New To Horse Riding?

Taking up a new hobby is always intimidating, especially when interacting with a large animal, such as a horse. Hence, new horse riders tend to get flustered and make common mistakes.

Obviously, with time you will get the hang of things. However, here are a few beginner-level mistakes you can avoid to get a head start on mastering your skills.

As a beginner, you’ll naturally be cautious about grabbing the reins too close to the horse. However, this can have grave consequences. When you grip the reins at a distance, your balance gets disturbed.

First, it would be best to tune in with the horse’s rhythm to avoid this. If your energies don’t match, you’ll never be able to have a smooth riding experience.

Once you familiarize yourself with the animal’s gallops, you can practice strengthening your grip. Although you might feel a little tension in the reins at the beginning due to the proximity of your grasp, you must stay vigilant.

Make sure to not let the reins free for too long when you feel the tension in them. This is the main reason why new riders fall off.

Focus on maintaining your balance and strengthening your grip.

Horses are fast animals. In addition, their large stature and extraordinary strength tend to create a tremendous force.

Hence, having the correct form is as essential as having the correct grip when riding. Newbies often find comfort in leaning forward.

However, this little comfort may cause you significant inconvenience in certain conditions. For example, when the horse quickly breaks while you’re in this position, there’s a high chance you’ll be flying forward.

To avoid falling off your horse’s shoulder, keep your form straight and avoid leaning towards the extremities.

The second most crucial item after reins is the stirrup of your horse. To stay balanced on your horse, you must acknowledge its significance.

This means your footwear should be compatible with the stirrups. Hence, sandals, slippers, and odd boots are a big no-no for your riding sessions.

These shoes have a risk of either getting stuck into your stirrup or sliding through them. So, try to find appropriate boots to wear on your next ride. This way, you can have a better riding experience and be safe even if you fall off the horse.

Riders often hold their breath when they are focusing on their riding. This is common, especially in the case of new riders. However, horse riding is a draining exercise, so regulating your breathing is essential.

If you don’t maintain your breathing, you’ll get tired and impatient quickly, and horse riding should be a fun activity rather than stressful.

Hence, smile and breathe through the journey.

Like riding a bicycle, the thumb rule for horse riding is not to look down. But, unfortunately, new riders are often in awe of their animals. So, getting distracted is a common occurrence. However, this is a bad idea. If you look down, you won’t know what’s coming ahead. Furthermore, your form also gets disturbed due to the unnatural curve of your spine. So, keep your eyes on the road and enjoy the ride.

Once you start getting the hang of things, you might feel like you’re invincible. Unfortunately, the feeling is familiar among un-seasoned riders.

It often leads riders to become over-confident and let go of all horse riding SOPs. However, since they only possess weak control, this overconfidence can have dire consequences.

So make sure to keep your helmet on and wear the right shoes to your sessions.

New riders love trying the jockey pose when they initially start riding their horses. However, it’s not advised to try that riding stature until you’re more advanced.

The reason behind this is that pulling your knees towards yourself takes them off the stirrups.

To prevent this, avoid standing up at all costs. Because doing this will bring your knees higher than usual. Consequently, your feet will fly ahead at an inappropriate time and may lead your horse to propel you off its back.

Most newbies aim at getting the maximum balance on their horses. But unfortunately, they often adopt the wrong stature and limb placement for this.

An example of this is forcing your foot through the stirrups. Contrary to what you might think as an inexperienced rider, this is the worst foot placement.

Instead, only the sole of your feet should be in contact with the stirrups. Also, make sure your feet don’t drag into the stirrups.

With the wrong placement, you are at risk of ankle injuries and other riding hazards. It’s a normal instinct to stabilize yourself when you lose balance with your arms. However, it’s the worst arm movement you could make when horse riding.

This is because your hands are your only source of steering the high-speed beast you’re riding. Therefore, in trying to control your balance, you might lose control of the horse by flailing your arms in the air.

So, what’s the best way of maintaining your balance along with control on your horse? First of all, place your hands at your hips. Next, focus on stabilizing your seat rather than your hands, and you’ll be good to go.

Riding a horse is a daunting and demanding hobby. Accordingly, it would help if you also had the right attitude and noted some tips. When you climb up the saddle, drop your ego on the ground.

Try to be patient with your horse and yourself as well. If you get too demanding and frustrated, you might risk making your horse tense.

Furthermore, you won’t be able to enjoy the ride either. If you lack patience, you might lose the motivation to continue your horse-riding journey as well.

When you embark on your horse-riding journey, it’ll take a little time to find your stride.

In addition, you must get in tune with your horse and be patient with it because they match your energy.

Moreover, getting acquainted with your horse will help you learn faster and enjoy the journey as well. Remember, consistency and time are essential to achieve pro-level riding skills.