putting in the time necessary to accomplish the task. Children often tend more to be looking for a quicker return on their investment and lack the discipline it takes to understand the theory.

"With adult riders, you have a better chance of explaining theory of riding, how to work with your horse instead of fighting them. This does not mean that young riders can’t do this," she explains. "It just means that adult riders have more experiences to draw on that help them to see riding issues, theory and learning in a different way."

Marie adds that these life experiences are invaluable when explaining movement and other aspects of the horse.

"Once someone knows how to drive a car, there are so many more analogies their instructors can draw on because adults have more of a sense of cause and effect."

Like Marie, I enjoy working with both adult and junior riders. Both bring their own sets of issues and rewards. I can’t help but grin watching a young child learning to post on a pony or feel my heart in my throat when they’re about to take their first cross rail. But the adult rider brings the ability to have greater dialog with her instructor, and I’m always inspired by their determination to work through their fear.

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