How to Train Your Horse to Move, Stop and Turn
So you want to go for an exciting horse ride, right? Once you’ve gotten on top of your horse, you might think “Now what?” After all, being perched on top of this big animal can be suddenly daunting and you might wonder what to do next. Getting your horse to move forward is the next big step. You can kick your horse to get it moving, but it should be similar to a gentle tap than an actual kick against their sides. After all, you don’t want him to go into his fastest speed right away. You will want to squeeze his sides for a more effective start. If your horse has been well-trained, he will recognize a number of universal commands. Your horse should immediately understand what your nudge means, but if you are hesitant, it might not obey you. You will need to sit up and have confidence in the saddle. You need to show your horse that you are in charge. You will need to earn your horse’s respect. Otherwise, your horse might not move for a very long time or worse, you could find yourself atop a horse who just feels like racing or trotting back to his stable. Once you have established with the horse that you are the one in control, you can loosely hold onto the reins and nudge the horse in the side. Make sure you are not holding the reins too tight or pulling back with your teeth because this will send mixed messages to the horse. Once your horse starts moving forward, you might suddenly wonder how you will get this huge horse to stop! Don’t worry. You can do it. Whatever you do, don’t start frantically tugging on the horse’s reins or screaming. You will hurt the horse’s mouth and make him very agitated. You can instead pull slowly on the reins and calmly say “whoa” in a steady voice. You can continue to apply pressure until the horse comes to a halt. Next, you will need to learn how to give the horse some direction. You will need to learn how to take it right and left. If you want to turn left, you will have to pull on the left rein and move your right leg back to squeeze the horse on that right side. To move to the right, you will have to do the opposite. The horse should respond right away. What about backing up? Sometimes you will need your horse to back up a few feet here and there. How do you do that? If you need to back up, pull back on the reins as if you were telling the horse to stop but at the same time you are doing that, squeeze your horse’s sides and making a clucking sound with your throat to indicate to him that you want to still keep moving. That way, you will keep backing up. Finally, you can tell your horse that you want to go faster. You will be able to go as fast as you want but only after you have mastered the commands mentioned above. You definitely don’t want to learn to go into a fast trot if you can’t turn the horse left or right yet because you might find yourself on a fast horse, headed out to the sunset. Once you learn the basic commands, you can tell your horse to take you a little faster than a walk and really make some time on the trail. More Articles on Horse Riding Training Tips and Guide: | 