# tacking up at a lesson?



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Ask nicely if you could bring him in to get him groomed,tacked,and how to put the stirrups up and away and tighten the girth..I'm guessing it's english? You should be able to learn those things as well.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Vergo, everyone who rides needs to know how to tack up a horse, so I'm glad you want to learn.

Just mention it to your instructor that you'd like to learn to tack up your own lesson horse. I'll bet she'd be thrilled to know you're interested.


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## Horses259 (Dec 23, 2010)

I took lessons but i dont have a instructer since she got fired....but just ask nicely if you could learn how one day. its very easy though...dressage/jumping saddles are the easiest to me just because they are light and all you have to to is the gurth really. and then with western saddles well those are heavy... so just ask to learn. but what kind of riding do you do? -taylor


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I thought that was one of the main things they should have you do. Grooming and tacking are all part of it. Could it be already tacked from a previous lesson?


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

That's what I thought too - may be the horse had a lesson just before yours. It's pretty common in big lesson barns. But if not, just ask nice, tell them you really want to learn all aspects of the "care" (not just riding  ).


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## randomequine (Nov 19, 2010)

It happens a lot for us -- horses are already tacked up, so the student just hops on. Not my favorite method, but hey, I'm not the head instructor, so I don't make the decision as far as that goes.

I'd talk to you instructor about it. Maybe they could adjust your ride time so you ride first, or you could come early to help out. I'm sure there's a way! That's something that is super important to learn!!!!!


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

yep i do english riding. i will ask her at the beginning of next lesson if i can help prepare the horse. maybe he is tacked up from another lesson, but he is often in his stable with a blanket over him. one of the problems is that my riding instructor often has a lesson before and after my lesson. does anyone know anything about pony days and how useful they can be?


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

What do you mean by "pony day"? In different barns it can mean different thing. :wink:

I'm not sure if you have time, can drive, and how old you are, but you can ask the instructor or barn manager if they need any help in barn. This way you'll learn quite a lot of horse care.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

im 13, so can't drive :wink:. a pony day is where you spend a day at the stables with a group of people and tack up your horse, go for a hack, untack your horse, have lunch and tack up your horse again and have a lesson. i wasnt sure if it was for younger people though, as it is called pony day. i could ask if she wants help around the stables, but she might not want me to help out, as im not very experienced.


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

At my old riding school it was a *MUST *that you had to help out atleast once a month all day or half-day if you were too young if you wanted to ride there. It was to learn the basics in horse care and once you were old enough/capable enough you could deal with the pony you were riding e.g tack/untack grooming, and it was really a matter of if you got there early enough to tack up or someone else would do it for you.

At my new riding school I waited 5 months, until one day everyone was busy so I just asked if they wanted me to untack my horse ( I already knew how to tack/untack), and now I'm allowed to do it whenever the horse isn't being ridden next.

Just ask and I'm sure they will say yes. You learn and it saves them the trouble =P


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

Oh and I've never done an official Pony Day, but if they're anything like helping out at my old riding school, then they are useful.

Since I'm guessing you live in Britain, I think they're are like one week camps around where you own a pony for a week or two.

Look in Pony mag


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

yes i will definatly be asking my next riding lesson. owning a pony for a week sounds exciting, but would it be for more advanced riders?


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

No, it shouldn't be because you get help and get supervised anyway. And the quality of your riding shouldn't cause a major impact, the way you work around hroses should
I'll see if I can find anything that might be useful


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

Take a look at this: Pony Camps - Horse Treks


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

thank you!


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

No prob


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

its quite far away and very expensive, i'd have to save up for it!


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

but it sounds fun!


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_When I was in Ireland, it was common for the horses to be ready to go...all you had to do was hop on and ride. It was really disappointing for me as I love to groom before and after my lesson. But since I was staying on the property for several days, I was able to help tack up and untack for the properties lessons a few days in, once I had shown myself competant. This must be a European thing, or really posh barn thing.... LOL_

_Since you have only had a very small amount of lessons, you could ask that one of your lessons be a grooming and tacking up lesson. You could also ask for a more advanced student to help show you how to tack up, if it is ok with the Yard Owner/Barn Owner/Barn Manager. It would be very good for you to know how to do it yourself, so that in the future, if you get your own horse eventually, you could do it yourself._

_It was honestly culture shock when I got there and was pretty much told NO, you are not to tack up. Although...nice and poshy for a few days! LOL_


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

i think the reason the horse is always tacked up is because they have to fit in a lot of lessons in a short amount of time (my lesson is after school on a wednesday) so it is easier to have all the horses tacked up so they can quickly start the lesson. i would love to be able to tack up and groom, and it would be great to have my own horse!


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

I guess al you can do is ask


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

Since you are young I suggest you do a pony camp during the summer. They teach you everything at those  That is how I learned and now I work at a riding school and tack horses up before lessons. Keep in mind the lesson is only an hour more or less depending where you are. All of the horses/ponies are tacked up so they are ready to go straight away for the lesson. I am guessing they would not have time to wait for you to go and tack up then do your lesson. Unless of course you can go earlier. I am sure they would love the help.

And to add most riding schools have camps during the summer. So ask about it where you go riding. Where I am there is a one week camp on in January while everyone is off school.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Vergo,

I would think that teaching you how to tackup and all would be beneficial to all concerned. However, they are probably on a tight schedule, so you would have to understand that the time used to tack up the horse (teaching you how) would come out of your hour lesson. 

Also, no doubt they have liability concerns, so they need to maintain control over how the horse is tacked. If , for some reason, you tacked him up alone and you didn't do it quite right and during the lesson the saddle came off and there was an injury accident, they might end up being sued. At least, in the US, such things can happen . 
In any case, it's really admirable that you want to learn these things. They are so important to becoming a horsewoman.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

I took lessons at a barn with 42 horses, about 200 students and always 2 lessons going on at once... But everybody learned to tack up from day 1 and it was in addition to the 1 hour lesson not part of it.


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## micklepickle (Oct 3, 2010)

This is kinda foreign to me, never have I been at a lesson barn (I've been at 3 different ones, one's a huuuuuuuuge barn where they go everywhere and show) where you DIDN'T have to tack up or groom!

It's always been part of the deal! Say I have a lesson at 9:30AM (which i do, haha, on monday and thursday!) I usually have my parents drop me off at 8:30/8:45ish so I have enough time to groom thoroughly if I have a dirty pony. 

But yeah, ask for a grooming/tacking up lesson! One day one of our lesson horses was being really ditzy so my instructor gave me a mini-lesson on lunging.


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## englishrider (Feb 4, 2010)

Don't wory when I started, my traier did the same thing, ask your trainer or just wait nicely, does s/he tack up in front of you? After a while, my trainer taught me how to saddle up then after a while bridling! Now look at me, i saddle, groom, bridle, and do different mane and tail styles!  It's fabulous that you want to learn, definitely youtube and google it, so whe your trainer says it's time to learn, you'll have a good idea of what it's going to be like! ;]
_* Happy Trails and Happy Holidays!*_


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

Just a suggestion, you said where you are that lessons sometimes get cancelled due to bad weather? Are you still able to get to the barn? Maybe you could ask for an indoor lesson, just on grooming and tacking up on lesson days when the weather is too bad to ride. I do that for my newbies here when we are going to get rained out, and they are just learning the ropes. It gives me time to explain things during a regular scheduled lesson time and not be in a rush to get the lesson going so I don't back up my whole schedule for the day. I can teach grooming, tacking up AND explain what the different pieces of tack are and what they do, and if we do a couple of these lessons I can get into proper tack cleaning, basic injuries, etc. That way they still get the lesson money and you get instruction on other things besides riding.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

vergo97 said:


> im 13, so can't drive :wink:. *a pony day is where you spend a day at the stables with a group of people and tack up your horse, go for a hack, untack your horse, have lunch and tack up your horse again and have a lesson.* i wasnt sure if it was for younger people though, as it is called pony day. i could ask if she wants help around the stables, but she might not want me to help out, as im not very experienced.


I'd ABSOLUTELY go for day the like this. In fact 2 barns in my area have similar days for ADULTS!  

And you being inexperienced... We all started somewhere, and I'm sure even with little experience you can groom the horse or brush its mane.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Where I am currently teaching, we start our beginners by teaching them all basics aspects of horses in regards to handling and tacking up. No matter how young they are, we teach them to approach and catch the pony/horse, lead it, tie it, groom it, pick out its feet, saddle, girth and bridle. And then to untack and put the pony away. In the first few lessons this process DOES cut into the riding time, our lessons go for 1 hour and they generally get about 25mins of riding, but as they get better at tacking up their riding time increases and once why are competent at tacking up themselves, we ask them to arrive 10-15minutes early to tack up, so that their lesson ends up being ridden for the whole hour.


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## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

vergo97 said:


> i started riding about two months ago, and i love it! i have had about 7 lessons (some have been canceled because of the snow:-() i was just wandering if i will ever get to tack up the horse that i ride/ groom him, as he is always ready when i get there. i know i havent been riding for long compared to other people, but would love to know just the basics ( like putting up the stirrups, loosing the girth?)


Odd. To be honest.

I have to get the horse, groom, tack up and then ride. My trainer basically says ''how do you ride without knowing how to tack up."


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

when the lessons get canceled for bad weather, it is normally because we can't get there because the roads are to icy, and there isnt an indoor area. i will be asking about pony days and if i can tack up. on my first lesson the only thing i got taught was not to stand/walk behind a horse. my lessons are only half an hour long, but i think there is a group lesson for an hour. i used to have a half hour lesson with another kid, but he hasn't been for ages, because of the bad weather, his school play and he was ill, so my previous two lessons have been private. do you think group or private lessons are better?


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

when i say on my first lesson the only thing i got taught was not to stand/walk behind a horse, that was the only thing i got taught about horses, but i did walking and trotting.


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

When is your next lesson then?

Oh and I know how you feel, my last lesson of the year was cancelled because it was too dangerous to get there because of the snow


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

my next lesson is wednesday, i dont know if it will be private or with the other kid.


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I will say as an instructor who has her students tack/untack for every lesson it can take some time to do so. We supervise every student while they tack up because many of our students are very new to horses. Our newer and even the experienced young clients take a bit longer to tack up, if they dawdle they lose riding time seeing as they are paying for an hour total with the horse and I. I'm thinking someone tacks up for you because if you had to learn to groom/tack/untack/groom in half an hour you'd have very little time to ride if any. A pony day or something of the like sounds like a good idea before you just hang around the barn offering to tack horses if you're not sure how. 

Also, weather sucks for riding. I'm in southern California teaching in a rather rich area with horses, and many of my students are little girls 6-10. Parents sometimes don't drop off their kids because it's rained the day before and they assume things are cancelled or the parents don't want the kids muddy or whatever. We still offer "trail" rides and chances to learn about tack and such and we get stood up all the time which leads to my boss sometimes cancelling simply because our clients don't come. I have to imagine other barns do this. 

And as for group vs private lesson...if you're feeling relatively comfortable on the horse, I see no issue stepping up to a *small* group lesson. Our groups means there's two riders in the lesson. It'll give you more time to ride and you may be able to, at the very least, have your instructor go over the tack that is already on the horse with you.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

ponyboy said:


> I took lessons at a barn with 42 horses, about 200 students and always 2 lessons going on at once... But everybody learned to tack up from day 1 and it was in addition to the 1 hour lesson not part of it.





Cowgirl101 said:


> Odd. To be honest.
> 
> I have to get the horse, groom, tack up and then ride. My trainer basically says ''how do you ride without knowing how to tack up."


_^^Addressing both of these._

_Ponyboy, I know you are from Canada, and Cowgirl, you are from somewhere in the states.....we as North Americans get taught how to do this right from the get go. In the United Kingdom, it seems that it is typical for a student to arrive at the yard to have the ponies/horses all tacked up and ready to go. Even when I was in Ireland for a riding vacation as a novice/intermediate rider, I did not have to tack up my horse. _

_Different places do different things. If the OP was to come here, she might think it is "odd" that she would be expected to groom and tack up her own pony/horse._

_There are probably barns here in North America that cater to the rich...and they would most likely not have to tack up their horse either unless they requested that they do so._


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## GeenasGQ (Dec 22, 2010)

This idea is also completely foreign to me but I have heard of a lot of hunter/jumper barns being the ones that have your horse all ready and tacked up for their students. in my experience, many hunter/jumper barns have very strict, set schedules for their horses and you need to follow them in order to maintain their "like of riding" or something like that. maybe this is the case at your barn? if it is, try asking to learn how to tack up an older retired horse in place of your lesson. this way it doesn't still have the set schedule because it's retired but you are still able to learn how to tack up. 

at my barn, I'm the one who helps teach the lesson students how to get their horse, tie it up, groom it, tack it up properly, how to check the saddle, and just in general how to be around horses. The saddles are always checked before the student gets on, as well as the bridles. their first lesson is primarily learning how to do everything before getting on and explaining what their tack is and how it functions, as well as a few parts on the saddle and bridle. 

I agree with everyone that just asking won't hurt anything and that eventually, it's something that you should learn, but maybe your instructor doesn't feel you are ready for this step, yet.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

maybe i could spent a whole lesson just learning to to tack up a horse. i wouldnt mind not riding for a lesson.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

VelvetsAB said:


> _There are probably barns here in North America that cater to the rich...and they would most likely not have to tack up their horse either unless they requested that they do so._


Yup, we have one of those in town too.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

i dont think I or the barn is rich!


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

GeenasGQ said:


> The saddles are always checked before the student gets on




^^ About that when you do tack up for yourself, please check the girth is done up properly before getting on. Bad memory from when I was younger


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## fuadteagan (Jun 10, 2010)

tell her prior to the lesson :

i was wondering if i could tack up the lesson horse because i really want to know how ? 

trust me she will not say no do not be afraid


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

I am very glad to see that you are so interested... at our farm, our stance is that if you want to ride, you have to know how to handle the horse on the ground. Otherwise you get a skewed perspective of what horsemanship is all about, and more importantly, INCOMPLETE training. We start all students from the ground up. I hope you can figure something out with your riding instructor! Let them know that you hope to own a horse one day and therefore, you need training from the ground up!


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## Story (Dec 28, 2010)

It is good to see you are wanting to learn other stuff about horses besides riding!

Ask your instructor if you can come out one morning and help her feed the horses and clean the stalls- if she sees that you are willing to work and help around the barn she will eventually let you handle the horses more and maybe help younger students tack up for their lessons.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

sorry i didn't reply after my last lesson, but after todays lesson my instructor showed me how to un-tack a horse and she said if i come early next lesson i can help tack him up! my only problem now is in my lesson i have a horse that is REALLY lazy and it takes ages to get him to do transitions and he keeps cutting the corners. i can sometimes get him to stop cutting corners at walk and trot, but now i am learning canter, he cuts of about half the school! i try to use the reins to keep him on the track but he just moves his head and not his body. i am in group lessons so it is hard when my horse keeps messing about, cutting corners and going slow. what can i do?


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

Oh so many memories, I rode a pony just like yours, and I finally figured out how to work him and got moved onto a different horse =P

I suggest Half-halts, to get him listening and the inside leg on the girth pushing him out. Also you need to pull your outside rein more, aswell as the half halts to keep at a good pace. And I know you hear use leg evenly but you need to use your Inside leg more to get him moving out, but outside leg slightly behind the girth for impulsion. You may also need to use the crop aswell, if he really isn't listening. Behind the leg. The point is his body is meant to be straight with his heard sorta and bending in the right places.

It's gonna take alot of work and muscle probably =P


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

When a horse cuts inside, or "falls in on his inside shoulder" you actually have push him out, using both inside leg and inside rein. YOu will push hard against his inside girth area AND you lift your inside rein upward and in what's called an "indirect rein"" So you are kind of angling toward your outside hip. You ALMOST cross over his neck, but not quite. Do this at the same time as pushing him out. This works especially well if the horse is bent to inside, looking to the outside and cutting in. You will change his bend so that it fits the circle he is going on and push him out with your leg. 
Is that the way he is cutting in?


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

tinyliny-yes that it how he is cutting. i will try that technique next time.

brithorse-i do use a crop to get him moving, ive had one since my first lesson. maybe i should use it more. you said when you figured out how to work your horse you got moved on to a different horse. the horse i had today(called pele) i have had since my first lesson, but a few lessons ago i got told i could move on to a different horse. i had a diffrent horse last lesson (called jolly). jolly was more active and i didnt have to keep kicking him to get him moving. But now i am back in group lessons (i was having private for a bit) another girl has jolly and i have pele. i suppose this is because i am more used to pele and she must of been having jolly during her private lessons so she is more used to him. its just annoying because i feel like im doing really bad because there horses stay on the track and go faster than mine. hopefully he was just having a bad day so he will be better next time. he is worse in a group though because he doesnt like being away from them, so that is why he cuts corners.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

Very often in the UK it is either a scheduling issue or an insurace issue that prevents people tacking up thier own horses.

Own a pony days/weeks are brilliant, they are aimed at novices who don't know about horse care. When I went on them (mum used to use them as a babysitting service) the day normaly went something like this:

8am turn up, Introductions, findout what pony you have got
8.30am learn how to muck out, do haynets, waters. Lesson on grooming
10am learn how to tack up,
11am 1hr hack
Midday - Learn how to untack, rug up etc.
12.30 - lunch
1.15 - Lesson on general horse care (and at this point they usualy take you out to bank the muck heap, the stale yards worst chore in summer but fought over in winter)
2.30 - tack up again
3pm - 1hr lesson
4pm - untack, learn how to care for a sweaty horse, Lesson on feeds and feeding
5pm - feed horses, rug horses up. Give them cuddles and sweets and kisses.
5.30pm - 6pm pick up time.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

i would love to do a pony day!


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

Ask your instructor if the riding school do them. Most riding schools do hold them during the summer holidays. 
Some times they are called "pony days" sometimes they are called "own a pony days"


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

yep i will


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## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

I got moved onto another horse because my old pony was being used for someone else that lesson, and also becasue I was new to the school they put me on the other pony to see my abilities, so once I was on the new horse I never went back to the old pony (even though I could if I wanted too) 

My advice is that you're gonna have to learn with ponies like the one you ride however frustrated you are, but if it's really getting to you ask if you can ride like different horses/ponies each lesson, because you're going to have to get used to riding different temperments and personalities and this way if you ever get a horse you can see what may suit you more. Plus it makes you a better rider to ride different horses and not the same one.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

i had a lesson today, and i tried jumping. Pele was still cutting corners/stopping randomly/not going fast enough even though i was kicking with the inside leg and pulling on the rein, but hopefuly i will be swapping horses with a girl in my group because she is really nervous and her horse is picking up on her nerves and she would be better with my ploddy horse. Oh, and i helped prepare the horse at the beginning of the lesson!


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## EmilyandNikki (Sep 7, 2010)

That would be good for you and her! I currently ride one of the lesson horses I hate, I can handle him okay, and ride him good, but I personally hate him. But I ride him because he requires a firm hand, that I have developed, which the girl I ride with hasn't because she is even more nervous than me! So I let her(or make sure) she has the more easy going horse who will take care of her, instead of try and fight with her every step of the way. I'm sure the other girl will appreciate you giving up the horse your riding for her =)

I also arrive half an hour early for my lesson, so if I do have to tack and groom I can have it done, because it takes me 15-20 minutes to groom and tack(10 to de-tack, clean hooves, quick groom, blanket). I'm slow and thorough when grooming, that and I like to talk haha


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

Interesting...grooming and tacking a horse was the first thing I ever learned how to do. I guess its a culture thing.

There are quite a few things you can do when you have minimal experience with horses. Barn upkeep isn't the funnest thing to do, but it gets your foot in the door. With a little instruction, you could clean tack, rinse buckets, and clean stalls. 

I would definately ask if you could help out around the barn or get a lesson on how to tack up.


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