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.

How to get a Truly Shiny Coat.

We’ve all seen them, a nice looking horse; that something is just off, something needs to be different, but what is it?  Upon closer inspection, it’s the coat that is off.  It is dull or rough and has no shine to it what so ever.  It does not matter how healthy looking a horse is, without a shiny coat, they just do not look it.

Why is the Coat not Shiny?

There are, any number of reasons that an otherwise healthy horse may not be shiny.  Worms, dirt, lack of nutrients, and simple lack of elbow grease may be the culprit behind a not so shiny coat.  Too many baths could also be behind it, but more on that later.  So, what happens if you have groomed that horse until your arms can not handle any more grooming; and you still don’t have a shiny coat?  Honestly, you need to start looking for other reasons why the horse is not as shiny as you think it should be.

Nutrition.

Is the horse receiving all of the appropriate nutrients it requires to maintain a healthy coat, mane, tail, and hooves?  Look at your pasture or hay first.  Have it tested because any other dietary additions need to balance out what the forage is lacking.  You will also have to take into consideration how often you ride or work the horse, and how heavy that work load is.  Obviously, a race horse will require a different feeding plan than a weekend trail horse to maintain weight and health.  There are also horses that are extremely easy to make too fat, and on the opposite side of that coin horses that are extremely hard to keep weight on and looking healthy.  Young horses and older horses also have different needs for nutritional support to consider.

When you do determine your horse’s nutritional needs, now you have to decide how to meet them.  Will a simple ration balancer supplement do it for you, or will your horse require a feed? 

If you only trail ride once or twice a month, and your horse lives out in a pasture, you may very well be able to get away with a ration balancer supplement, and the pasture alone during the spring, summer, and part of the fall.  During the winter, however you will have to supplement the pasture with hay, unless you have a winter grass, and plenty of it, planted in your pasture.

If, on the other hand you ride for 2 or 3 hours a day, and ride hard when you’re riding, whether your horse lives on a pasture or in a stall, chances are even with free access to pasture or hay, you will have to feed the horse some type of feed.  I personally prefer a complete feed like Purina’s Omolene line (http://horse.purinamills.com/products/omolene/ECMD2-0032696.aspx) or the Nutrena (http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena/products/horses/Product-Comparison/index.jsp) complete feeds over simple grains.  I’ve had great success with the Omolene 200, and I love the fact that I only have to feed a minimum of 0.35 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight.  My 1,400 pound mare only gets 4.9 pounds a day, all of the vitamins and minerals are already in the feed, so I don’t have to supplement any additional nutrients.

Worms.

When was the last time the horse was thoroughly wormed, and with what product was it wormed?  If it’s been a while since the horse has been wormed, you may need to worm the horse.  If you’re not sure what product was last used, pick something that has worked well for you in the past.  Whether you determine that the horse needs worming by fecal count or by simply observing behaviors that suggest it, like rubbing their tails (which is an indication of pinworms).  If the horse has worms, that can affect the horse’s coat.

A regular worming schedule is something that you should really consult your vet or equine nutritionist on.  I would suggest a fecal count, so you will know for a matter of fact that the horse does have worms.  http://www.horsemenslab.com/content.php?p=faq  It will not reveal every type of worm that your horse may or may not have, but it will reveal the two most common types of worms that infest horses.  Any other worms that the horse may have will depend on if those worms are common in your area.

Bathing

How often do you bathe your horse with soap or shampoo?  If you are bathing him or her too often, you are stripping the natural oils required to make the horse shiny, so even if you are feeding them properly, keep them wormed, and are grooming until you can’t manage grooming any more, the horse simply will not shine.  Those oils that you are washing down the drain are what make the horse shine.  I can understand bathing a horse before a big event, or if the horse has a skin condition that bathing is part of the treatment for, but other than that, I see no need for regular bathing of a horse.  I would not even suggest frequent washing of the mane and tail, but instead just rinse it with conditioner, and rinse that out.  There is enough sulfates in conditioners that they can actually clean the hair and condition it at the same time.

After you finish riding, do you rinse the sweat and resulting salt from the horse’s coat?  I mean rinse, not bathe, rinsing with water is sufficient to remove the salt from the coat, without using any type of soap or shampoo.  This is something that you can do, even if you don’t have running water at your barn.  A five gallon bucket full of water from home, and a large sponge.  Also, make sure to rinse under the horse’s tail, as the salt can make the tail itch and result in tail rubbing, which is also a sign of pinworms.

Grooming

Are you grooming in a fashion that promotes a shiny coat.  If you are using products that contain silicone, like Show Sheen (http://www.jeffersequine.com/showsheen-hair-polish/camid/equ/cp/14016/) on a regular basis, the answer is no.  Silicone has a drying affect on hair, so even if you have everything else right, the horse will not be shiny without the spray.  It’s understandable to use the silicone spray on special occasions, or if you have a really bad knot to get out of the horse’s mane or tail, but it will need to be washed out as soon as you can manage it.  Grooming can make a healthy horse truly gleam instead of only shining.  It distributes the natural oils over the hair shafts, and helps create a soft, shiny, slick look.  A look that will not require any type of polish to help the horse look finished.

Daily grooming is worth doing, if you are doing it correctly, if you want to know how I groom my horses, visit one of my blogs, http://mylifewithhorsesandwhatithastaughtme.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-i-groom-and-why.html or http://paintedlady2000.hubpages.com/hub/How-I-Groom-and-Why  I spend a considerable amount of time grooming my horses to make sure that they get the best out of my grooming time.

Conclusion

Regardless of why you want your horse to be shiny, and let’s face it we all want that whether we’re trail riders or top level performers.  You have to look at the complete horse to determine why the horse is not as shiny as you may like.  I think that regardless of the horse’s use, his or her nutritional needs should be looked after as best you can, with what you have available to you in your area.  The horse should be wormed for species that are common in your area, and a worming schedule determined to keep the horse as parasite free as possible.  All measurements should be taken to ensure that there is no sweat or salt drying out the horse’s coat.  Grooming supplies that dry out hair like silicone based polishes should be used sparingly.

Take whatever measurements you can to ensure that you get that gleaming coat that you want.

Good luck and God bless in your future endeavors.