# New



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Welcome! We have a lot of Texas members! I myself am in central Texas. What sort of riding do you do, or do you hope to do?


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## Starsarethebest9 (Nov 5, 2021)

ACinATX said:


> Welcome! We have a lot of Texas members! I myself am in central Texas. What sort of riding do you do, or do you hope to do?


I am not sure what kind of riding I want to do. The only riding I have done is a trail ride and that was a few years ago. I am so confused by the types of riding that it hurts my head.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I'd suggest you call around and find beginner lessons at barns that welcome you to observe before you sign up. I'd say go watch a beginner English as well as a beginner Western then either try put both or chose the one you are more interested in. Once you've gotten the basics down in either you can start to narrow down your interest discipline wise.


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## Starsarethebest9 (Nov 5, 2021)

QtrBel said:


> I'd suggest you call around and find beginner lessons at barns that welcome you to observe before you sign up. I'd say go watch a beginner English as well as a beginner Western then either try put both or chose the one you are more interested in. Once you've gotten the basics down in either you can start to narrow down your interest discipline wise.


Is there a difference between if one barn only doing English, one barn doing western, and one barn doing both?


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

There are barns that do both but with any barn you want to see well cared for horses, happy riders, instructors that are giving clear, easy to understand instructions and are helping their students along if there is trouble understanding the directive. Your basics riding wise are going to be finding your balance and not using the reins for that, learning to steer as well as ask for the walk, trot and stop to begin with. You'll also want to learn how to safely handle a horse from the ground, get your horse from where ever they are and groom then tack up and mount. You'll reverse that when the lesson is done. If you are comfortable with the set up and like what you see then ask about an evaluation lesson. Many offer a one time lesson to see what your ability is and use that for where to place you in their program. I'd suggest you try both as the saddles are very different in feel to start with. English you have to learn more balance as they are not the hug you and hold you in place that a western saddle can be. But within each of those types of riding saddles differ by discipline so here are English saddles that lock you in and Western saddles with less hug and hold. I moved from that area too long ago to be able to direct you to any good lesson barns but there are several Texas peeps that hopefully drop in.


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

Like you, my only experience with horses up until my early 30s was with the rental/trail kind. Then I moved to the country and got my own horse, an adopted mustang from the BLM. What a wonderful ride it has been. I never joined a barn nor took a lesson. I just rode the trails. I learned that to become a good rider one needs balance, quick reflexes and the ability to learn from the horse, or "read" a horse. If you have practiced other sports, you might already have the first two in the pocket. I would caution about falling into the barn lesson thing. There are many who have been taking lessons for years and are still at it. "Heels down and hollow your back," isn't what I would teach. Anyways, happy trails.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

charrorider said:


> I would caution about falling into the barn lesson thing. There are many who have been taking lessons for years and are still at it. "Heels down and hollow your back," isn't what I would teach. Anyways, happy trails.


Those that take lessons for years do so for many reasons. There are always choices to make - many choose to stay in lessons because that is the option open to them and it suits their comfort level. It isn't as if there aren't opportunities available to ride outside a ring or doing fun things with their lesson group as many instructors take riders out for trail rides or have game days with competitions to create excitement and a way to break the monotony. Lessons aren't just about learning to ride either they are about socializing with like minded adults that you may not meet in everyday life, building skills for the future as there may not be a horse in their present. It's easy to say "well, skip the lessons and save for the horse instead." But, not everyone that enjoys riding wants the responsibility or has the time or financial ability to cover owning their own. Many barns offer an alternative to nose tail trails which just don't cut it for those with a deeper interest. Building a relationship through lessons can open up opportunities. Not everyone just wants to get on a ride. They have goals that take lessons to meet.

Bottom line is there are all kinds of riders out there. All kinds of opportunities as well. Find what fits you. Even if one doesn't officially take lessons chances are they still learned from someone about the basics - care and skills. It's a rare person that had absolutely no one give them a hand or advice. And even those that didn't can still find value in lessons. Heels down may still be common in some barns but a hollow back isn't something you want to see. Why the hunter jumpers encourage that I'm not sure. My IHA coaches from college never did and I don't see it with eventing.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

QtrBel said:


> Those that take lessons for years do so for many reasons.


Yes. I will stop taking lessons when I stop learning from them. Also no instructor worth anything would tell someone to hollow their back. I guess, unless the person was totally hunched over and they were just trying to balance them out.

@Starsarethebest9 if you don't really have a preferred discipline, then I recommend just making a list of barns that are closest to you, and checking them out one by one. Choose the one where the horses look well-kept and happy, you like the instructors (be sure and watch a couple of lessons, especially beginner lessons), and where you feel at home. I'd recommend not going with a fancy show barn, at least not for now.

FWIW I don't know how you feel about this, but a lot of English barns tend to skew heavily female. I think the western places, it sort of depends on the discipline, but I wouldn't expect them to skew quite SO heavily to the female.


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## Luna’s rider (Jan 23, 2021)

charrorider said:


> Like you, my only experience with horses up until my early 30s was with the rental/trail kind. Then I moved to the country and got my own horse, an adopted mustang from the BLM. What a wonderful ride it has been. I never joined a barn nor took a lesson. I just rode the trails. I learned that to become a good rider one needs balance, quick reflexes and the ability to learn from the horse, or "read" a horse. If you have practiced other sports, you might already have the first two in the pocket. I would caution about falling into the barn lesson thing. There are many who have been taking lessons for years and are still at it. "Heels down and hollow your back," isn't what I would teach. Anyways, happy trails.


Interesting approach (I’m taking lessons). How did you find out what you’re supposed to do?


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

With a horse that knows what to do and a rider that has an idea from past experience or eyes on the ground that are willing to lend a hand now and then you can gain skill and the experience is rewarding. I wasn't on my own. My first horse was in a boarding barn. My skill set improved drastically with a fellow boarder that took my saddle, reins and glasses and put me in an arena and said "just ride".I figured a lot out. No lessons but I did have a safety net in that friend. I went from there to riding with her and next step exercising/conditioning auction horses she would flip. We spent a lot of time in the foot hills on trails. There is something to be said about that. It was an experience I'd never trade. But, to show in the discipline I wanted - that took a coach and lessons. I've never looked back and regretted that either. Either way works. The sad thing though is when one group tries to invalidate the other. Either group. And I'm not pointing fingers just pointing out something I see often. Not just here and not even necessarily this thread. All over. It even transfers when comparing English to Western or disciplines within.


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## Starsarethebest9 (Nov 5, 2021)

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I am also going to try and do my own research.


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

Luna’s rider said:


> Interesting approach (I’m taking lessons). How did you find out what you’re supposed to do?


As I've mentioned, IMO, having played other sports help. Baseball, boxing, basketball, American football, and although I have very limited experience, what in the US is called soccer, are all sports that teach balance, coordination and reflexes. And I'm sure there are others. When I got on the saddle, if I wasn't well balanced, I could feel it. It just didn't feel right. Perhaps it didn't happen the first time, but it did soon after. I'm sure that there are horse activities where I would need to take lessons if I wanted to participate. But for trail riding, which is what I do, I never did, from an instructor or anyone else.


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## Cobweb2000 (Jul 16, 2021)

Starsarethebest9 said:


> If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I am also going to try and do my own research.


DFW is a big place, whereabouts are you exactly? I can recommend a good hunter/jumper or a good western lesson barn if you are on the southern half of the metroplex.


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## Starsarethebest9 (Nov 5, 2021)

Cobweb2000 said:


> DFW is a big place, whereabouts are you exactly? I can recommend a good hunter/jumper or a good western lesson barn if you are on the southern half of the metroplex.


I am near Preston and George Bush Turnpike. I have zero experience and I am looking for someone who is going to go slow with me as I am BRAND new to riding and not sure what kind of riding I want to do. I don't mind traveling up to 2 hours away for a lesson either.


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## PokerPearlPonies (Nov 17, 2021)

The only people I know that haven’t taken lessons and are still good riders are people who regularly rode with good riders. They had lots of people to watch and give them advice.

I have a couple brothers who are unwilling to take lessons (understandably) and no they aren’t the best riders. I know a few people who just learned on their own and while they can ride, it’s kinda cringy to watch. Really though, they feel good about themselves and didn’t really want to ride “fancy” so they don’t care…and I don’t care either.

If I were you I’d watch some videos of different disciplines or actual lessons and see what was most intriguing. I’d like to have some idea of where to start. Then I’d go from there.


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## Cobweb2000 (Jul 16, 2021)

Starsarethebest9 said:


> I am near Preston and George Bush Turnpike. I have zero experience and I am looking for someone who is going to go slow with me as I am BRAND new to riding and not sure what kind of riding I want to do. I don't mind traveling up to 2 hours away for a lesson either.


Let me shoot you a message on here


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## Part-Boarder (Aug 17, 2019)

I would suggest finding the closest barns in maybe a 30 min to 1 hour distance from your home. Once you get started you may want to go regularly and having a two hour drive each way will make it much more challenging to find the time.

Ideally you would be able to find a place that has a variety of offerings and options. When I looked for a new barn recently, I was looking for a place with trails, potential to ride English and western, indoor arena, a trainer/lesson program, happy horses, a pleasant social/helpful atmosphere and flexible options to try out all of the above. It’s helpful if the place also offers boarding and part-boarding in case you go further down the path towards making a commitment to get more involved with a particular horse.

I lucked out to find all that and presently do a mix of Western trail ride packages, part-boarding and English lessons depending on my time, goals and interests. I’m happy to have found a place with all these aspects as it gives me a lot of flexibility. 

I checked a few other barns and the ones I didn’t select were those that seemed too snooty, too messy, too formal, too expensive or just somehow too particular. For example, one was explaining the rules - no taking horses around on the grass to graze and I was wondering, huh? Yes kind of a good rule to protect the grass but also that’s a fun part of being with a horse and grazing them after the ride. Where I board we can graze the horses around the property but need to pick up if they poop somewhere else. Seems like a good balance, and I think overall that’s what you are looking for.

You can also tell a lot from the horse you are given to ride for a practice lesson. If they tell you to kick a lot to get the horse to move, that means the horses have probably been deadened to aids by being ridden by too many beginners and it’s probably not going to be fun to ride those horses. I had that happen when I did a trial lesson at another barn and that was a definite no so I kept looking.

Anyway hope you find a place that gives you the most options to explore. And if not, then choose somewhere close that gets you started and then branch out from there.


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## Part-Boarder (Aug 17, 2019)

I would also suggest getting the book Horse Speak by Sharon Wilsie. It’s a fantastic resource which explains horse behaviour and how to communicate with them/be respectful of their needs. I have been around horses for 35 years and my ability to connect with horses is now on a completely different level after using techniques from that book in the past few months.


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