# Can I teach myself to ride?



## Durango (Jul 16, 2018)

So first off I hope this is the right forum there's so many I couldn't choose! 

Anyways...my sister has taught me pretty much all th basics of riding a horse so I can control my horse and trot and canter. I'm not super great but I know some stuff. So year or two back I went to a ghmkhana on my pony, pixie. I had a didn't do well at barrel racing and kept on losing my stirrups. I met this very nice woman who gave me a few pointers for my next run and Pixie did really well and listened so much better, and I was a lot better in the saddle. This got me to thinking how much my sister actually knew...well I'll make this short and turns out she was teaching me all wrong. When I try and reason with her she just blows it off. But that's beside the point, for the past year I've just been hanging around the trails and barrel racing for fun without competing. I really want to get back into things and competing, but have no trainer. My parents can't afford a trainer to come and train me. So can I try and train myself, or is that just a recipe for disaster? If it's not should I just watch YouTube videos? 

This is probably a pretty silly question, but it seems like progress as me as a rider has just come to a halt.


----------



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

There is a saying that the horse is the best teacher of the horse, but you need a heightened ability to understand what the horse is telling you, and you need to have good instincts on making the necessary adjustments correctly. If you follow the cardinal rules of "small steps", "give the horse the best deal you can", "reward the slightest try", but "get the job done when necessary", there's probably quite some progress you can make on your own. Add to that copious amounts of literature and videos, all perused with a critical eye and with the goal of making the horse a partner and not an instrument, I don't see why you shouldn't be successful.

Naturally, the absence of objective eyes does pose a problem, but that can be mitigated, too, by recording tons of videos of yourself.


----------



## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

There are a lot of people who disagree with me, but I say that yes, a rider can absolutely be self-taught - IF YOU ARE THE RIGHT KIND OF RIDER. The vast majority of the lessons I've learned in my journey as a rider have been self-taught. I lived way out in the boondocks and my parents were very poor, so getting me a trainer wasn't an option. So, to better myself as a horse(wo)man, I taught myself - I read every book our library could get me. I watched hundreds of hours of borrowed videos. I coaxed our ancient computer into exhausting Internet searches. I read articles, I found out where the locals practiced and rode my bike to that arena to stare at them for hours on end, I even stalked a local cutting horse trainer until he finally got tired of seeing me lurking around his place for no reason and offered me a job loping colts. I still have all 9 college-ruled notebooks of notes that I took during that period, every page filled top to bottom with tips and tricks and hints that I gleaned from a thousand different sources. 

But I will warn you - I believe this worked for me because I pursued my goal with a single-minded determination. I didn't have a social life, I didn't play sports in school, I pretty much did nothing except teach myself how to ride. Not everyone is that tenacious. Also, I have always been good at book learning. I can see a picture, read a good description, and memorize that and apply it to myself. Our house had a large bank of windows in the front yard that I used as a mirror to help me position myself in the saddle, to help me get my aids together. I would park Mirage in front of those mirrors and practice positions and forms until my muscles learned how to do what I wanted. I was creative. I was persistent and dogged and single-minded in my aspirations to ride better. I did whatever I had to do to learn. 

If you are that kind of person, then yes, absolutely, I believe you can teach yourself how to ride. But can EVERYONE do that? Probably not.

-- Kai


----------



## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Many people have basically “taught themselves” to ride with the results being as varied as the riders and the horses they work with. 

Hopefully, a professional teacher provides a broad wealth of knowledge and experience as well as the ability to present this in a way that a student can understand. This should result in a faster and more pleasant learning experience for both rider and horse. But this is not always the case.

Since you state that a professional instructor is out of the question, you should find another source of knowledge. Videos, books, and articles can offer a wide range of advice. Some good. Some not so good. The broader your knowledge base, the greater selection of tools you have to choose from.

When watching videos, try to pay particular attention to how the horse responds to the rider. Does the horse appear happy to respond to the rider’s direction? Or, does the horse simply comply, because this is easier than having to put up with the unpleasant results if it does not?

No matter where advice comes from, you must experiment with a particular horse and adjust depending on the response.


----------



## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

You CAN teach yourself. I did, long before any computer or YouTube existed. I read every book, including those translated from other languages, and WAY over my head, but they taught me visualization, which is what riding actually is.(my theory) In order to mold the horse into what we want, we have to KNOW how it is supposed to look. Read everything(not just barrel racing). You may find a complete breakthrough in a jumping or dressage book.


----------



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I'm proof you don't need lessons....depending on what you want to do.


I'm not going to win any competitions but I'm on the trails most every weekend.


----------



## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Sure, self teaching can work, up to a point. It would be tough to compete at the upper levels in any sport without some solid instruction. Not impossible, but tough. 

For general riding, one can teach themselves a lot, but try to learn a variety as @greentree suggested. 

Finding a working student position somewhere might be a possibility too. 

Or maybe you just need a friend to ride with?


----------



## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

If you're going to go it alone, the one thing that will be HUGE is the ability to film yourself. No matter how much you read and practice, you won't be able to feel your own crookedness. That takes someone looking at you and pointing it out. 

Because when you get used to riding crooked, crooked FEELS straight.


----------



## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

It is possible to become a better rider without paying for lessons. 4H and pony clubs are WONDERFUL if you have them in your area. Since you're already hanging out at barrel events, I take it you have transportation available. Just go to every local show you can. Watch who does well, talk to people who have a horse you like or who ride in a way you admire. 

Most people love to talk about their horse and share some tips with younger riders. Even volunteering at a saddle club helping them set up for events, helping the judges, etc. the perfect opportunity to hang out and listen to what's being talked about. 

Keep practicing and every once in awhile have an experienced eye watch you ride for feedback. As long as you keep an open mind to trying a different way, you can continue to improve. 

There is no end in sight, you'll always learn, you'll never know everything, and you'll never be a perfect rider. It's the daily goal to do better that drives so many of us through a lifetime of horsemanship.


----------



## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

Taking lessons yourself costs money. Going to watch someone else take lessons is free.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Durango said:


> My parents can't afford a trainer to come and train me. So can I try and train myself, or is that just a recipe for disaster? If it's not should I just watch YouTube videos?



Yes you can learn to ride yourself.


Will it take you longer without a trainer guiding you? Yes.
Will you make more mistakes without a trainer guiding you? Yes.


Think of getting a trainer as a way to AVOID the been-there-done-that mistakes that other people have made and learned from. I'll use myself as an example. I trained my horse Beau to barrel race when I was 14. I trained him completely wrong. I didn't know any better at the time. When I finally learned what I had done wrong, I spend the rest of his career trying to fix the engrained habits I had created from my incorrect training. He did eventually end up being a very good barrel horse .... but I regret that I didn't have someone to help me teach him to be that good barrel horse right from the get-go. 



You don't know what you don't know. 



Yes, there are videos, YouTube, Facebook, DVDs, etc etc out there to learn just about any type of riding. Of course, they still aren't a substitute for a trainer watching you and your individual horse. 



The other things that videos or the internet cannot help you with is timing. It is most beneficial to have someone in-person tell you if your timing was correct, too fast, or too slow. When training and riding horses, your timing of your cues is actually very important. Timing is what trains your horse to do something right, or train them to do something wrong.


Even if you are only able to take a couple lessons a years, that's better than zero.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You can muddle along and learn the basics by yourself - I know loads of people that have done that but what you can't do is see where you might be going wrong and then bad habits are hard to break.
The self taught people I've known were all OK on tolerant trail riding horses and most coped fine out (fox) hunting too and on the 'point and shoot' showjumpers but the wheels usually fall of big style if you put them on horses that are well schooled and have a diva fit or go on strike if the absolute exact cues aren't given


----------

