HORSE RIDING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
Horse riding, also known as Equestrianism or horseback riding, includes various horse riding activities for different purposes. This comprehensive definition includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.
Horses are used for non-competitive recreational ridings, such as fox hunting, trail riding, or hacking. The horse riding clubs in Bangalore provide training for some of the popular horse riding competitions that are assembled at horse shows and performed in a wide variety of manners.
Horse riding is a splendid sports activity that is interesting and offers great mental and physical relief. It can be performed by all irrespective of age and abilities. These days back horse riding is no longer a hero thing, people from different walks of life are taking interest in this sport and enjoying the health benefits offered by this activity.
Back horse riding is not only about performing an activity or a task, it is more about disconnecting from the chaos of daily life, riding on trails and enjoying landscapes while riding when you want a break from everything that’s going around.
Horseback riding is an exciting activity that has many health benefits. Not only is it a great way to get physical exercise but it also can improve the rider’s mental state. When riding a horse your brain releases serotonin- a hormone that enhances your mood by creating feelings of joy and relaxation.
Horseback riding is a sport that requires the proper equipment to ensure the safety of the rider and the horse. When horseback riding the rider should be wearing closes-toed shoes. Most experienced equestrians wear long boots with a low heel. The rider should also be wearing long pants which can be tucked into the riding boots. Other accessories can be added, like riding gloves, an equestrian helmet, and spurs which can be helpful, but are not necessary.
Mount your horse-
The first thing you’ll want to do when riding a horse is to do some groundwork. You don’t need to do heaps and make your horse tired, but you only need to do a little bit of groundwork! The next thing you will want to do is mount your horse correctly! Many people are intimidated by the idea of mounting a horse but if you stay calm it should be fun and easy.
- If you’re a first time rider, it’s not a bad idea to use a mounting block. This is a small wooden structure that you can use to stand on in order to mount the horse. You should also ask someone to hold the horse’s head as you mount. Mount the horse from its left near side. Place your left foot in the left stirrup and launch your body up and over. Next, lift the right leg gently over the horse’s back and insert your right foot into the right stirrup.
- Select a well-trained horse if you’re a beginner. Horses that are younger or poorly trained may shift and move during mounting. Choose an older horse with a reputation for being calm and cooperative during rides.
- If someone doesn’t hold the horse’s head as you mount, you should hold the reins tightly in your left hand, but not so tightly that the horse backs away from the pressure
Position yourself for balance-
Once in the saddle, take a moment to make sure you’re in the proper position for balance. Keep your back straight. Keep in mind when you ride a horse you should be able to draw a straight line through your ear, shoulder, hip, and heel. Keep your shoulders even and straight as well, with the bulk of your weight resting on your seat bones in your buttocks.
Get your legs in the right position-
Once you feel securely balanced, get your legs into the proper position. This can be particularly difficult for beginning riders so take time to make sure your legs are positioned properly. Keep your heels right under your hips.
- Your legs should be turned inward. Many beginning riders have their legs turned outward, as this can feel more natural, with their knees sticking out. Remember, you’re sort of hugging the horse with your legs. You shouldn’t squeeze the horse too tightly, but have your legs curved inwards towards the horse.
- Your toes should rest higher than your heels. An easy stretch or practice for this is to stand on something higher than the ground or even a staircase and push your heels down keeping the balls of your feet on the staircase
Hold the reins properly-
Once your legs are in the right position, make sure you’re holding the reins properly. How you hold the reins depends on whether you’re riding English or Western.
- For English style, make a fist and then pass the reins through the fist so the loop of the reins faces upward. Then, remove both your pinky fingers from the fist and place them on the outside of the reins. Place your thumbs on top of the reins, securing them in place.
- In Western, the reins do not form a loop. The western bridle has reins that are knotted at the top. Keep the reins loose at all times and hold them in two fists.
NB- When riding English style, there are a variety of ways you can signal your horse to move.
- Starting off, try gently squeezing your horse’s side with your legs. This should signal your horse to walk.
- If your horse does not respond to this, he may need further prompting. You can gently kick your horse with your heels. Do not kick too hard, however. While horses have thick hides, they may experience pain if you kick with too much force. A gentle tapping is generally all it takes to get a horse to walk.
- Verbal cues also help in some cases. Depending on how a horse was trained, he may respond to clicking of the tongue and other noises. Ask the horse’s trainer if there are any noises he responds to
Follow the movements of a horses head with your arms-
When a horse walks, canters, or gallops, his head moves back and forth with the rhythm of his body. Allow your hands to bob back and forth with the horse’s head. Not following the horse’s movements can hurt the horse. When starting a canter, let the horse have a lot of rein because they stretch out their neck when cantering..
Learn to steer. It’s important you learn how to steer your horse. Steering in English style if fairly self explanatory.
- You keep more contact with the horse’s mouth while riding English. To signal the horse to turn right, very lightly pull back with your right hand. To signal the horse to turn left, very lightly pull back with your left hand. If the horse does not respond to the lighter pulling, you can gradually begin to pull slightly harder until the horse responds.
- You should also use your legs and body to signal a horse to move. Looking in the direction you wish to move helps. Horse’s can feel your seat bones move. You should also gently squeeze your legs to signal a horse to change direction. For example, squeeze your left leg if you want your horse to turn right as the horse will want to move away from the pressure.
Learn how to trot–
Once you’re confident at the walk, gently press your legs into the horse’s sides to cue the horse to trot. Sit deep in the saddle and keep contact with your legs. Be careful to keep your elbows relaxed, so you don’t jerk on your horse’s mouth.
- Some riders prefer to do a “posting trot” as opposed to a sitting trot. This can be more comfortable as a trot is a bouncing gait. To do a “posting trot” simply rise when the horses outside shoulder moves forwards, and gently sit back down in the saddle, as to avoid bouncing heavily on the horses back.
Move your outside leg back and squeeze to canter the horse-
Cantering is a quicker three-beat speed that’s natural to all horses. When you canter, your seat will roll with the canter and you stay in the position you normally ride in. Before you canter, make sure you are comfortable with both posting trot and sitting trot as both of these are major key points. Getting the timing right to get a horse to canter takes time.
- Try not to tense up. Most beginners will find it beneficial to hold onto a saddle or neck strap while learning to canter to help with their balance so they don’t fall.
- If your horse just moves into a faster trot when you signal it to canter, ask your horse to walk and continue asking him to canter from the walk instead of the trot. Before learning to canter make sure you know posting trot, and sitting trot. Before cantering, gently squeeze your outside rein to slow your horse to a half halt in a trot before using your inside leg by the girth and then soon adding your outside leg behind the girth to give your horse a bit of a push forward.
Practice more advanced riding as you feel ready-
Galloping, jumping, and dressage tricks are all fun to learn in English style. However, you should hold off until you’ve mastered the basics. Spend at least a few months practicing the above techniques before trying anything new. Galloping and jumping especially can be dangerous if you’re inexperienced.
Riding Basics (Western Style)
Learn to neck rein. Steering is slightly different in Western style than it is in English style When riding Western, you use a technique called “neck reining.”
- Neck reining means you hold the reins loosely and gently touch the horse’s neck to signal movements.
- To turn right, move the reins across the horse’s neck to the right. To go left, move the reins across the horse’s neck to the left.
- Always hold the reins in your left hand. Keep your right hand on your right thigh.
- As with English riding, make sure you use your full body to steer as well. Use your legs and seat bones in addition to your hands.
Direct rein during emergencies-
If you need to steer your horse quickly, it’s recommended you momentarily switch to English style steering. If your horse is not responding to neck reining, grab the reins in both hands. Gently pull or squeeze the left rein to turn left and the right rein to turn right.
Walk your horse-
Start out walking gently. In Western, you also squeeze your horse to get him to walk. You should follow the motion of his head again, but as you hold the reins looser you might not move your hands as much as you would in English.
Jog your horse-
While your horse is walking, squeeze his sides gently to signal to him to jog. Trotting is not usually a part of Western style riding.
- A jog is a slow, steady gait. It’s a little quicker paced than a walk but not as jaunty as an English trot.
- You can easily sit in a Western jog. Posting trot is not necessary when riding western style
Learn to groom a horse-
Horses are groomed somewhat differently, depending on whether they’re kept indoors or outdoors. Always refer to the instructions and the guidelines given by the horse’s owner. There are some general rules, however. You should usually groom a horse before riding him.
- Use a body brush to brush the horse’s fur all over its body, removing the dust, sweat and loose hair from the horses coat. Use the mane-and-tail comb on the mane and tail, appropriately.
- Next, use a dandy brush on the body and legs of the horse, removing mud and sweat. This brush has harder bristles, which shouldn’t be used on the face, mane, or tail of the horse.
- Use the hoof pick to remove mud, dirt, and pebbles from the horse’s hooves. If this is not done before you ride, your horse may get a sore foot and go lame.
- Use a rubber or plastic curry comb on the body of the horse for removing loose hair and mud from the horses coat. Metal curry combs are used for removing loose hair from horses that are shedding heavily.
Learn to tack and bridle your horse-
Before you ride, a horse needs to be outfitted with a saddle and bridle.
- To saddle a horse, position the saddle blanket above the horse’s withers and push it back toward the hind-legs to smooth the hair. Place the saddle behind the shoulder and pull the blanket into the empty area at the front of the saddle.
- Attach the cinch or girth and tighten it gently, allowing the horse enough room to exhale comfortably. You should be able to fit two fingers under the cinch or girth, but no more.
- Make sure you’ve got a bridle appropriate for your horse’s size. Gently place the bit near the horses mouth. Most horses will open their mouths as they’re used to bridles, but if your horse doesn’t gently push your fingers into the sides of the horse’s mouth. Slip the bit in slowly, then slip the top of the bridle over the horse’s ears. Secure all the straps and buckles, buckling tight enough that you can only comfortably fit one finger under the straps.
History of Horse Riding
The history of equestrianism dates back to ancient Greece, where dressage was initially developed to prepare horses for war. It later became part of the ancient Olympic Games, a chariot race held around 680 BC.
Equestrian events in the modern Olympics began as an Olympic event in Paris 1900. Although it was not part of the Games in the subsequent two editions, it was included back in 1912 and has been an integral part of the program ever since. At the same time, women’s equestrian events were started in 1952.
Dressage
Dressage is considered one of the most artistic of equestrian sports and gives the horse a chance to show off his talent. In this, riders and their horses are judged on the basis of their speed, endurance, coordination, and flexibility. It is also seen in this phase how accurately the horse obeys the orders of the rider.
The type of horse used in this step
- Horsemen at this stage prefer to use Warmblood breed horses. The medium-weight horses used for this event are found in large numbers in Europe.
- Small or standard arenas are used for the dressage stage. In these areas, different letters are assigned at several places, which indicate where the race is to take place.
- The smaller arena measures 20m by 40m and is typically used for lower levels of eventing. The standard arena measures 20 m x 60 m.
Jumping
The jumping category measures the coordination between the rider and the horse. Because, in this event, the rider has to jump over many obstacles along with the horse. The jumping route consists of several obstacles, including pits, small walls, and parallel poles.
- This event is held over various courses that comprise of obstacles, spreads, verticals and double and triple combinations
- The horse rider is to make clean jumps over the course within a predetermined time limit. Points are deducted for jumping faults like refusals or knockdowns by the horse.
- A horse and rider who do not have penalty points are said to have achieved a ‘clear round’.
- Penalties for knockdowns are imposed only if the height/width of the jump is changed by the knockdown. Refusals are also penalized for up to four faults.
Cross-country
This is one of the phases of the three-day Eventing. It’s an endurance test that tests the stamina and jumping ability of the horses on a cross-country course.
The event also demonstrates the riders’ experience and knowledge of pace. It also requires the pair of competitors to be in excellent shape and to trust each other. Riders have to overcome up to 40 various obstacles spread between 5700 and 6800m at the higher levels.
Rules and Scoring
The pair of rider and horse in the jumping event with the fewest penalties and the least amount of time is considered the winner.
These are the common penalties in the event
Jumping penalty: This is a refusal or knockdown penalty and can significantly affect the score. Each refusal or knockdown results in an addition of four faults.
Time Penalty: A time penalty occurs during play when a pair of rider and horse takes more than the prescribed time to cross an obstacle. Every time a rider overtakes a second or fraction of a second, a penalty of 1 time is added.
List of Equestrian Discipline
| S.NO | Equestrian Discipline |
| 1 | Dressage |
| 2 | Eventing |
| 3 | Show Jumping |
| 4 | Para-Equestrianism |
| 5 | Combined Driving |
| 6 | Endurance Riding |
| 7 | Horseball |
| 8 | Reining |
| 9 | Tent Pegging |
| 10 | Vaulting |
International Horse Sports Confederation
The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the world governing body for horse sport, and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), joined forces in 2013 to create the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC), the first formal vehicle for cooperation between the world’s leading bodies for equestrian sport.
Today, the FEI is the governing body for eight equestrian disciplines: Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, Reining and Para-Equestrian.
Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI)
National and International competitions in Dressage, Show Jumping, Eventing, Tent Pegging, and Endurance are run under the auspices of the EFI, which itself is affiliated with the sport’s international governing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), based in Switzerland.
Equestrian sport is concentrated in certain areas of India these are Delhi, Meerut, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Pondichery, Pune, Mumbai and Bhopal. The Equestrian Federation of India joined the FEI in 1971 and has been sending teams in all equestrian disciplines in Asian Games since 1982. The eventing is the core discipline and the eventing team has been winning team medals in almost all Asian Games till 2006.
Equestrian Sports in India are under the authority of the EFI or the Equestrian Federation of India. It was established by the Indian Army in 1967. The first meeting of the Organization was held on 14 March 1967.
The EFI became affiliated with the FEI in 1971.
The EFI was highly responsible for the establishment of The Asian Equestrian Federation in 1978. It also had a huge role to play in the inclusion of Equestrian Sports at the 1982 Asian Games which were hosted by India.
Top Indian Horse Riding Players
Several Indian Players have played in various equestrian sports over the years. India has won bronze medals in Eventing at the Asian Games 2002 and 2006.
India has participated in Equestrian Sports at the Olympics four times. Equestrian players have represented India at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
India is yet to win a medal in Equestrian Sports at the Olympics. India has won 12 medals in Equestrian Sports at the Asian Games until now. India has won 3 Gold, 3 Silver, and 6 bronze at the Asian Games.
| Equestrian | Olympic |
| Jitendrajit Singh Ahluwalia | 1980 Olympics |
| Hussain Khan | 1980 Olympics |
| Muhammad Khan | 1980 Olympics |
| Darya Singh | 1980 Olympics |
| Indrajit Lamba | 1996 Olympics |
| Imtiaz Anees | 2000 Olympics |
| Fouaad Mirza | 2020 Olympics |
COL. B.MISHRA,RVC
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