Today I’m sharing tips for riding a horse you’ve never ridden before. Each horse is unique, some are lazy, some are energetic, and they all respond differently. Here are my 3 tips to remember:
- Observe the horse with their normal rider: Before getting on a new horse, watch how it behaves with its normal rider. Pay attention to how the rider starts off, what frame they ride the horse in, what gait they started in, if the horse seems lazy or excitable, note if the rider uses whips or spurs. I especially observe their canter transitions.
- Mimic the normal rider’s approach: When you first get on the horse, try to replicate what the regular rider did. Ride in the same frame, use similar exercises, and be mindful of how you ask for transitions. Start gently and increase pressure gradually.
- Test the horse: If it’s gone well when mimicking its regular rider, try introducing new exercises to see how it responds.
Happy Riding!
Amelia
