Appaloosa Horses

If you are lucky enough to have your own horse, then you will want to ride it daily. Not only to exercise them and you, but also because you are lucky enough to have a horse! However, it can be easy to get stuck in a cycle, and before you know it you are doing the same thing every day.

This is the quickest way to create boredom for you and your horse. It can be impossible to train a horse that doesn’t want to co-operate, and how do you think of new things to do when you are bored yourself? This catch 22 can ruin the magic of horse ownership, so it is important to take the time to think about how to vary your daily ride.

Change Location

Let’s say you are trying to master leg yielding – this isn’t a move you can learn in one session, so you will be spending some time repeating the same thing. However, you don’t have to repeat the location. If you are lucky enough to have access to an arena, then it provides the perfect flat surface, however it is the gym for horses and they can get bored.

Try exercising in their paddock. The ground is usually flat from the constant grazing and it is a familiar environment that won’t cause your horse to spook. Yet by just moving the lesson, your horse will be alert and engaged, which will encourage learning.

Similarly, you can try hacking as a warm-up while looking for a suitable location. Your horse will be enjoying the time outside and when you take half an hour to do some schooling, it won’t feel arduous and when your horse starts to tire, you can just continue with the hack.

Change it Up

When you’re learning to ride you will do a large range of exercises to teach you how to stay on your horse. After these lessons, the techniques are mostly forgotten, but they are a fun way to shake up the daily routine. However, they are best performed in an arena or enclosed area.

Are you learning a dressage test? Performing it over and over is boring for both of you and it can be hard to see where your weaknesses are after a while. So instead do the test without stirrups.

It might sound like a joke, but you will be able to pinpoint the moment where your balance shifts, your legs swing and your hands come up – all things that will lose you marks in a competition. Not only will you look at the test with fresh eyes, but your seat will also be improving at the same time. You can also use this technique for jumping – it might seem scary, but it is a great way to deepen your seat.

If you have someone willing to help you then try riding on a lunge rope. This way you can ride without your saddle to further improve your seat, or without reins to strengthen your legs. Your horse will enjoy the variety and you will become a better rider in the process all in a controlled, safe environment.

Ride with Others

Whether it is your friends or a group lesson at a riding school, your horse is a pack animal and they will relish the opportunity to be around other horses. It will also be enjoyable for you to be able to talk with other like-minded riders, rather than riding in silence every day. This is the perfect opportunity to learn new techniques with the help of others.

Another benefit is they will be able to observe your riding and give you pointers. Whether it is the riding teacher or your friend, they will be able to see things you can’t. Take the time to ask them to observe you perform a move/jump a course and give feedback. This will be invaluable in your development.

If you aren’t trying to master something specifically, then why not play some games? Mounted games are something played as a child, but are equally as fun for adults. Charging around a paddock with some healthy competition is a fantastic time for both you and your horse while secretly improving your riding. Jumping on and off, racing around poles and throwing socks in a bucket – you are practicing control and improving your balance at all times.

Plan a Day Out

While this may not an option every day, try planning to go somewhere new every few months. A great place to visit is a local beach and your horse will love the change of scenery. Try and get a few friends to come to make it as enjoyable as possible.

After finding a beach that horses are allowed on, you are free to do whatever you like. Whether you want to draw an arena in the sand to practice moves, gallop at full speed along the sand, or maybe even a swim on a hot day, the beach allows you to do anything and everything. Both of you will enjoy the trip and you will feel refreshed when returning to the daily routine.

Horses have been ridden by humans for over five thousand years. They have been used for transport – both ridden and to pull carriages – and even in battle where brave warriors rode them into the action. But now those days are over and we have new, faster forms of transport, is there any need to ride horses anymore?

There doesn’t seem to be a place for these loyal creatures in modern life, however, there are multiple reasons you should still incorporate them. Not only providing great health benefits, the bond that can be formed between human and horses is also incredible.

Great Form of Exercise

As our civilizations have developed, a greater emphasis is being put on staying healthy. Whether it’s high-intensity spin classes, hot yoga or water polo, we have hundreds of options at our fingertips to stay healthy. So why pick riding?

When you are on a horse, you are using your whole body. Your legs have to be still and secure, your core needs to stay tight for balance, and your arms need to be strong to control the horse. While you are trotting, you are using your entire body to move up and down, while steering, staying alert and controlling your horse.

You will be working hard, with none of the struggles of being in a hot sweaty gym with bright lights and a pounding treadmill. You exercise harder when you don’t think about it and horse riding is the perfect outlet for this.

Improve Your Posture

The key to having a good seat is sitting tall and straight, with your heels down and not swinging your legs. This might not come naturally to everyone – especially those who have office jobs and find themselves hunching over a computer screen for hours a day. Every time you ride, you are resetting your body and teaching yourself to sit tall.

While it might not happen straight away, the more you ride, the more your body will learn to reshape itself. You’re not going to glide like a ballerina, but sitting up with your shoulders back will help you in everyday life.

Improve Your Balance

Not only will riding regularly help with posture but also it will significantly improve your balance. When you are on a 1000lb horse in an enclosed arena, and especially if it’s not willing to co-operate, you are going to have to stick in the saddle to succeed. This test of balance is something you seldom experience in day-to-day life.

There are also exercises you can do to improve your balance further. Riding without stirrups/your saddle/even your reins (yes, really!) are all techniques that seem completely unnatural, but will teach you to stay on the horse and dramatically improve your balance. This improved skill can be applied in everyday life and you will find that with better balance, you will be better at other sporting activities.

Socialize with Friends

When you exercise with friends, it doesn’t feel like work and this is the same with horse riding. It doesn’t matter whether you are professionals or just learning to trot – a group riding lesson is fun for everyone. Not only will you learn alongside your friends, if you both are learning a new skill at the same time then you can help coach each other after the lesson.

If you feel that your riding is beyond lesson status – going on a hack can be a liberating way to socialize and exercise your horse at the same time. There are obstacles to jump, trails to discover and you can even bring some food for a picnic. Getting out and into nature can help combat the stresses of modern life, plus some fresh air never hurt anyone.

Gain Confidence

Horse riding is a scary hobby at times – not only when you are first starting – but even as a professional when your horse is not co-operating. Whether it’s spooking, bolting or even rearing, there is a myriad of things your horse can do to throw you out the saddle. It is highly unusual to meet a rider who hasn’t taken a fall sometimes – the expression, ‘get back on the horse’ exists for a reason!

This can be challenging mentally, especially if you have been injured before. Teaching yourself to get back on and succeed in completing the move that just left you on the floor takes guts. Hardly any other forms of exercise provide a challenge like this and it is a great life lesson.

If you can overcome this, then you can use your mindset in daily life. Afraid to ask for a pay rise? Need to give a presentation? Want to ask that person on a date? If you can get back on a horse and jump over 3 feet fences without falling off, then nothing else should phase you.

Form a Bond with Your Horse

Whether it is the horse you ride for lessons or the horse you bought – riding forms a partnership with this highly intelligent animal. Not only are you learning how to ride the horse, but they are also learning from you and how you give commands. The more time you spend with them, the better you will speak each other’s language.

This bond provides a true emotional connection and once you learn to trust each other, then you will operate as a team. This means that when you go to compete and are riding at obstacles at high speed – you have the confidence that your horse wants to go over the fence as much as you do. Plus, horses have strong personalities and learning all of their quirks is a happy and rewarding journey.

Watch Yourself Improve

When you first start riding, it seems impossible that you will ever be a professional, moving with the horse and gliding around the ring. However, perseverance goes a long way and once you have mastered the basics then there is a whole world of opportunity for you. Whether it’s competing professionally or being a happy hacker on the weekends, you will constantly be improving. Make sure to look back on where you were six months ago, just to see how quickly you will improve from riding regularly.