6 Mistakes Made By New Horse Riders

Horses can be highly dangerous animals. Beginners often make mistakes when they are first introduced to horse riding. Both yours and the horse’s safety are important. Take extra precaution before your lesson by learning what mistakes not to make. Here are the top six mistakes made by new riders.

Being Too Nervous

New experiences come with fear, but while riding a horse, try your best to stay calm. Horses are intelligent animals, and they can sense your emotions. If you feel nervous, they will have a reaction to your fear. The horse may be scared as well and could potentially: speed up, buck you off, or lose control. Going into a lesson anxious is a terrible decision. Unless you are confident that you’ll do well, it’s best to avoid riding until you are ready.

Letting Go of The Reins

Beginners often get carried away, and frequently let go of the reins. Riding requires deep focus in order for you to maintain a steady control of the horse. While learning to ride, beginners face unsureness. This unsureness causes our instincts to raise our hands higher in the air. This then causes an unsure rider to have the reins at too long of a length, lessening the control held over the horse. Keeping a tight, comfortable grip on the reins is the key. Follow the horse’s movement, and readjust when the horse pulls the reins. Practice your posture and the grip you have on the reins to optimize control during riding lessons.

Neglecting Safety

As mentioned earlier, horses are dangerous animals. Their reactions can lead to injuries such as broken bones from falling high. Being cautious is important, especially when riding horses. Helmets aren’t a choice during riding lessons. If you do fall, your head is vulnerable without protection, leading to an array of threatening injuries. Be a good sport, and wear a helmet along with proper riding gear (boots, jeans, and a helmet). Safety comes first, so don’t put yourself in a liable position.

Unprofessional Company

You may find yourself in the hands of untrustworthy teachers. Unprofessional companies exist in any category of activities. If you don’t want to end up on suspicious equestrian estate, do your research! Compare company reviews, pay attention to proof of professionalism, and look for any red flags. Taking lessons from an unreliable riding company can put yourself in an unsafe position. Find a reliable riding company before you apply for riding lessons to help you have the best experience possible.

Guessing It’s Easy

Like unsureness, overconfidence is also equally as bad of an issue. From personal experience, horse riding is far from easy. It requires nothing short of your entire focus, effort and dedication in order to learn how to ride a horse. Don’t let your ego get the best of you, and realize the difficulty of horse riding. Horse riding isn’t just sitting on a saddle, it consists of controlling a massive animal. You gain more skills overtime, and eventually you’ll find riding easier.

Bothering The Horse

It’s not a bright idea to bother horses while you ride. Annoying a horse is just asking for trouble. A common mistake beginners may make unintentionally, is accidentally ramming their feet into the horse. While paying attention to several other things, it’s normal to commit actions unintentionally. Try to watch out for accidentally nudging or ramming into your house as much as you can. There are other ways that new riders bother their horse which are more intentional. For example, riders may purposely grip the reins too tightly in hopes of having absolute control over the horse. This mistake is highly dangerous because it puts stress on the horse. Out of pain, horses will move their head, and act out in frustration if reins are pulled too tightly. Please don’t have a death grip on the reins; you wouldn’t want to harm your horse or cause an accident.

Before You Ride

Before heading to your local horse farm, ensure you are prepared to ride. Preparation will allow you to avoid these mistakes, and have an enjoyable riding experience. Pick a reliable company, ensure you are ready to ride, take safety measures, focus, and enjoy your riding lesson!

Jenny WIlliams is a writer and business analyst. She works for both Assignment writing service and Research papers UK. Jenny also works for Draft Beyond service blog.