In the beginning, you must focus all your energy on just riding. This phase includes learning all the basic skills - how to balance, how to manipulate and coordinate your various appendages, and how to use your various 'aids'.
You discover that you have a 'seat' and that it is the crux of all things in riding, and if you are lucky, you are blessed with an instructor that is willing to lunge you to develop that seat.
You learn about the gaits, the surge of energy when a horse proceeds with an upward or downward 'transition', and distinguish between your inside and outside reins and aids.
You differentiate between go and (not 'stop' but) halt.
You negotiate patterns, movements, and figures.
You graduate from the walk to the trot ('posting' and in a while, with 'diagonals'). Eventually you take your first canter steps and you wonder what the horse world has waiting for you after all these accomplishments.
You begin to jump, rein (spins, slides and stops), fly over jumps in cross-country, get 'test'ed in dressage, complete the pattern in western horsemanship or trail, run the barrels, or maybe even head for the hills during a 30-mile long competitive trail.
You might learn to jump higher, spin faster, go longer on the trail.
At this point, riding is a pleasure, a recreational sport, a chance to enjoy the company of the magnificent horse.
But at some point, you realize that there is something missing - but you can't put your finger on it. Yet the feeling continues to pick away until through some catalyst (watching someone ride, or learning something new), you take a bite out of the proverbial apple... and discover Riding (with the capital R).
Every now and then, it is a super feeling to get out of your own backyard, hit the road with your horse friend that you've been working with for so long, and get out to "play" with other like-minded people.
However, before you head off, set yourself some achievable goals for the day - both for your riding and for your horse - and be satisfied with your performances if you achieved your goals. Sometimes, you might achieve your personal best out there in the ring, but on that day, it just isn't good enough to receive a placing. And that should be as good an accomplishment as any.
DON'T go if:
- you aren't getting excellent rides at home, mentally and physically, both you and your horse.
- you haven't taken your horse off-property in many months (go somewhere lower-key first).
- you haven't done your "homework": both you and your horse are fit (conditioning, muscling, mentally) and riding AT LEAST one level (regardless of discipline of riding) higher than what you will be doing at the show.
- you are struggling with a component that you will need at the show.
- you absolutely HAVE TO take home the winning ribbon/prize/championship (well, ok, unless you are there to win thousands of dollars or the Olympics).
- you are unprepared in terms of tack/supplies.
"Green light" checklist for the show:
- you can thank your horse for just getting the two of you to the show
- you have it pretty good at home and your horse is producing "winning" rides on a regular basis
your horse can easily handle the physical exertion that will be required while you're riding at home
- you want to go and soak in the atmosphere of hundreds of others of people dedicated to their horses and sport like you!
- you are prepared to put forth a strong attempt and receive feedback from the judge (and your horse!) with humility.
- you know deep down that there is a tomorrow and you take what you learn from this show and put it forward to the work you will do at home and at the next show.
- you know that even if you don't win the class, you have a chance to watch others and learn from their efforts and experiences.
- you will celebrate any ribbons (accomplishments) with the joy that comes with a deep sense of knowing that everything came together at the right place at the right time
Know that there is always the possibility that things don't come together, and you might end up with a sub-par performance that day. In this case, know that there will be other days ahead when things will go right together.
Most important -listen to your horse, and see if the show was beneficial for him as well as you.
Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!
Ready for something completely different? If you liked what you read here, you might be interested in the new Horse Listening Practice Sessions.
This is NOT a program where you watch other people's riding lessons. Start working with your horse from Day 1.
Don’t miss a single issue of Horse Listening! If you like what you are reading, become a subscriber and receive updates when new Horse Listening articles are published! Your email address will not be used on any other distribution list.Subscribe to Horse Listening by Email
Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book:Stepping Forward to Effective Riding
Top 6 Ways to Ramp It Up For Show Season: Preparing for the show season may not be as easy as it looks. There are many aspects that go into getting to the show ring, and even more that need to be done before you even set your first trailer tires onto the road.
You've seen it before (maybe you've been there yourself?) - the horse/human tug-of-war scenario:
The person is trying desperately to keep the horse in a particular position
or
the person is leading the horse somewhere and all the while, the horse is moving, imposing, and once in a while, running over the doting human being!
* * * * *
Once you know how to listen to your horse, a whole world of communication can open up for you. You will know how to interpret what the horse is saying - to the other horses, to you, and to the 'world'. Horses send messages out as much as humans do. It's just that we do it verbally (just think of what a gathering of people sounds like and you'll know what I mean).
Horses, on the other hand, do very little verbally (unless the horses belong to me - they've definitely learned to 'voice' their opinion!). Most of their communication lies in the non-verbal realm; you need to learn to 'listen' in a different sense, by carefully observing their body movements. Pretty much EVERY movement has a meaning and is 'sent out' with deliberate intention. The talent on your part is to interpret the body language accurately.
Point in fact - the horse's social structure works on a basic hierarchical system. Lower-level horses always defer to the herd leader. In other words, if the herd leader moves into the direction of another horse, the lower horse is expected to move away - from the hay, from another horse friend, or simply from the herd leader himself.
Neglecting to move away often results in a more aggressive movement from the herd leader - including the possibility of a swift kick in the lower-level horse's direction!
This submission has developed over the millenia for good reason - the herd leader HAD to be the one who moved the herd around. In nature, without a good leader to tell the others what to do and where to go, the herd's safety would be at risk.
How does this involve you, the human? Your actions will dictate your current and future relationship with that horse. Here is a possible scenario: while you are leading the horse beside you, the horse steps into your direction, almost walking on top of you. Your possible responses:
- you think it's cute that the horse wants to snuggle up to you, and you step back as the horse walks into you
- you see the horse coming in your direction and you push the horse on his shoulder so he doesn't continue coming into your space
Each reaction on your part gives the horse a different message. The first reaction - stepping away - will tell the horse that he is the herd leader between the two of you, and that he should be the one to make decisions. Many times, this 'herd dynamic' works just fine for your interactions, because chances are that your horse is kind and generous and usually will not be inclined toward stepping on you or dragging the lead rope out of your hand.
But unfortunately, the one time that he feels he must impose his authority on you (if he feels threatened by an unfamiliar object), you will not have a say in his decision-making. As the lower ranked member of your herd, you must obey - meaning, you'd better get out of his way as he tramples you to get away from the fear object!
If instead, you choose to not move away and push him back out of your space the moment you notice him stepping toward you, you impart a very different message. In this case, you are telling him that you are the herd leader, and he needs to respect your personal space.
This is the preferable role for you as human, since you are likely more than six times smaller and lighter and at risk of being easily injured based on just the size difference itself.
As you learn to listen to your horse, you will realize that there is constant communication going back and forth between the two of you (whether you know it or not). So instead of assuming the subservient role, pay closer attention and work on asking your horse the questions. If you move into his space, will he move away from you? If you need him to stop moving his feet, will he stand still?
Make a habit of routinely asking him questions. If he answers "yes" to your questions, you can be thankful and reward him with a pat and a "good boy" vocal response, but your job is not quite complete. Just getting an affirmative is not enough - as soon as your horse gives you the 'yes', you need to ask him the next level of question.
Maybe it could be something like: "Will you stand still and not dive for the grass while I lead you in the field with the yummiest grass?" The next level might be, "Will you walk nicely and not prance around while I lead you away from the barn and your herd members?"
Each time you get the 'yes', think of something that could be the next step. Pushing the envelope is one step in developing a trusting, confident relationship with your horse.
Don’t miss a single issue of Horse Listening! If you like what you are reading, become a subscriber and receive updates when new Horse Listening articles are published! Your email address will not be used on any other distribution list.Subscribe to Horse Listening by Email
Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book:Stepping Forward to Effective Riding
How the “Not Canter” Can Drastically Improve Your Transitions: Every time you ask (with the correct aids), the horse resists. The situation becomes ugly – you have a hard enough time just sitting the bounciness, never mind getting the transition. What to do? This article remains one of our most popular posts of all-time.
What Responsible Horse Ownership Really Means: We need to keep in mind that horses are prey animals and long-time domesticated livestock. If we listen well enough, we discover that what we think of as giving might not be what the horses truly need.
20 Ways Horse Riding Becomes Life Itself: You could say that horses are our teachers. Not only do we grow in terms of physical ability, but perhaps even more so, we grow in character.
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