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Advanced Horse Training
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| Advanced Horse Training |
As a rider, when I first started riding, I learned to use the saddle to stay on the horse and
the reins to communicate where to go. I thought that was the only way to be safe and to
keep the horse under control. I have since learned that “safe” and “control” are two
words that can have a lot of different interpretations. I now know that the saddle and
reins are like training wheels on a child’s bicycle. They help us keep our balance, and
they keep us from falling down so our confidence can grow. However, most of all they
hold us back. To be a good rider – to really expand your skills – you need to push
yourself and try something new. Lose the training wheels and learn how to really ride.
Now this is not easy. Before we begin you need to understand that the type of riding I’
m talking about requires a lot of practice. Riding without the reins and saddle will leave
you with a lot of sore muscles. You’ll get one or two good bruises both to your body
and your ego, and you’ll wonder why you are even trying to ride without a saddle and
reins. But the ends will justify the means. You will become a better rider. With improved
balance and posture you will better communicate with your horse using the most subtle
of cues. Your horse will even get better. They will be more relaxed and responsive. In
all, your riding experience will become more than you ever thought it could be. It’s
difficult – believe me I know it’s difficult – but give it a try. The only way we get
anywhere is by constantly pushing ourselves one step further no matter how difficult
the next step is.
the reins to communicate where to go. I thought that was the only way to be safe and to
keep the horse under control. I have since learned that “safe” and “control” are two
words that can have a lot of different interpretations. I now know that the saddle and
reins are like training wheels on a child’s bicycle. They help us keep our balance, and
they keep us from falling down so our confidence can grow. However, most of all they
hold us back. To be a good rider – to really expand your skills – you need to push
yourself and try something new. Lose the training wheels and learn how to really ride.
Now this is not easy. Before we begin you need to understand that the type of riding I’
m talking about requires a lot of practice. Riding without the reins and saddle will leave
you with a lot of sore muscles. You’ll get one or two good bruises both to your body
and your ego, and you’ll wonder why you are even trying to ride without a saddle and
reins. But the ends will justify the means. You will become a better rider. With improved
balance and posture you will better communicate with your horse using the most subtle
of cues. Your horse will even get better. They will be more relaxed and responsive. In
all, your riding experience will become more than you ever thought it could be. It’s
difficult – believe me I know it’s difficult – but give it a try. The only way we get
anywhere is by constantly pushing ourselves one step further no matter how difficult
the next step is.
Farewell to the Saddle
The first step is getting rid of the saddle. Just
so we can all be clear on what that means –
there should be nothing on the horse’s back
except your butt. Bareback pads can be
dangerous because they can slip out of
position. More importantly they have stirrups
which are what we are trying to stay away from.
With bareback riding you will quickly learn two
things: you have more muscles in your legs
than you ever imagined (every one of them will
hurt), and your legs are very important tools in
riding. At this stage, focus on your legs to stay
on the horse. You won’t have the stirrups to
rest your legs on so it won’t be easy. Try to use
your legs to grip the horse without focusing on
your leg placement. In reality each person’s
body is different, and each person needs to ride
and figure out what works best for them based
on their experience and physical build. So each
person’s leg placement will be slightly different.
As time goes by - and your muscles stop feeling
so sore - you’ll find that your posture is
naturally better and unique to you and your
horse.
The first step is getting rid of the saddle. Just
so we can all be clear on what that means –
there should be nothing on the horse’s back
except your butt. Bareback pads can be
dangerous because they can slip out of
position. More importantly they have stirrups
which are what we are trying to stay away from.
With bareback riding you will quickly learn two
things: you have more muscles in your legs
than you ever imagined (every one of them will
hurt), and your legs are very important tools in
riding. At this stage, focus on your legs to stay
on the horse. You won’t have the stirrups to
rest your legs on so it won’t be easy. Try to use
your legs to grip the horse without focusing on
your leg placement. In reality each person’s
body is different, and each person needs to ride
and figure out what works best for them based
on their experience and physical build. So each
person’s leg placement will be slightly different.
As time goes by - and your muscles stop feeling
so sore - you’ll find that your posture is
naturally better and unique to you and your
horse.
Though I can’t tell you exactly what to do, I can give you a few tips to help you out. Let’
s start from the top…
1. Good riding posture begins with your head. Your head influences your center of
gravity which in turn affects your balance. A good rule I use is: When you learn to drive,
you look two car lengths ahead. When you learn to ride, you should look two horse
lengths ahead. This rule should help to keep your head where it is supposed to be.
2. Keep your shoulders level. This is not a hard and fast rule but if you drop one
shoulder lower than the other it will cause you problems. For example, if your left
shoulder drops the rest of your body will have to accommodate that movement or you
will lose your balance. Your back will bend and cause your left hip to rise. That will
cause your left leg to bend and dig into the horse a little more than usual and the horse
will constantly be veering off to the left.
3. Relax your back. Don’t slump in the saddle, just relax. Even the most trained
horse can unexpectedly do something wrong. Your back needs to be relaxed to help
absorb that movement. If your back is tense and ridged and the horse gets scared and
jumps to the side; well you are either going to pull a back muscle and be really sore the
next day, or you’re going to fall off.
4. The hips are important in communication, balance, and comfort. Like your
shoulders your hips should be even, or ideally they should be. The communication and
comfort part also corresponds to your legs. If your legs are in the proper position and
your knees are pointed forward, you should feel like you are stretching your hips open.
This will help you grip the horse which will help to keep you from bouncing.
5. Your legs are exceptionally specific to you. You need to find out what is best for
you. Typically you want your knees and feet pointed forward as much as possible.
There is a grove where the ribs meet the shoulder blade. This groove is a natural spot to
put your legs. Once you get used to it, from that groove you can even post at a trot. I
also recommend letting your toes drop down. Usually people will tell you to keep your
heels down. However, that can cause a great deal of tension to build up in the back of
your legs that can limit your abilities to grip the horse. Besides, you keep your heels
down as a safety measure while using stirrups and we’re not using stirrups.
With those tips in mind, go out and ride. It will seem awkward and tiring especially
when you start working at faster speeds. But your body will eventually adjust. Try to
focus on basic movements. Work on turns, stops, and getting up to faster speeds. It
will take a lot of hard work before you start noticing improvement, but if you stick with it
you’ll notice a change. Bareback riding is a great exercise for every rider.
s start from the top…
1. Good riding posture begins with your head. Your head influences your center of
gravity which in turn affects your balance. A good rule I use is: When you learn to drive,
you look two car lengths ahead. When you learn to ride, you should look two horse
lengths ahead. This rule should help to keep your head where it is supposed to be.
2. Keep your shoulders level. This is not a hard and fast rule but if you drop one
shoulder lower than the other it will cause you problems. For example, if your left
shoulder drops the rest of your body will have to accommodate that movement or you
will lose your balance. Your back will bend and cause your left hip to rise. That will
cause your left leg to bend and dig into the horse a little more than usual and the horse
will constantly be veering off to the left.
3. Relax your back. Don’t slump in the saddle, just relax. Even the most trained
horse can unexpectedly do something wrong. Your back needs to be relaxed to help
absorb that movement. If your back is tense and ridged and the horse gets scared and
jumps to the side; well you are either going to pull a back muscle and be really sore the
next day, or you’re going to fall off.
4. The hips are important in communication, balance, and comfort. Like your
shoulders your hips should be even, or ideally they should be. The communication and
comfort part also corresponds to your legs. If your legs are in the proper position and
your knees are pointed forward, you should feel like you are stretching your hips open.
This will help you grip the horse which will help to keep you from bouncing.
5. Your legs are exceptionally specific to you. You need to find out what is best for
you. Typically you want your knees and feet pointed forward as much as possible.
There is a grove where the ribs meet the shoulder blade. This groove is a natural spot to
put your legs. Once you get used to it, from that groove you can even post at a trot. I
also recommend letting your toes drop down. Usually people will tell you to keep your
heels down. However, that can cause a great deal of tension to build up in the back of
your legs that can limit your abilities to grip the horse. Besides, you keep your heels
down as a safety measure while using stirrups and we’re not using stirrups.
With those tips in mind, go out and ride. It will seem awkward and tiring especially
when you start working at faster speeds. But your body will eventually adjust. Try to
focus on basic movements. Work on turns, stops, and getting up to faster speeds. It
will take a lot of hard work before you start noticing improvement, but if you stick with it
you’ll notice a change. Bareback riding is a great exercise for every rider.
Drop One Rein
The next step is to lose a rein. Riding with a
single rein is one of the best ways to improve
your skills with leg communication. You will
also learn that you don’t need reins to tell the
horse to turn left or right; rather the reins
simply tell the horse when to pay attention.
This step may require you to go back and work
on some ground training. You may also want
to ride bareback with a bosal or harness with
lead ropes before you try this. If you’ve been
riding with a bit in the horse’s mouth you can
still do this, but you may have a rough start.
When you lose a rein, you are forced to learn
how to use your body to tell the horse where to
move. You can use your legs to communicate
to the horse to turn, stop, move forward, and
go in reverse. Not only do your legs affect
communication but your balance does as well.
With one rein you will learn how to use both
legs and weight to move the horse. You’ll
have to; you've only got one rein.
The single rein is important because it teaches the horse to be more responsive. The
horse wants to know which way to go also. They learn to move based on your legs and
balance, but they learn to pay attention because of the rein. When you are cantering
along and you want to turn to the right, you may have trouble communicating it to the
horse because your body is bouncing around. It’s hard for the horse to tell what
movements are from you trying to hold on, and you trying to steer. So you’ll need to
give a slight pull on the rein as if to say, “Hey, get ready to turn!” Then you give the cue
to turn and the horse will follow you. Use the rein to get the horse’s attention.
This step also takes time. And as with every other part of this exercise it sounds
easier than it really is. Work on both tight and large turns so the horse will learn the
difference in leg pressure for each. Work at fast speeds and the changing of speeds.
Work good on backing up and stopping. Most importantly, keep working. This is a
great tool. Between bareback riding and single rein riding, nothing will better improve
the responsiveness between you and your horse. Nothing. A horse and rider that can
ride successfully in this manner can accomplish any task put in front of them. So spend
time on this and become very good at it. When and if you ever return to the saddle and
reins, you will be unshakable.
horse wants to know which way to go also. They learn to move based on your legs and
balance, but they learn to pay attention because of the rein. When you are cantering
along and you want to turn to the right, you may have trouble communicating it to the
horse because your body is bouncing around. It’s hard for the horse to tell what
movements are from you trying to hold on, and you trying to steer. So you’ll need to
give a slight pull on the rein as if to say, “Hey, get ready to turn!” Then you give the cue
to turn and the horse will follow you. Use the rein to get the horse’s attention.
This step also takes time. And as with every other part of this exercise it sounds
easier than it really is. Work on both tight and large turns so the horse will learn the
difference in leg pressure for each. Work at fast speeds and the changing of speeds.
Work good on backing up and stopping. Most importantly, keep working. This is a
great tool. Between bareback riding and single rein riding, nothing will better improve
the responsiveness between you and your horse. Nothing. A horse and rider that can
ride successfully in this manner can accomplish any task put in front of them. So spend
time on this and become very good at it. When and if you ever return to the saddle and
reins, you will be unshakable.
Losing All Restraint
In the end, if you want to truly impress
your friends, you can get rid of the last
rein. Riding with no saddle and reins is
one of the most impressive
demonstrations of horsemanship. It
signifies a confidence and control that
most riders will never know. Although
horse and rider teams that can ride this
way are worth their weight in gold, don’t
ever forget about safety. Even good
riders and horses have accidents so I
suggest having a rope around the horse’
s neck - just in case - as a safety device.
When you can ride without a saddle and
reins that rope just means you’re
smart… and talented. Always put safety
first.
In the end, if you want to truly impress
your friends, you can get rid of the last
rein. Riding with no saddle and reins is
one of the most impressive
demonstrations of horsemanship. It
signifies a confidence and control that
most riders will never know. Although
horse and rider teams that can ride this
way are worth their weight in gold, don’t
ever forget about safety. Even good
riders and horses have accidents so I
suggest having a rope around the horse’
s neck - just in case - as a safety device.
When you can ride without a saddle and
reins that rope just means you’re
smart… and talented. Always put safety
first.
Great horses and horse people are hard to find. Most of them only exist in stories. Those
stories hardly ever focus on their amazing saddles or fancy tack. No, most of them focus
on the horse and rider’s abilities and relationship. The great stories tell us how a horse
and rider should act as one. Take away the saddle and reins and really learn to work as a
team. Give it a try and who knows, one day you and your horse may become the stuff of
legends. One day people may tell stories about you.
stories hardly ever focus on their amazing saddles or fancy tack. No, most of them focus
on the horse and rider’s abilities and relationship. The great stories tell us how a horse
and rider should act as one. Take away the saddle and reins and really learn to work as a
team. Give it a try and who knows, one day you and your horse may become the stuff of
legends. One day people may tell stories about you.
| Riding Without Restraint by Michael Hockemeyer |