I understand where you’re coming from. As a child I would have horse riding lessons every so often and just couldn’t wait around to get my own horse. Every horseback riding lesson that I had just appeared to feed my ‘horse addiction’ much more.

Therefore exactly how much horseback riding practical experience should you have prior to deciding to look at purchasing your own horse as well as pony?

Unfortunately there’s no one simple answer to this question. Some lucky people will go and purchase themselves a horse after only a couple of lessons as well as rides and not have trouble, whereas others wait around for a long time.

Eventually though, it’s not actually horseback riding experience that you will need to think about before buying a horse – it’s the amount of understanding you have about horse care. Riding is only a small portion of having a horse & once you have your own horse you could ride as frequently as you would like, you’ll possibly improve fairly quickly, however you have to know things like:

1. Exactly how much & what to feed your own horse.

2. Exactly how to recognize a safe place to keep it.

3. How to tell whenever they’re ill.

4. The best way to effectively put on a halter, saddle, bridle, horse rug and so forth.

5. How often they’re going to require worming, their feet trimmed or even shoes reset.

6. How to effectively tie them using a quick release knot.

In the event that your own riding school previously tacks the horse up for you personally, ask if you’d have the ability to come slightly earlier and practice fitting the tack to the horse. You will get away with it (just like I did) gaining knowledge from the right books, however on the job exercise together with somebody there to guide you is ideal!

Another thing to think about is if you have anybody you are able to ask if you have to ask any queries concerning your horse. Do you have a close friend as well as member of the family who’s very experienced with horses who’d have the ability to answer any kind of questions you might have or tell you what you need to do?

Once again, this is something I didn’t possess (& we still got through), but it will make life much simpler for you while you’re still learning. In the event that you have someone who can provide you with a bit of guidance, it is possible to most likely look at buying a horse a lot sooner than you would without.

Therefore really, it doesn’t matter exactly how much horse riding experience you might have, what matters is your basic knowledge about horses & when you have help you may use if needed. You could purchase a horse to match your riding experience, however once you have it, you need to know exactly how to care for your new friend correctly.

The majority of today’s dude ranch facilities offer horseback riding as their main staple. Rides vary from once to three times per day. The horseback portion of your excursion might include basic horse riding skills, learning how to groom/saddle the horse that you are paired with, learning how to ‘read’ your horse, trail rides, and cattle penning (using your horse to guide cattle/bison into pens). You will also learn some pretty savvy roping techniques that will be used from atop your horse.

Cattle and/or bison drives/roundups involve using your horse to round up herds (which you will guide to a designated area). A dude ranch that offers these roundups may also be called a ‘working’ ranch.

Gymkhana (American Indian for ‘games on horseback’) is a variety of horseback sport. Gymkhana activities may include barrel racing, timed cattle penning, and roping games.

If you would like to get back in touch with nature, these ranches will often offer fishing, hiking, hunting, and bicycle excursions. Do some research to find exactly which ranches offer what activities.

Amenities and prices for dude ranch excursions can vary greatly. Some ranches offer a bed and breakfast type atmosphere (to include saunas, tennis courts, and swimming pools. Pricing varies with the amenities and activities offered. This type of vacation appeals to individuals as well as families. Most of the ranches offer many things for children to do.

For more information visit the Dude Rancher’s Association

Ania’s Riding Lesson