This newsletter
is a personal letter from me to you, a fellow horse owner and enthusiast.
My goal is to answer some of your questions and send you interesting stories and
helpful tips for your horse care, training, and riding.
I want my horse to bend
better.........How can I get my horse to jog slow........My horse rears..........I
want my horse to have a headset.........my horse freaks..........I want a controlled
canter..........my horse won't move forward........my horse has a hard mouth..........I
want a smooth trot...........My horse needs to overcome fear..........he won't
slow down.........wrong lead.........shys..........moves when mounting..........my
horse bucks.
What do all of these snippets from
Ask-Cherry letters have in common? They all focus on something that the
horse is doing that the writer of the letter does not like. Few letters state
a problem and then ask ........How can I improve my seat so that my horse trots
smoother? What can I do to give my horse confidence? What am I doing that might
be causing my horse to rear? And yet, the solution to any horse problem starts
with the handler, rider, trainer learning what he or she can do to help the horse
develop trust, respect, and a willingness to learn and so that the horse and rider
can understand each other and communicate with each other.
Riding
is a privilege. Riding well is a responsibility. The more you focus on what you
can do to become a more effective rider, a better rider, the better your horse
will travel, the more confident he will become, and the fewer problems you will
have. You'll be in the problem prevention business, not the problem solving business.
This
month, I'll focus on the philosophies and ideas that might help you become a better
rider. Next month, I'll devote the newsletter to answering specific questions
about your riding. Follow the instructions here for submitting a question to Ask-Cherry
https://www.horsekeeping.com/ask_Cherry.htm
The
following articles are adapted from the Introduction of "Becoming an Effective
Rider" https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/Becoming_an_Effective_Rider.htm
No Absolutes
With riding and horse training, there are no absolute rules. What may work wonders
with one horse and one rider in one situation may be completely wrong in another
set of circumstances. Learning how to ride a horse "on the bit," for
example, is excellent for dressage lessons in a ring, but the same principles
would be difficult and inappropriate to use when shinnying down a rock slope.
Similarly, the recipe-like instructions that are included in many how-to books
on riding are based on ideal situations and must be modified each time they are
applied. For example, at the very beginning of things, the instructions for mounting
may direct you.................
to read the rest of the article,
go here:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/absolutes.htm
Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced?
One of the first steps in developing any skill is to determine where you are starting.
Although the words beginner, intermediate, and advanced are vague, see if the
descriptions that follow help you to find where you presently fit. Persons of
all ages can be found in any of the categories. Some people feel that any person
who is riding a horse is also training that horse — whether purposely or
inadvertently and whether good or bad habits are being formed. Theoretically,
I agree with that. However, I use the word trainer for those riders who have advanced
enough in their skills that they can ride a variety of horses well and that they
have a very good chance of eliciting the desired response from a horse the first
or second time they ask the horse to perform a specific maneuver.
The PRE-BEGINNER rider is someone who is interested and curious, but totally inexperienced
with horses and needs to learn about them from the ground up. She is learning
how to lead horses, groom them, and relate to their size and movement from the
ground. The pre-beginner rider has no knowledge about horse training and care.
She may be timid or fearless.
The BEGINNER rider is entering
the awareness-development stage. She might have spent.........
to
read the rest of the article, go here:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/bia.htm
Dedicated Rider
Do you want to be a serious, dedicated rider? A rider with any degree of experience
can become one. Do not think that becoming serious or dedicated about your riding
will mean that you will lose your sense of humor or that you will be required
to live, breathe, and talk about nothing but horses. Quite the contrary. Some
of the most successful riders say that a sense of humor is what helps them to
keep the ups and down of their work in perspective. And as far as having interests
other than riding, it is essential! Only by being a well-rounded individual will
you bring to your riding an overall sense of well-being. Think of the serious,
dedicated rider as a person who has chosen riding as a recreational vocation —
an activity that is pursued for self-development and self-satisfaction as well
as relaxation and enjoyment.
To read the rest of the article,
go here:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/dedicated.htm
Goals
The
process of reaching goals includes an initial evaluation, frequent reviews, and
progress checks. Goals should be set down in specific terms so they appear as
crystallized pictures in the mind rather than fuzzy apparitions on the horizon.
"I have to become a better rider" sounds like a project of enormous
proportions with nowhere to start. Setting a more concrete, short-term goal is
more effective. For example, decide that at the end of two weeks you will be able
to effectively ride a horse 5 strides canter, 3 strides trot, 5 strides canter,
3 strides trot, etc. for one entire round of the arena. This is a more a more
specific, practical, and therefore attainable goal.
To read
the rest of the article, go here:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/goals.htm
Rider Success
Over the years, I have observed that most riders face common obstacles. However,
rather than presenting my observations to you as a series of problems that you
must learn to overcome, I'm listing them as factors that are important to the
successful development of a rider. After each factor are descriptions of people
at the opposite ends of the spectrum regarding that point.
To
read the rest of the article, go here:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/success.htm
To
read other riding articles, look under Riding and Mounted Training
at
Cherry Hill's Horse Information Roundup at:
https://www.horsekeeping.com/horse-training-care-info.htm
That's it for this month.
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