Horseback Riding tips for Beginners & Places to ride

Horseback Riding ideas: There always lies an idea behind any particular activity or action. That idea plays its part even when it comes to any sports activity. The purpose of sports comes in various forms. Horse riding is one of the many types that the world of games takes. Horse riding tips for beginners are valued even in expert horse riders since these riding tips serve as the foundation for horse riding.

To understand the horse riding tips for beginners, it is essential to know what horseback riding is:

Horseback riding, as the name suggests, is an activity that includes a horse and a horse rider. In this activity, the horse rider is mounted on the back of a horse with specific riding gears to ride the horse. It is practiced as a sport, as a recreational activity, and also as a means of transportation for moving from one place to another. Equestrianism is another name for horseback riding in British English.

Horseback riding is also a skill that needs to be learned so that during the ride, your comfort, confidence, and especially expertise is of the top level. Horse riding tips for beginners are a way to get that comfort, confidence, and skill.

1. Horse Riding Equipment

Horse riding equipment is vital in riding a horse. Any unnecessary equipment while riding will lead to a bad outcome. Appropriate dress is required for a smooth horse ride. There is no room for fancy clothing, beach sandals, or any other garment that will not protect you from any harm.

Long pants and close-toed footwear is the key of proper horse riding equipment. Boots with a little heel of 1 to 1.5 inches is best since they will prevent your feet from slipping through the stirrups. 

Any accessory that has the liability of getting tangled with reins, saddle, bushes, or trees must be avoided. Moreover, a helmet is the top priority of horse riding equipment to ensure the safety of the rider.

2. Bond Between the Horse and Rider

The moment you start riding, you must be very considerate of the large living creature you are riding. You become one with the horse when you pick up the pace and get on with your ordeal.

Every horse poses different challenges to you as a rider. It is good to keep in mind that the horse is a living breathing creature that comes with its own temperament. This is why the bond between the horse and rider plays an important role in a good memorable ride.

Horseman’s handshake is a technique to establish a bond with your horse. In this technique, you must extend your hand and let the horse smell the back of your hand through his nose.

3. Stay Vigil and Mount with Confidence

Vigilance and confidence are essential components while mounting on a horse. If you as a rider is unsure and nervous, the horse will act accordingly. Your confident and calm attitude will give the same vibes to the horse.

Your left foot and left hand will be used while mounting on a horse. Use your left foot to stuck in the stirrup, hold both reins with your left hand and use your right leg to mount on the horse as smoothly as required. This way, the horse will not get hurt too.

4. Sitting Position

Once you have mounted the horse, remember that all is not yet achieved. After mounting the horse, sitting posture play a vital role in riding a horse. A wrong position may harm you or the horse. This is why it is best to sit straight and tall to keep the balance. Hold the reins smoothly and keep your foot in each stirrup.

5.Saddle Horn for Balance

Most of the times, riders hold on to the saddle horn for support and balance but this might make your horse feel uneasy. Don’t go for saddle horn for balance, instead adjust your sitting posture and hold on to the reins to get support.

Moreover, different types of horse riding therapies are also used by experts and instructors to make sure that the rider not only get proper physical balance but also inner mental balance. For instance, therapeutic horseback riding is used for disable people to help disabled people with posture, balance, confidence, and coordination. It is not only used to teach riding but also teaches to work with a horse.

Hippotherapy is used by handlers or instructors to strengthen the muscles of the rider. The horse is controlled by the handler to choose the various directions, tempos, and moves to challenge the muscular abilities of the rider.

However, there are other forms of horse riding therapy which includes Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL), Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP), interactive vaulting, therapeutic carriage driving, and Equine-Assisted Activities (EAA), which include horse grooming, stable management, shows, parades, and demonstrations for the psychological stability of the rider.

All these horse riding therapies help in maintaining the balance that is required while riding a horse.

6. Gaze

While riding a horse, don’t get distracted with your balance or sitting posture. Stay active and use your gaze to look in the directions your horse is getting on. You must not lose the direction of the road in order to have a safe and sound ride.

7. Stay connected to the rhythm

When you are riding a horse, you must ride in-tune with your horse. Balance can only be thoroughly achieved when you have the same rhythm as your horse. While riding, you must set a pace that both you and your horse are comfortable with. Horses usually have four gaits. Walk, trot, gallop, and canter. For a beginner, a walk is the best option to set a certain rhythm with your riding partner. Don’t override the horse or let the horse override you.

In horseback riding for trotting, your rhythm with your horse is vitally important. While trotting, you must feel the downward and forward rhythm of your horse while letting your body go in-tune with it.

Once you get to trot through your alliance with your horse’s rhythm, the same rhythm come in handy for horseback riding tips for canter.

8. Dismount with Confidence

With the same confidence you mount a horse, you must have the same confidence while dismounting a horse. The horse must be still when you are dismounting. Both your feet should be out of the stirrups. You must lean forward to swing your right leg over the horse to dismount.

After dismounting, give your horse a pat and some water to drink for it will take you and your horse back to the bond you established with him while riding.

Horseback Riding Centers in USA:

In order to learn and implement the horse riding tips for beginners, a good horseback riding center is the most primary concern. Horseback riding centers must be big enough for horseback riding. This is why it is good to know the best horseback riding centers in USA.

The best horseback riding centers in USA include Will Rogers Memorial Center, Florida Horse Park, Governor James B. Hunt Horse Complex, HITS-on-the-Hudson, Brownland Farm, Fox Lea Farm, Colorado Horse Farm, and Sandy Point Stables.

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