How to train a horse to ride at home

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

To use a horse as the main means of transportation today, of course, is not necessary. Nowadays, these graceful animals are kept mainly only to participate in horse races or, for example, to organize the leisure of tourists. But in any case, even today, any horse should be able to walk under the saddle. To train a horse in this way requires a lot of knowledge, skills and patience. How to train a horse to ride, read below in the article.

Which rules to follow

Training with a trained horse should be done regularly. During training, you should definitely try to establish psychological contact with the animal. When training a horse, don't:

• demanding too much from her, overestimating her intelligence;
• explode, yell at her or beat her.

Horses are wayward animals. Whoever wants to teach a horse to ride should first of all try to become a "leader in the herd." Relations with the horse need to be established friendly, but the main thing in them should be everythingsame stay man.

Basic training steps

Those who wondered how to train a horse to walk under saddle should, among other things, know that training such animals should start from an early age. With age, horses become more and more capricious and wayward. Therefore, if time is lost, it will be problematic to properly train the horse in the future.

How to train a horse to walk under saddle? The answer to this question can be many different methods. But in any case, only horses that have undergone basic training can begin to teach riding. The latter usually includes two main steps:

• h alter training;
• line work.

H alter training

Such training is usually carried out by foals under the age of one year. For an adult horse, contact with a h alter can be a shock, making further training difficult. Foals, on the other hand, begin to learn to move on the occasion when the mother is walking nearby. Having a familiar and familiar object nearby calms the animal and avoids a stressful situation.

During such training, the trainer should stand to the left of the foal at the level of his shoulder. Leading a young horse on the bit should start first behind the mother, and then next to her or even in front.

Line work

At the age of about 2 years, foals are already catching up with their parents in height. At this time, you can begin to train the horse to lunge andexecution of various commands. Also at this age, instructors usually begin to work with a whip. This tool is, of course, not intended to beat a horse. This will lead to misunderstanding and mistrust. A scourge is needed only to give the animal instructions. In no case should the horse be afraid of him. The scourge and cord (about 7.5 m long) are the answers to the question of how to teach a young horse such commands as “stop”, “walk”, “trot”, etc. The horse will have to perform the same actions in the future and with a rider.

At the same time, the animal is also trained to work in the bit and bridle. Since the musculoskeletal system of horses at the age of two has not yet been fully formed, it is still impossible to ride them at this time. However, it is also necessary to start accustoming such a horse to the empty saddle itself.

When can I start basic training

How to train a horse to ride, let's talk a little lower. To begin with, let's figure out when it is actually possible to start such training. Starting too early for such training is not recommended by most instructors. The later the race starts, the longer the horse itself will serve in the future. In any case, of course, it is impossible to mount a young horse before its skeleton gets stronger. The end time for the development of the musculoskeletal system in horses depends on many factors: conditions of detention, breed, individual characteristics of the organism.

Begin to train horses to ride usually at 3of the year. At the same time, in the first months, a sparing regimen is chosen for the animal. First, work begins with light riders weighing up to 60 kg. Later, closer to 4 years, the load on the animal is gradually increased. At 5-6 years old, the horse begins to be taught to jump over logs. When using this technique, a riding horse can subsequently serve faithfully to the owner up to 20-25 years.

How to train a horse to ride: saddle

Horse training usually begins at the age of 2 years. At the same time, the training technology is used quite simple:

• a saddle without stirrups is placed on the horse's back;
• wait a while;
• remove the saddle.

Remove the saddle from the back of the horse during training only after it calms down - as a reward. After the animal understands that this new accessory does not pose a danger to him, you can begin to tighten the girth. The latter must be tightened by one fastener each time. After the horse is used to the girth, it should be led with the saddle on the lunge.

How to train a rider

Of course, the main goal of training after getting the basic skills is to be able to ride a horse in the future. How are horses taught not to be afraid of the rider? These animals should also get used to the rider gradually.

This procedure can only be started when the horse is already accustomed to an empty saddle and is not afraid of it. One of the features of these animals is thatthat they are not afraid of the actual weight of the rider, but when something hangs over them. Therefore, it is not worth it to immediately climb into the saddle during training. Usually the technique of accustoming a horse to a rider is used as follows:

• the horse is freely led for some time (to slight fatigue);
• bring the horse to the landing step;
• stand on the step and, leaning on the saddle, hang over the horse (two assistants must hold the animal);
• begin to press harder and harder on the saddle, gradually transferring their body weight to it.

Ultimately, the rider must hang on the horse. Next you need:

• sit down from the step into the saddle, carefully transferring the weight of your body to it;
• sit in the saddle for 10-15 seconds and get back down the step.

In nature, a predator will never let go of its prey just like that. Therefore, the last action at the beginning of training will surely calm the horse and he will understand that no one wants to harm him.

Some time after the rider leaves the saddle, he again needs to get on the horse and sit on it for 10-15 minutes. Next, you should get off the horse again. This procedure must be repeated several times.

How to teach to walk under saddle

Thus, at the first stage, the horse must be taught not to be afraid of the rider himself. After that, you can actually begin to develop the animal's riding skills. How to teacha horse to move with a rider? To do this, first of all, you need an assistant. After the trainer sits on the horse, the assistant must take the reins and freely lead the animal around the arena. Then you can drive the horse with the rider on the lunge.

The horse needs only a few laps for the first time. Then you should calmly get off the horse, stroke it and treat it with top dressing. For the next few lessons, the exercise with the rider should be repeated. The first stage of the ride can be considered completed when the horse with the instructor on its back begins to move evenly and calmly.

Training

As soon as the horse gets used to moving with the rider, you can start mastering commands such as:

• send forward;
• stop;
• turn;
• transition from gait to trot, etc.

How to train a horse to ride: shankels

Leg training plays a very important role in horse training. Many people think, for example, that all you need to get a horse moving is the whip and the movement of the legs. However, experienced instructors consider this to be fundamentally wrong. When training a horse, the first thing to do is to train the leg. Only then can she be considered ready for various types of riding.

The leg is a way of sending the horse forward by lightly squeezing the legs. Depending on the force with which this movement will be made, the horse subsequently chooses the pace of movement. By usingleg, you can make the horse move, turn left or right, go from step to trot, stop.

Initially, the pressure with the legs is supplemented with a light blow of the whip. This is necessary for the horse to understand the meaning of the leg. When training in this case, it is important that the pressure, if necessary, to force the animal to perform one or another action is the same. Otherwise, the perception of leg impact in the horse may be dulled.

Helpful tips

The technology described above is a good answer to the question of how to train a wild horse to walk under saddle. As you can see, such training is really not an easy task. In any case, a specialist should train young unbroken horses. A beginner should only undertake this under the guidance of an experienced instructor. And the more severe the nature of this or that horse, the more knowledge, skills and abilities the trainer should have.

Many people are also interested in how to train a horse to ride at home. In this case, a beginner, of course, should also invite a specialist to ride, for example, from the nearest stud farm.

In any case, when training a horse, one should, among other things, follow the following recommendations of experts:

• no need to give the animal an excessive load;
• train a horse should be systematic, strictly following the chosen pattern;
• Any workout should end with a walk so that the animal calms down and dries.

Saddle lessons should last no longer than 45 minutes. According to experts, it is very difficult for horses to concentrate for a longer period of time.