Every great equestrian started out as a beginner rider. When you’re new to horseback riding in orange county, it’s exciting to start getting to know your horse and picking out riding boots. However, simple rookie mistakes could make your first lesson uncomfortable for you or the horse. So before you go to your first horseback riding lesson, it’s important that you prepare.
Here are some of our top tips to prepare you for your first horseback riding lesson!
Sit Up Straight & Use The Stirrups
When in the saddle, your posture is very important. To avoid injury, make sure to sit up straight, press the balls of your feet in the stirrups and push your heels downward.
A lot of times, new riders can be spotted from a mile away. Rookies will sometimes sit on the saddle with their legs dangling in the stirrups. But seasoned riders will tell you right away that your weight should be distributed to the balls of your feet, where they are placed in the stirrups. This makes the ride more comfortable for the horse, and you stay in control.
Hold The Reins Low
Keep your hands at hip level. When you’re just starting out, you might feel like you are off-balance and you’ll start to raise your hands in the air to regain stability. This is not good for you or the horse. When you pull back on the reins to stop, you won’t be able to do so effectively if your hands are raised so high up. Raising your hands will cause you to lose control of your horse. On top of that, you might also hurt your horse’s mouth with the bit if you are yanking on the reins in an upwards motion.
The ideal position is sitting up straight in the saddle and holding the reins toward your stomach. When you pull back to stop, pull towards your belly button (and not your shoulders or head).
Use Proper Signals To Communicate With The Horse
You can use your body weight to talk to your horse, instead of always pulling on their mouths with the reins. Horses respond well to shifts in the rider’s weight, so you can easily use your legs and body to direct your horse.
For example, when you want to stop, lean back in the saddle, lower your heels, and sit deeply while gently pulling on the rein.
When you want to make a right turn, look in that direction, move your right foot away from your horse’s body in the direction you want to turn, and gently press your left leg into your horse’s left side. You should also lightly direct your horse to the right using the reins.
When you want to go faster, simply lean forward.
Shifting your weight signals to your horse that you want to change directions or speed – that’s why we said it’s so important that you sit up straight and maintain a good posture during your ride, so your horse doesn’t get confused!
Master The Basics Before Attempting A Run
While galloping on a horse with the wind blowing through your hair sounds like the ultimate dream, it’s not quite as easy as it looks. Some horses have choppy gallops that feel like the worst airplane turbulence you’ve ever experienced. This is why you should master the basics and learn to ride walk and trot before attempting a run.
We know that our horses have big personalities and can be adorably hilarious. But we also know that they can sometimes be a bit mischievous. Horses can often sense if you are a new rider, and they’ll take advantage of this and try messing around with you. They might suddenly break out into a run or attempt to make you fall off. It’s important that you be confident, maintain your balance, and stay in control. The biggest piece of advice we could give you is to master riding the walk and trot, using your stirrups, riding without holding the saddle horn, and stopping – all before you attempt running.
Wear A Safety Helmet
Because safety comes first! Even if your horse is usually very calm, accidents can happen and any falls or scares can injure you in an instant. For that reason, all riders, beginning or advanced, should wear a safety helmet.
Jenna Reveal-Bourcier from Reveal Equestrian is a leading trainer for horseback riding in San Juan Capistrano. When you take a lesson with us, we’ll make sure that you follow all of these tips to ensure proper form and a safe ride! Try a first horseback riding lesson with us to see if Reveal Equestrian is right for you.
