What to Expect from Riding Lessons.

My brother and his family just recently moved back to our home town of Camden.  They had not been here long, not even 24 hours, when my niece Jordan was hitting me up for riding lessons.  Well, today she made the comment that she didn’t like getting dirty, and I promptly asked her what she thought riding horses was going to get her.  She looked at me like I was totally crazy, and not in the good way.  She quickly pronounced that how dirty could she get riding a horse.  I told her that before she stepped on that horse, she had to groom it, and saddle it; and she would be dirty before she ever actually got on the horse.

Now, I’m not the type of person that allows every Tom, Dick, and Harry on my horses, because I honestly believe that everyone who interacts with a horse, is in fact a trainer, whether they claim to be or not.  Because of that, I am extremely picky about who gets on my horses.

Well, this conversation got me thinking about what someone should expect to learn while under the tutelage of an experienced horse person, whether they are a certified instructor or not.  So, what exactly should an instructor be teaching his/her students? 

Well, in my opinion, the first thing that someone should learn is just basic horse care.

·         How often the horse needs to be fed, how much, and why the horse is fed whatever.

·         How the feed needs to be stored, to maintain it freshness and ensure that it is not infested by bugs.

·         How often do horses need to be wormed, how to worm horses, and with what kind of wormer.

·         How often the farrier needs to come out.

·         How often the vet needs to visit, for regular maintenance of the horse.

·         The affect that a horse’s teeth can have on their entire life, how often to have the horse’s teeth checked by an equine dentist or a vet.

·         How to safely handle a horse on the ground.

·         How to safely lounge and free lounge a horse.

·         How to properly groom a horse.

·         How to properly saddle a horse, and check the saddle for proper fit.

·         How to properly bridle and unbridle a horse.

·         How to properly clean a stall.

·         How to check, and fix fence.

·         How to clean out the feet.

·         Symptoms of common ailments that affect horses, and treatment of those ailments.

·         General first aid of horses.

·         When to call the vet for the horses, in emergency situations.

Now, I’m not saying that this list is by any means complete, I’m quite sure that there are things that I have missed, because at this point I do most of these without really thinking about doing them, they just get done.  It’s all the little things that happen when you own a horse that needs to be taught when you’re learning to ride a horse.  And, I haven’t even touched on what the rider needs to learn about actually riding the horse.

What does anyone learn from showing up to an already saddled horse, getting on it and riding, and nothing else?  Exactly that, nothing.  I don’t care if you spend $20.00 for a lesson or $200.00 for a lesson, if you have taken riding lessons, you should also learn how to actually care for the horse as well.  Instead, there are people that have taken lessons for years, and have no idea of how to take care of one, when they decide to get their own horse.

Why Should Every Rider take Riding Lessons?

I was never lucky enough to have formal riding lessons.  Where I live, they are just not readily available, so I understand that they are not readily available everywhere.  Now, I did have access to more experience horse people that helped me with my riding on my horses.  So, in a round-about way, I had riding lessons.  What these people taught me, went well beyond just riding the horse, and that is one reason that I think riding lessons should cover more than just riding, in fact I think they should be called horse lessons instead.

Every horse person needs access to a more knowledgeable person; that can help them with things that they themselves have little or no knowledge of.  A riding instructor or coach can fill the position, and should willingly.  The instructor can make sure that your experience with horses is safe and pleasurable.  They can also help you select a horse this is not beyond your riding level, or one that will challenge you if your riding level is advanced enough for that.  My second horse was way beyond my riding level, but I was enough of a natural rider that I rose to the challenge of him, and ended up having a well behaved horse that I trusted with my life.  I can honestly say, that if I had an instructor, that he would not have been their choice for my second horse.  He wasn’t even my choice for a second horse, but he was what I had so I rode him, everyday.

It takes a bull headed person to keep riding when they have the wrong horse, and not every person is going to plow ahead when they constantly run into problems with a horse.  A good riding instructor can help with this.  They can insure that you end up on a horse that is appropriate to you, and whatever you plan on doing with the horse.  They can also give you access to many more horses to ride until you buy your own, if you ever do.  The more horses you ride, the more experienced and confident you will become on any horse that you may ride; and when you go shopping for your own horse you will have to ride them the day that you meet them.  You will need to be confident enough to get on a horse that you only met a few minutes earlier.  If you have never taken riding lessons, and never ridden at all, you may have problems doing this; but I always recommend trying a horse out before you buy them.

A good riding instructor can make life with horses much easier on you.  Taking lessons will also let you figure out if the horse thing is actually for you or not, without the expense of buying everything that is required to own a horse.  Only to figure out six months down the road that horses really aren’t for you after all.  Not to mention, lessons are a great way to be around horses and ride if you don’t have the money to buy and care for one on your own.