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How can I take horse riding...
ladyknightcasamawary asked: My horsemanship skills increase and start
Recent Added Posts
15 Must-Ask Questions Before You Hire Your Horseback Riding Instructor!
Have you ever imagined yourself walking boldly into a paddock to catch “your horse”?
You slip the halter on smoothly, close the snap, and then your well-trained animal walks calmly beside you, through the gate, and waits patiently as you close it.
From there, you groom your horse effortlessly, saddle and bridle it without fuss and then, you are ready to ride. Your Riding Instructor is in the ring, ready to teach.
You either head for a block, or ramp, and your horse waits patiently for you to climb aboard. As you feel the morning sun on your face, you breathe a contented sigh.
LIFE is GOOD!!!
Here is your chance to make that imagined scene really happen for YOU, no matter how inexperienced or worried you are; no matter what your age. I have seen this happen many times in my 30 years as a Horseback Riding Instructor and it CAN happen for you.
My question to you is: ………………..Are You Ready To?
The only way to put horses into your life with safety and fun is to find a riding instructor that you can connect with. Here are a few questions to ask a riding instructor or yourself as you begin the process:
1. What does the farm look like? Is the barn neat and are fences in good repair?
2. Is there an enclosed riding area?
3. What is the farm’s safety record? As you watch a few lessons, are the horses well-behaved?
4. Are the Horses healthy?
5. Are you able to spend pre-lesson time with a horse or does someone else do all the grooming and saddling for you?
6. Is the riding instructor available to work with you during the lessons or is it an assistant?
7. Do all the riders wear helmets? If not, really think about that- you only have one head and it won’t last long if you fall on it!
8. Is the instructor patient and compassionate with the riders? What tone does the coach use during the lessons?
9. Is there an awareness of each rider’s learning style and fear level?
10. How does the riding instructor handle challenges or problems in the ring?
11. Are there opportunities to become involved with horses other than riding?
12. Are you able to watch and work with more advanced riders?
13. Are you financially and physically able to commit to one lesson per week? The more we repeat a process, the faster we learn it.
14. Are you able to do any type of physical fitness work between lessons to gain endurance?
15. Do students look like they are having fun?
Wouldn’t YOU like to learn how to be happy with horses? START RIGHT Now by printing these questions and then looking for your Horseback Riding Instructor!
Horseback riding?
Can someone best try to explain how to ride a horse? If you can’t, that’s okay, but my cousin/role model is asked to take me horseback riding and I don’t really know how. She is a large animal vet and can has ridden horses since she was little so she may be able to teach me. I just really want to know the basics so can you try to explain it before I go? It said beginners are very welcome to come so I won’t look TOO stupid
thanks!
How To Regain Your Horseback Riding Confidence
Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action. ~Walter Anderson
If you have lost your riding confidence for some reason or another, if thinking of riding, jumping, competing, loading your horse fills you with dread, think about Mr Anderson’s words.
You need to do something about it.
And not just try to do something about it. “Try” is a word that should be used with great care. If you’re like most people, when you “try” to do something, that means you are giving less than your full effort to it. If you’re going to do something, just do it.
When you try to do shoulder-in, or attempt a jump, or try to load, it gets very confusing for your horse. Are we going to jump over this thing…or not? Does she want me to do shoulder-in… or not? Is she seriously expecting me to get onto this trailer?
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t proceed with caution or take the time to plan and prepare properly. This isn’t about throwing all caution to the winds; it’s about the intensity of energy you put forth when you decide to take action. Make up your mind. Merely trying is pointless. You either do, or you do not.
Regretfully, just because you put your full effort into something doesn’t always mean that you will be successful. Do not allow this to put you off. Do not regard mistakes as failures, embrace them as learning opportunities. Sometimes you may need to do something dozens of times before you’ll get the result you want. To succeed, you need to give everything you have got, every time. If you can’t, take a break.
“Trying” is for those people who doubt their ability to do something. It means they would like a successful outcome but sincerely doubt they’ll get one. When you start something with such a negative focus, it’s no surprise it doesn’t work out very well. Instead, make it your mission to simply do it – and do your best – whatever you are planning to do. If the outcome is less than you hoped for, do it again. Or do it differently. Don’t waste time “trying” to do anything. It’s a complete waste of your horse’s attention span and energy.
Talking about taking action…most of us are great learners. We love to read, watch, listen to, and absorb new ideas like a sponge. We love exploring new techniques and ideas to better our riding, improve our relationship with our horse, master new riding skills, and so on. However, when we spend all of our time searching for that “latest, greatest” book or instructor or talented horse, nothing gets done. What we forget is that the most helpful material out there is only as valuable as our ability to put it into practice.
If we take even the most moderately helpful ideas and put them into action, we immediately reap the rewards. Rather than having a vague wisp of knowledge rattling around in our minds, we now have a solid addition to our riding progress. With each new book or video we buy, we can increase the value we receive from it by taking time to work with the techniques or ideas before moving on to something else.
Do yourself a favour: take action now. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t fool yourself into believing that you have all the time in the world. Don’t waste time trying. Don’t waste time reading yet another book or watching yet another video.
Don’t let another day go by without taking positive action. If you begin by taking even small but determined steps forward, you will gain confidence. Your horse will gain confidence. Your understanding of each other will deepen. Before long, you’ll both grow to love the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction you get from moving forward.
Action reduces anxiety. If you want to regain your riding confidence, be active.
So don’t just sit there Go clean the tack.
Horse Exchange programs? Or Equine working holiday? How to find?
I don’t know the exact term for it so I will blunder along and hope someone knows what I’m talking about!
Equestrian working holidays or maybe an equestrian exchange program?
Basically, I’d love to go to Germany (other european countries are good too, but Germany is my first choice) and be a working student at a barn – preferably reining, but english is good to.
I have tried researching this on the net and had minimal luck…any ideas of terms I could try searching google? Or know of any good websites?
Or anybody ever done something like this before?
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