How to Ride a Horse

How glorious is the view of those cowboys trotting away on horsebacks in films and on tv! Of course those who have horses and ranches, or frequent the racing course, they would find those beautiful beasts a thing of routine. Still, for that to become a thing of routine, I am sure those people on ranches and jockeys would have slogged hard. Hey hey! But wait dude! We do not want to slog here, we just want to learn horse riding because it is just too good a style statement and an asset to your skills! So are you saddling up? As we are going to trot away to glory and know how to ride a horse!

How to Ride a Horse for Beginners

Mounting
Mounting can be done only after you make sure that the horse is properly saddled. Beginners need to affirm that the horse has been saddled appropriately with the help of an experienced rider or your coach. Thus assuming that the horse is saddled and bridled, here is what you do.

    * Mount the horse on its left side, always.
    * Prior to mounting, stroke the horse's neck gently, so that it will know you are there. This is important to have a connection and a rapport with the horse as well. Then grab the reins in your left hand.
    * Standing on the left side of the horse, step into the stirrup with the left foot. Remember to exert your weight on the ball of your foot, placing it in the center of the stirrup.
    * Ensure that the stirrups are correct length for your legs. The stirrups should be at such a length that you are able to rest your feet, with your feet bent slightly.
    * While you sit on the horse, sit with your shoulders back, your back straight, heels down. The balls of your feet should rest on the stirrups, with toes pointed forward.
    * Hold the reins in your dominant hand, just a little in front of the saddle over the horse's neck.


Reining
Reining is the method to steer a horse while riding it. Thus, it is essential to use the reins gently. There are two types of reining - neck and bit reining. Lets take a look at both of them.

Neck Reining:

    * Neck reining is an important aspect of how to ride a horse western style.
    * Any horse which is trained to get used to neck reining, invariably responds to the sensation of reins on its neck.
    * Neck reining needs only one hand, as the reins are tied in a knot and move as one.
    * Just like when you steer a car, you turn the steering on the left, here too, you just need to move the reins a bit to the left. This will lead the right rein to fall against the horse's neck.

Bit Reining:

    * Sometimes also called as 'plow reining', this a very common part when you want to learn how to ride a horse English style.
    * In case the horse has been conditioned for neck reining, then this comes in the picture. Then what you do is just pull the reins in the direction desired.
    * Unlike the neck reining, you would require both your hands here, because you will need separate reins for pulling a single rein at a time.
    * Gently pull the reins in the direction you want to go and you are on course.

Walking and Trotting
Take stock of what are all the signals that the horse has been conditioned to follow. Based on that, you can either have a soft clicking noise or nudge or squeeze the horse with your legs. You can also shake the reins a little bit to make the horse move. Once the horse is in motion, remember to keep your heels down and back straight. Then comes trotting, which is nothing but a stage where you go a bit faster than walking. What you did for walking, do the same to make the horse trot - squeeze your legs or make a clicking noise. This is a very bumpy kind of a speed, for maximum number of horses, therefore hold on to the reins tight and have your feet firmly in the stirrups. As far as English style of how to ride a horse is concerned, what they do while trotting is they alternate between sitting in the saddle and holding weight in the feet which are in the stirrups. They go along with the rhythm of the horse's trot this way. Read more on horse training tips.

Canter and Gallop
After walking and trotting comes cantor and gallop. These are horse riding at a considerable speed. Here is how to do that.

    * Assume that you are trotting and from that position, another leg squeeze will be enough a signal for the horse to move on to a canter.
    * During a canter, try and relax your muscles and go along with the horse's rhythm.
    * Allow some slack in the reins and your hands should move back and forth with the horse's head. This is because a horse's head has to move up and down during a canter.
    * Gallop, the fastest speed can be transitioned with another leg squeeze or other type of signal.
    * Galloping will involve putting your weight in the stirrups and your bottom has to be off the saddle for the whole time.
    * To maintain your balance during a gallop, it would be a good idea to lean forward slightly.

Getting the Horse to Stop
Agreed you had a great time trotting away to glory, but you have to stop somewhere, right? The following steps will tell you how to do it.

    * Horses, for most part are trained to slow down and come to a halt in the situation where the reins are pulled backwards.
    * Prior to giving horse a signal to slow down or stop, release any leg pressure there is on the horse.
    * Ensure a firm seat on the saddle before pulling the reins back.
    * Once the horse stops, relieve the horse of any pressure on the reins. This will let the horse know that the command has been followed in totality.

Dismount
Now the time has come to get down, off the horse. See how to do it -

    * The reins should be in your left hand and be alert as to pull the reins gently back, if the horse moves ahead while you dismount.
    * Taking both feet off the stirrups, bend or lean a bit forward, with hands on the horse's neck. You could also hold the saddle.
    * What you need to do next is to swing your right leg totally up and above the neck of the horse and the back.
    * Put your weight on your arms and push away a bit with your hands from the horse.
    * Ultimately due to the prior point, you would land clear from the horse and would not slide down its side.

Whoa! I must say this was quite an exhaustive session of horse riding! Finally, if you have an adequately trained horse, the task becomes much easier when you are learning how to ride a horse.

So are you all set to canter away to glory and flaunt your riding skills? Reign the reins! All the Best!