How to Ride a Horse for Beginners
Is it hard to ride a horse? Riding a horse is a great idea and will be an adventurous one. It can be a scary experience as well because you are going to ride a relatively big and strong animal. For a safe and smooth experience, you should learn this skill first with the help of a professional trainer or go through some horse riding practice. Practice makes a man perfect, right! If you want to save yourself from an accident or unpleasant event, get all the necessary information regarding horse psychology and how you can build a good relationship with him. To get the idea of how to ride a horse like an expert, you can follow these horse riding safety tips.
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Put on riding equipment:
You can pick western or English styles for riding. Regardless of this, you should wear proper horse riding equipment for your safety. Your costume should not be like party wear or beach looks. You should not wear high heels and no need to take any accessories with you such as a headscarf and purse. These can get you in trouble. Wear long boots and pants. Your shoes don’t have heels more than 1 inch. To avoid any injury you should wear a helmet.
Greeting with the horse:
You are not riding a vehicle, you should keep this thing in your mind that you can’t control a horse. A horse is a living creature and he needs some sympathy and comfort from your side to feel secure. A horse can be nervous, tired, or afraid of a new rider. You should greet your horse first. Try to talk in a friendly manner. Offer him the back of your hand to smell it and let him touch it with his nose. This will help the horse to recognize you before riding. This is also called a horseman’s handshake. This is also a way to ask for horse permission.
Ride with confidence:
How do you ride a horse for the first time? Horses are normally trained to be mounted on the left side so keep that point in mind. Try to mount on a horse the first time when someone holds your horse's head. Try to be confident otherwise, your horse will be uneasy. Put your left foot on a stirrup and hold the horse’s reins with your left hand and propel yourself with the help of your right leg and do it smoothly. Don’t try to push your horseback, it will hurt him and cause a problem for you. Hold his back just to keep your balance.
Sit up relaxed and straight:
Don’t slouch. You are not a professional. You may have seen some tv serials where they used to ride their horses fast and you are inspired by them. The idea of having your dream ride may excite you but you should keep in mind that you are a beginner. Keep yourself relaxed and straight to have a smooth ride. Hold your horse reins gently and keep your feet in your respective stirrup. Keep your balance like your not feeling like a weight on your horse.
Be gentle with your riding style:
No matter what kind of riding style you have learned, be gentle while holding your reins. In western riding, you hold both reins in one hand but in an English style, you hold one rein in each hand. Don’t pull too hard to hurt your horse, relax your arms in each chosen style. If you want to direct your horse, move your reins tactfully. Move your left reins on the left side just like opening a door and right reins to the right side. Don’t be too harsh while operating a horse’s reins; it will make your horse uneasy.
Don’t hold saddle horn:
In the USA or Mexico, there is a saddle horn in horse tack. Don’t ever hold that horn to keep your balance while riding. In case of any unpleasant situation, you will fall from the horse if you hold that saddle horn instead of reins. In European countries, there is no saddle horn normally in horse tack. You should not even hold the front side of the saddle while walking. Having this habit may affect you in the long run.
Keep your eyes on your way:
Don’t look at your horse while riding. Have a focus on the trail to have a safe journey, no matter how beautiful your horse is. Keep your gift away from the ears of your horse. Straight posture and eye on the trail will be enough to have a smooth ride. Imagine how it will feel to have attention on your car hood instead of the road while driving.
Be a leader, not a dictator:
Play the role of a leader while riding on the horse. Align your body movements with your horse. Let him go at his own pace. Don’t try to force him to move against his will. That will cause an accident. That doesn’t mean you are allowing your horse what he wants to do, you are not trying to be a dictator.
Keep your pace slow in the beginning:
There are four famous gaits of horses, galloping, trot, gallop, cantor. Galloping is only for experts. Don’t go too fast with your horse's pace just to impress someone, you will get hurt. In the beginning, a walk would be the best idea to have a great experience. You can start trotting in between but going too fast would be risky.
Dismounting:
Dismount from a horse when you are done with the ride. Dismounting is also an art, one should be very careful. It’s better if someone will hold the horse for you. Get both feet off from the stirrup, lean forward on the horse, and take your right leg up to jump off from the horse smoothly. After dismounting thanks to your horse, offer him water and some food.
There are common beginner horse riding mistakes one should avoid.
Hands and body balance:
Don’t take your hands way up in the air. Hands and arms are important organs while keeping our balance on the horse. Many beginners fail to keep that balance and fall off.
Holding tight with your legs:
Gripping your horseback with your legs will be taken as a cue by your horse. He will keep moving on. Riding a horse is like maintaining your balance. You should not grip your horse to keep your balance, it will create trouble for you.
Avoid slouching:
No matter how nervous you are, keep your balance on your horse. The performance ability of your horse is affected by your postures. So keep a comfortable posture and don’t slouch.
Allow reins to slide:
A horse moves his head while walking or running. if you will be unable to accommodate those moves your horse will be uncomfortable and try to pull the reins. This will create an uncontrolled situation for you. So try to hold reins in such a way that it can allow them to slide.
Don’t get panic:
Every new learner feels nervous while learning something new, it’s normal. But don’t try to hold your breath while having that experience. Smile, laugh and try to enjoy your ride with confidence. Don't panic, your horse can sense your feelings and can act badly. This is the main mistake when kids do horseback riding.
There are many horse riding basics one should learn to keep one safe. You should ask questions about the horse, about his costume, and your postures while you are riding. Try to learn the language of the horse. The horses are trained differently. They recognize them according to their training. Try to learn all cues to order and control them well. Riding a horse is all about maintaining your balance on the horse. Learn how to keep your posture straight, your arms and feet aligned. How to hold the reins well to control the horse movements.
There are certain rules to keep in mind while going through the way. Like keep your gaze on the trail, don’t look around, or don’t think about something while riding. Riding involves a lot of risks, these experiences need your active body and mind as well. Be assertive with your horse. Learn when to put pressure on rinse and when to relax them. There are 4 types of gaits of the horse. Thoroughly learn their techniques. It will be appreciated to learn how to deal with an unpleasant situation also. If you want to learn about the best places to ride a horse on a beach, then visit this horseback riding on the beach in the USA. Also, Visit QRG Direct.