# Beginner



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

I have been told I'm a beginner (nothing wrong with being one). Believe it or not, I train a more advanced horse to be ride, one that a beginner should be riding or working with. I want to become a more advance rider, I know there all types of riders here to help. 
So can anyone take me how to be a advance rider.
I know how to tacked up a horse, groom, wash and ride a horse fine. But I know there's more to it.
*Without being talked down to.
Without being treated like a kid, I'm in high school so I understand.
Nicely please.*


----------



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Okay, this is not talking down to you, so please listen to what I have to say without taking advice. 

Since we can only know you through what you post, you want to make sure you present yourself as being educated on here (not saying you are not). I know it sucks to be treated like a child when you are not so I'm telling this to try and help you. 
Edit your posts before you submit. Here I did the first one for you: 
*I have been told I'm a beginner. I know there's nothing wrong with being one. I have trained more advanced horses under-saddle, one that a beginner can ride/should not be training (Not sure which you meant here) I want to become a more advanced rider and I know there are all types of riders here so can anyont tell me how to become a more advanced rider?

I know how to tack up, groom, wash, and ride a horse fine but I know there's more to it. 
Please try not to talk down to me or treat me like I am a kid. 
*

---------


One of the important things about training and riding horses is to admit when we need help and when something is over our head. In your other thread you mentioned you are training a horse you know is not beginner friendly. You have admitted to breaking an arm from it. There is a difference between challenging yourself and over facing yourself. I think you are doing the second right now. 

You say you know how to ride a horse. However a beginner riding a horse, and an advanced rider riding are two different things. I think you need to be more specific. 
You seem to ride western so do you rein, barrel race, rope..?

Can you walk, trot, canter safely? Can you notice illnesses or changes in behavior? Do you have basic first aide knowledge? 

Furthering your knowledge in bits and equipment and how they function will make you a better rider. 

I remember in a past post you mentioned not knowing what a lead was because you ride 'like the cowboys'. Reading on threads and asking questions on here can help but I would get a ponyclub or 4H manual that will teach you things about leads, diagonals, and things like that. 

Can you take some lessons? If not, check out books from the library or watch some informative episodes on RFDTV or some reputable horsemen on Youtube (people on here can tell you who is good and who is nutters). 

Kudos to you for looking for help!


----------



## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I think an important step to becoming a good rider is to align yourself with a good instructor/trainer. Be very particular about who you choose. Check to see what their training methods are, do you agree with them? See how they keep their horses, is that what you believe in? When I was a kid there used to be a very good instructor who was successful. He had very nice horses but I didn't like the way he did things. He kept them stabled in small stables with no yards most of the day. When he did put them in yards they were small with no shade, he had a couple of larger ones but there still wasn't enough to go round. He taught people to ride with harsher bits, spurs and crops and I think he over jumped his horses. People are free to do what they like but this was not the sort of person I wanted to be taught by. 

Make sure you make the correct decision about what you want to learn. Secondly, just because someone is successful does not mean what they do is good. Also, there are many good riders out there, but they do not have the personality/manner/experience to teach people. Not everyone can teach. Make sure you choose someone who you think does the right thing, who is a good teacher and also "practices what they preach". 

Besides from that, the only way to become advanced is to practice. Practice, practice, practice. So ride as many horses as you can, ride as often as you can. One or two hours a week isn't going to get you anywhere quickly. 

Also, I am of the firm belief that dressage is the basis to all riding. Therefore if I were a beginner again I would focus virtually all my energy on learning dressage. From there I could learn jumping, eventing, showing, western, etc, because I would have developed a solid, independent seat, independent and deliberate aids, and kind, still hands. Regardless of your discipline these qualities are universally desirable. 

Hope that helps  

Good luck.


----------



## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

Time and experience will help you become an advanced rider. A good listener, a good watcher, someone who can take criticism well and use it to better yourself. Reading, watching dvds, studying anything and everything to do with a horse and riding will strengthen your knowledge. Deciphering the difference in trainers and training and how you want to use that information. Not everyones training will work for you and neither will their advice. Making sure you are indeed doing what is right for your horse and yourself. Being able to make a mistake or two and learn from it not quit. I hope you can become what you desire and it will happen, but it will take time, patience, and work on your part. Time is all we have and there is no rush. Just try and have fun with it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

EVERYONE was a beginner. :wink: 

Practice, ride as many different horses as possible, lessons with the good instructor, work with trainer, talk to barn owners and seasoned horse owners to learn the basics (and later advanced too) of the horse care (EVERY rider must know that IMHO), try to educate yourself by reading, talking, visiting clinics (not just riding, but perhaps vet, dentist, or farrier), etc.


----------



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Saskia said:


> Also, I am of the firm belief that dressage is the basis to all riding. Therefore if I were a beginner again I would focus virtually all my energy on learning dressage. From there I could learn jumping, eventing, showing, western, etc, because I would have developed a solid, independent seat, independent and deliberate aids, and kind, still hands. Regardless of your discipline these qualities are universally desirable.


I agree 100% with that! I took dressage lessons all through middle and high school... and I'd been riding prior to that. Now in college I'm riding at a huntseat/western pleasure barn and I'm in high demand to ride as many horses as I have the time and desire to ride! The instructor loves my steady seat and hand, and my understanding of how the horse's body works. It's pretty awesome.


----------



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Ack. Just wanted to apologize for any snark in my first post.

Agreed, lessons are great!


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

My trainer said I'm a beginner yet a little above being a beginner. Lessons are great! I think that if you have some extra money maybe you should take up lessons.You might be able to work off the pay for lessons instead. Dressage is suppose to be really good for beginners.Teaches you the foundation to all riding. That is what I am learning right now and it's a lot of fun!


----------



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

I would have my family members help me, but they are to hard on me. They make me cry over simple things. (It's hard for my to cry over things) I did takes lessons, but my trainer quit. So there are no where else to go for that, sadly.. 
I ride western, I do barrels fine. My first show in barrels, there was 70 people and I got 25 place. Not bad, for a first show! I don't have an english saddle so I don't do dressage, eventing or jumping. 
What I can do fine: walk, trot and lope. 
My tack:Western saddle, curb bit, twisted gag bit, 3 break bit(I think that's the name) and two saddle blankets. My other saddles are broke.. (Not my fault) I'm going to ask my Aunt is I can use another saddle, next week.

I ride about twice an week, about an hour an half. I would love to ride everyday, but I can't. I have other things, karate, writing and school. I have 3 horses, one advanced mare, beginner mare and a little above beginner gelding. I ride all of them, so I have to keep them ride able or they go crazy on me. 

I can take feedback, next time I ride I'll get some pictures and post them. 

Question time!
What is a lead?
How far in riding can I get on bareback?


Thank you everyone, I don't feel like a kid!


----------



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

Can anyone tell me, what a lead is?
Or how advanced I can get on bareback?
I'm riding on Sunday for a few hour, so anything else would be good.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi Cowgirl,

You got some really good answers. The other posts were just marelous and said everything I was thinking of saying.
(and yes, you do need to edit your posts to be sure that they are understandable. A few spelling errors are fine, but the message needs to be clear.)

Anyway, about becoming a better horseperson, I just wanted to add that you have already demonstrated the first requirement; wanting to learn more. So, keep an open mind and look to learn from whereever it may come. Ask questions when you can and let people show you things. You don't have to agree with them, but if you already think you know something you will have a closed mind and miss some good tidbit.

When I started taking dressage I had no idea what dressage even was. Never had even heard the word, "dressage". But I wanted to find someone who would just teach me good riding and harmony with the horse. So, that's how I felt when I went looking for an instructor. And the woman I ended up with , who taught me the foundation of dressage, though sometimes a royal b****tch, came from a place where the horse and his welfare are number 1, and that should be your number one prerequisite when YOU go looking for your instructor.

Now, as for a lead. At the canter the horse has a three phase stride.
To begin the canter, he starts on one rear foot. Let's say he starts on his right rear foot. that's phase one. Next he steps forward on his left rear and right front foot at exactly the same time ; phase two, and lastly, he reaches forward with his LEFT front foot, which is called his leading foot because it reaches a little farther in front of the other front foot. You know how a canter sounds like, "one , two ,threee .. one, two, three, . . one , two , three .. etc.) The "three" step is the leading step. After that step the horse has a moment of suspension where NO legs are touching the ground before the whole cycle starts over again. 
When you canter to the left, you want the horse to be on the LEFT lead, for his balance. So, he needs to strike off with his right rear leg.
And for the right lead, it's the opposite.


----------



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

tinyliny said:


> Hi Cowgirl,
> 
> You got some really good answers. The other posts were just marelous and said everything I was thinking of saying.
> (and yes, you do need to edit your posts to be sure that they are understandable. A few spelling errors are fine, but the message needs to be clear.)
> ...


Thanks!
So if he starts with a right step it's left lead? 
If he starts with a left step it's a right lead?

Can you do english riding bareback?


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Correct, if the first step, with rear leg is the left rear, then he will be on a RIGHT lead, and vice versa.

As for riding bareback, well you go girl! You can do ANYTHING bareback, except maybe jousting. YOu will have such a good seat. 
I don't ride bareback anymore but I really should. I was thinking about trying it on Mac, but when I rode him out today, he did one of his legendary quick 180 degree spins in a microsecond. If I had been bareback, I would have been on the ground. Now, a good bareback rider can deal with that. But I accept my age and my limitations and try to stay realistic.


----------



## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

You can ride bareback but your weight isn't distributed evenly across the horses back, which can cause a lot of pressure over a small area. For this reason it is often recommended that you do not ride bareback too much.

A lot of English is just general control of the horse and acceptance of the bit. While you can practice some of that bareback ensure that you have steady hands, because many people tend to use their hands for balance when riding bareback, and it hurts their mouth. 

Also, if you want to ride English and maintain a contact I do not think that any of those bits are appropriate. For a beginner the best bit is a snaffle bit, maybe with two links. I always use loose ring double jointed snaffles, but there are a wide variety of suitable bits for English.


----------



## Snookeys (Sep 23, 2010)

Cowgirl101 - is English your second language?

Here's a video of someone explaining canter leads... would be nice to have some visuals but this is the best I could find!






Hope it helps. Good luck!


----------



## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

The others have alot of good things to say, but I have one thing to add. Please don't take this the wrong way. 

You seem to put way too much emphasis on the words "beginner", "advanced", etc. You label all your horses as such and keep asking how you can become "advanced". Instead of asking how to become an advanced rider, focus on riding your horse correctly everytime. That will build up your muscles so that you can take on more challenges. Search for exercises to do, like patterns and gymnastics. Advanced riders are considered advanced not because they can do certain things but because they can get the horse to do things and do them well.

If you don't have access to a real trainer, becoming a better rider will be difficult. You have no way of knowing if your position is correct or if you are in some way inadvertently giving your horse conflicting signals. If you can have someone video you and then put it on here to critique, that will help you some. There are a couple sites that I like- statelinetack.com has some good videos and juliegoodnight.com. A great book to learn from is Sally Swift's Centered Riding.


----------



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

Thanks everyone!

Today I went to my friend's they got a white pony, I hoped on for five minutes.. She was a good little pony, cute too.
I know short rides won't go far. I so horse crazy, I had to hope on. Next time I ride I'll post photo for feedback..


----------



## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

May I also suggest another book...The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky
Of course nothing replaces working with an instructor but reading , watching videos, attending clinics etc..and lots of practice will give you a good start and basic understanding of the horse, riding , and exploring your options as to where you want to take this knowledge. Learning about horses is a life long journey. While you are on this journey you may find good instructors and not so good instructors but believe it or not , you can still learn things from poor riding instructors . Good luck and enjoy your journey.


----------



## Cowgirl101 (Oct 12, 2010)

RadHenry09 said:


> May I also suggest another book...The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky
> Of course nothing replaces working with an instructor but reading , watching videos, attending clinics etc..and lots of practice will give you a good start and basic understanding of the horse, riding , and exploring your options as to where you want to take this knowledge. Learning about horses is a life long journey. While you are on this journey you may find good instructors and not so good instructors but believe it or not , you can still learn things from poor riding instructors . Good luck and enjoy your journey.


I know a lot of basic. It's okay to ask what I know or don't.
But with horses you can't even know it all, you can always learn.
When I get my photos of my riding, I'll post them.


----------



## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

Not trying to be rude but I would think it would be detrimental to a horses training if you didn't even know what a lead is, before i even started cantering my instructor taught me leads, before i started trotting i was taught to post/diagnals and before jumping i was taught jump position over poles. not saying your not doing a good job because i don't know it just kind of seems backwards to be learning the correct way of doing things after you've already been riding. And i totally understand if you can't find and instructor so Books and videos would probably help a lot.. Probably videos more so. 
Heres a video i found of leads that might help 
Getting the Correct Canter Lead - Bing Videos


----------

