HELP HORSE RIDING !!!?

just take one step at a time theirs no need to rush its like learning to fly or falling in love~~~

lol sorry getting lost in my dreams!

but seriously take it one step at a time, theirs no need to rush.

one think make sure your feet are in front of you.

try and work on one hand and two hand reining.

work on rollbacks and cantering and sitting to a trot.

riding is fun and you will be amazed at how good you can ride when the year is over!

What you need to know is you will never know everything. There are many people who think they know it all, and it is a shame. You need to ask your instructor all these questions, as it is an instructor's job to answer the questions. Many times the same question will have different answers depending what type riding lessons they are taking. You can also spend time after your lessons talking to your stepsister and comparing note with each other. Another trick is to go and watch advanced riders take their lessons too, you can really pick up a lot of info if you can learn from other peoples experiences. These things will help you learn. You should be proud of yourself for asking this in the first place.!! We need more like you!

Stand on the near, left side of the horse. Gather the reins in one hand, put your left foot in the stirrup, and hold onto the wither, (holding onto the saddle when mounting will cause it to slide). Keep both your hands on the front of the horse. You can also hold the cantle of the saddle (back or seat) with your right hand when mounting).

Push up and swing your right leg over the back of the horse, keeping your leg from kicking the horse's flank.

When mounted, gather your reins and then hang both legs down near stirrups and make sure they are the right length by having the stirrup reach your ankle. While holding reins, keep your hands low and about level with your hips on the horse's neck and withers. And SIT UP STRAIGHT, if you slump, it will throw your horse off balance, making it harder to change gaits. Some of the most important things in riding is: posture, position, and moving/working with the horse.You should also be able to simply slide your feet into the stirrup while lifting your feet about a few inches.

Make sure to keep your heels down, back straight and chin up. Your body should form a straight line that can be drawn from your heel, to the hips, to the shoulders.

There are two kinds of reining. In English riding, bit reining is predominant. In bit reining, you should pull slightly on the reins to turn the horse's head in order to turn. In Western riding, neck reining or direct reining is used. To neck rein, slide the reins in the direction you wish to go, putting pressure against the opposite side horse's neck that you want to turn to.

When stopping, pull back on the reins and sit deep; you may have to lean back a bit and put your weight into your bottom and heels. When pulling back, do it steadily, not all of a sudden jerking back, keep your hands low and simply pull them firmly back from your rein-holding position, towards your hips. If you have a lot of slack rein, move your hands up the reins closer to the horse's mouth, if your reins are to long you generally tend to pull upward towards your chest, don't do this, as this will not cause the horse to stop and it will hurt the horse's mouth. When halted, release reins as the reward and pat your horse. Direct reining is just like bit reining, it is usually used with a green horse, but can also be used with any horse.

It's hard, but it DOES get easier!

You can be **** one week and great the next, that's normal when you're just starting out!

Do you know how to groom a horse properly? Did you know that you need to groom a horse before tacking? (putting the saddle on)

Start by using the curry comb (this one: http://www.blurtit.com/var/question/q/q3/q32/q325/... and rubbing it around your horses back in big, sweeping circles. It helps to get rid of dirt and loose hair that can irritate her under the saddle.

After you've gotten rid of all the loose hair, use the dandy brush (this one: http://www.blurtit.com/var/question/q/q3/q32/q325/... in FLICKING motions. you should see a cloud of dust, this means you're doing it properly.

Go over all of your horse with the body brush (the soft one) and then you can put the saddle pad and saddle on.

Once you get back into your lessons, and keep riding consistently, you'll get better!

Don't worry, just take it slow.

The best way to learn is to keep at it! Be as hands-on as you can. Hang out in the barn before/after your lessons (if no one minds) and observe how the other horse people work. Watch some of the more advanced lesson takers (again if no one minds). Talk to your instuctor when they have time and bombard them with questions! Go to the library and look up horse books. Those will have all sorts of horsey information.

How many questions are you taking a month? The more you take, the faster you'll learn. Everybody has off days in lessons. Don't worry about it, happens all the time until you start to really get the hang of it. One day it'll seem like "Hey, I've got this!" then the next it'll be "Huh, maybe not so much." Just keep working at it. The only way you can get is better :)

You mentioned that you have leaders? Like people walking on the ground leading your horse?? That seems very strange to me. When I started beginner lessons, I spent the first one learning how to groom properly and tack up. The instructor demonstrated and I had to repeat it to her satisfaction. The next lesson I had to do all the grooming and tacking, and my instructor checked it. Then she held the horse for me to get on, and I learned the very basics of steering/stopping/turning etc. at a walk (on a very calm horse with a very high tolerance for me not knowing what I was doing). Once you master a walk, then you will trot. Once you master a trot, then you will canter. You always learn it at the slowest speed possible first.

To ask a horse to walk: keep your hands relaxed and body loose. Bump gently with both heels (which are down) on both sides at the same time. The horse should walk. If not, bump slightly harder and make a kissing or clicking sound. Or say "walk." It all depends on how the horse is trained.

The most basic of steering a horse is to pull your left rein back towards your hip to turn to the left. Pull your right rein back to your hip to turn right. Pull back evenly to your hips to stop, and with some horses they have a voice cue such as "whoa" or "ho" (the shortened version of whoa) that you'd say at the same time.

As for you! :) Sit up straight. Keep you shoulders back and chin up. Look where you are steering the horse, not at his/her ears (which is very common for beginners to do). Horses can feel the direction your head is turned. Try to keep your hands close together with your thumbs pointing up, not at an angle. The way I was taught was that you were holding ice cream cones. That way you don't tip your hands in or out. Bend your wrist so there is a straight line going down your forearm to the tip of your thumb. When you hold your wrist normally there your thumb is higher. So bend your wrist to make it the same line. Keep some bend in your elbows, and keep them tucked in against you. No flappy chicken wings when you ride :). Your shoulders, hips and heels should be in a straight line. What I mean by that is when seated on the horse, your shoulders are directly above your hips (you are not leaning forward or back) and your heels are under your hips. You should be able to stand up in your stirrups and not fall forward (which means your legs were too far behind your hips) or backward (which means your legs were to far in front of you) in to the saddle. Relax and have fun!!

Having your heels down helps keep your butt anchored in you saddle. It's also so that when (and unfortunately it is when not if) you fall your feet will slid out of the stirrups better so you don't get caught in them.

If you ride, you will fall. It happens to everybody. The flip side of that is the longer you've been riding, the less likely (barring freak accidents) you are to fall. Olympic level riders still fall.The best thing you can do when that happens is to A) let go of your reins, B) get your feet free, which is easier when your heels are down, C) don't throw out an arm or both to catch yourself, because if you land on it wrong you can break it and D) try to protect your head/neck if possible when you land. Stay still and take an "inventory" of yourself once you're on the ground. If everything feels ok, then sit up. Wait another minute or two before you do stand up. Then get back on! Walk a lap or two on the horse, depending on how you feel, but get back on after you fall (unless something is broken, then obviously go to the hospital!).

This all takes LOTS and LOTS of practice and time. You rarely see a good rider who has not spent hours and hours and hours in the saddle. Keep riding, ask questions and learn all you can! You can email me if you have a specific question. I'd be more than happy to answer. Have fun!

you probably wont like my answer - but the best way to learn about horses is to keep on with your lessons - ask your instructor questions - get her to show you what you need to know and so on.

With regards horse care - why not buy a book - there are hundreds of really good ones out there that cover all issues from grooming to horse healthcare. These are available for really good prices from Amazon and Ebay.

xx

there is this amazing book that i got before i started riding. i started taking lessons knowing a lot of things! it helped SO much! this is what the cover is

----> http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&bi...

its calles horses for dummies haha. i STILL read it and learn new things. this is the best book ever and it taught me most of what i know about horses.

i strongly suggest it