Archive for the ‘Horse Buying’ Category

If you want to make the most of your horse riding instruction and learn to ride horses really well in the shortest amount of time possible, here are a few secrets just for you:

Multiplying Your Practice Time

Learning to ride horseback, like anything else, is a skill that comes with practice. But horse riding instruction can be expensive and often your riding time is limited to one or twice a week, usually on weekends. So how can you practice enough to get really good when you are limited to an hour or two a week? After all, it is said that to become good at any skill you need to have put in about 500 hours of practice …and about 3000 hours to become a master! Well, by that rule, with a weekly horse riding instruction session of 1 hour, it would take you about 9 and a half years to get good! I don’t know about you but that seems an awfully long time. Fortunately there are some ways you can multiply the effects of your horse riding instruction that won’t cost you a fortune. And you’ll become a better horse rider in the process.

The Riding School in Your Mind

You can use mental rehearsal to practice horse back riding in your mind! The reason little girls get so good at riding so fast is partly due to the fact that they obsess about horses and horse riding and spend so much of their freetime thinking about horse riding, talking about horses, reading equestrian books and day dreaming about being on horseback. This is the perfect recipe for getting good at something. Added to good instruction of course! So when you have your riding lessons, make sure you pay full attention. Be right in the moment and be aware of how your body feels as you ride the horse. Really observe everything about being on horse back as you ride around the mnage or riding school area. Listen to the sounds of the horses hooves, its breathing, the clink of the harness or the clicks and taps of its shoes as its feet occasionally clip one another. Notice any smells in the air and store all this sensory information in your memory banks. As soon as you get home, make some notes about the major things you learnt in your lesson that day, and any things that you have to work on for next week. Also note down any observations you had during your lesson — even if they seem unrelated to riding — like the fact your instructor had a coffee stain in the shape of Kansas on her T-shirt. This will all help to lock in your lesson. Then at odd times when you can, just sit quietly and replay your horse riding lesson in your mind’s eye. Go through it again and again. Feel yourself back in the saddle, holding the reins, your feet in the stirrups. And relive that lesson — only in your imagination you can do it better. When you are practising in your mind’s eye, you can be a perfect rider, totally confident and skillful.
The ideal time to practice mental rehearsal is last thing at night as you go to sleep, and first thing in the morning when you wake up. But the more you do it, the better it is. You should see rapid improvements in your horse riding ability as you go to your weekly instruction classes.

In the Hoofsteps of the Masters

Another secret to accelerating the affects of your horse riding instruction is to copy great riders. There are 3 simple ways to do this.

1. Get a mentor.

You can watch someone who is a great rider at your riding school and try and copy the way they ride. Just spend some time observing them around horses. Be like an actor rehearsing for a part. Gradually build up your inner picture of what it is to be that person. Notice everything about the way they get on a horse, how they sit in the saddle, the way they hold the reins. Look closely at the set of their face. Are they tense or relaxed? Are they comfortable enough to smile? Notice their breathing… and imagine yourself getting on a horse, sitting in the saddle, holding the reins, and breathing, just like that great rider. Befriend that person if you can and get their advice and tips… otherwise just observe them secretly and absorb what they know about riding confidently.

2. Create an equestrian book library.

Your mind will benefit by absorbing the principles of riding, so plunder your local library for books on horses and riding, or create your own personal library of equestrian books to which you can refer frequently. Seeing pictures of people riding will fill your mind with the images of ‘how to ride’ that it needs. Reading actual written instructions can help you cement the lessons you are taught at your horse riding instruction sessions. If you have fallen in love with horses and with horse riding, you’ll be happy to read all about them — it will fuel your passion and excitement and your mind will gallop to help you achieve what you want: to become a great horse rider.

3. Watch DVDs of great horse riders.

When I first learnt to ride, one of my heroes was a famous British showjumper called Harvey Smith. I used to think he was brilliant and wanted to be like him, so I would always watch the showjumping on TV and cheer him on and imagine I was him. I also bought or was given a set of Pony Club videos. These showed some Pony Club kids getting riding instruction in a beautiful part of Great Britain. And again I used to imagine I was there, riding my horse over those training poles. The more opportunities you get to see and observe horse riding, the more information your mind has to work with. By feeding your brain with movies of good horse riding you help form a mental map of what great riding is all about. If you have a particular equestrian hero, you can create an imaginary meeting with that person, in which you have them stand in front of you with their back turned to you, and the you ‘step inside’ them and ‘become’ that person. You imagine looking out of their eyes, feeling what they feel, hearing what they hear. And you get on your hero’s horse and you ride that horse as your hero. This little exercise has been used successfully to accelerate ability in many fields of endeavor — so why don’t you use it to accelerate your horse riding instruction?

Copyright 2007 Adam di Cavallo

Author: Adam Di Cavallo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker

Whether you’re a new rider or the parent of a new rider, you’ve no doubt already discovered one of the most enduring truths about riding horses: horse riding clothing is expensive. And confusing. There’s so much of it, in so many different styles, for so many different types of riding, it’s hard to know what to buy. And once you finally do pick out a few items, the prices are so shockingly huge you begin to think it might be better to forget about the ponies altogether and get into scrapbooking instead.

But don’t give up yet! Byavoiding the most common mistakes that beginners make, you can save yourself lots of time, money, andfrustration.

Horse Riding Clothing Mistake #1: Buying Everything

When first starting out,many new riders think they needto own every piece of horse riding gearunder the sun. They loaddown their shopping carts and wipe out their budgets only to eventually discover they didn’t need half of it, orthey bought the wrong kind. Or, worse yet, their interest in riding was only a phase and all that expensive equipment is now sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

To make sure you avoid this mistake, just keep in mind one simple phrase: You don’t need all that stuff. All you really need when starting out are three simple things:

1. a horse riding helmet
2. a comfortable pair of pants
3. some horse riding boots.

And that’s it. With just those three items, you can take your first riding lessons, learn the basics,and figure out whether or notriding horses is something you really want todo before you throw piles of money at it. This, of course, brings us to…

Horse Riding Clothing Mistake #2:Buying the Wrong Helmet

There are many different kinds of horse riding helmets, all designed for very specific disciplines or skill levels. Unfortunately, many of them look the same and it would be very easy for a beginnerto spend way too much money on the wrong one.To avoid this common mistake,all you really need to know aboutare two differenttypes: show helmets and schooling helmets.

Show helmets are exactly what they sound like: helmets you wear to a show. They’re very formal and very expensive, often reaching several hundreddollars apiece. Now here’s the good news: Until you reach a level where you’re ready to compete in front of judges, you don’t need a show helmet.

Schooling helmets are also exactly what they sound like: helmets you wear while schooling, or lesson riding. Schooling helmets are wayless formal andway less expensive;a decent one can be gotten for around $30-$40. They’re alsomuchmore durable and easier toclean, meaning the wear-and-tear of weekly lessons won’t be such a strain onyour time or pocketbook.

Horse Riding Clothing Mistake #3:Buying theWrongBreeches

Breeches are those stretchy pants you see professional equestrians wear. They’re made of a special material that allows for freedom of movement andwicks moisture (aka sweat) away from the skin. They also have very soft seams specially stitched to keep from chafing the rider’s legs at the points where they make contact with the sides of the horse’s body. These are all good things.

When you shop for breeches, you’ll find many different kinds with many different names: knee patch breeches, full-seat breeches, low-rise breeches, etc.The kind you ultimately need will depend on which style of riding you get into, but, in the beginning, you can easily get away with a nice, cheap pair of schooling tights.

Note: Some people will tell you that you can just wear a tight pair of jeans, but that really isn’t a very good idea. First of all, most trainers will only let you get away with that for a couple of lessons (until you decide if you want to keep riding or not), and, secondly, the seams on a pair of jeans will quickly begin to chafe — and eventually scar — your legs. Do yourself a favor, and find a nice pair of riding tights.

Horse Riding Clothing Mistake #4: Buying the Wrong Boots

As with all the other pieces of horse riding clothing, there are many different kinds of boots, all made for specific types of riding. Many beginners immediately go for the tall, glossy boots that they see so many other riders wearing, but this is a huge mistake. Not only are those tall boots extremely expensive, they’re also very tough to break in. If your new rider is still growing, by the time the boots are fully broken in, they will likely have outgrown them; meaning all that money you just spent has gone straightdown the drain. And finally, as with show helmets, the wear-and-tear of lesson riding will quickly cause the value of your investment to dwindle.

When starting out, the only horse riding boots a beginner needs are paddock boots. Paddock boots are short, ankle-length boots that look a bit like “granny boots.” They have the same safety features as tall boots, but are far less expensive,far lessdifficultand time-consuming to break in,and not so heartbreaking to get dirty. Also, for kids under 12, paddock boots are perfectly fine to wear for shows, meaning you can definitely get your money’s worth from them for quite some time.

And That’sIt!

Sure, it’s easy to spend a lot of money on horse riding clothing. And it’s really easy to buy the wrong kind. But by avoiding these common mistakes that beginning riders make, you canminimize your cost and maximize your time enjoyingthe reason you got into riding in the first place: spending time with the horse!

Author: John P Harris
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

If your child is going to take horseback riding lessons, then they are going to need certain clothing and safety equipment. Whether your child is participating in an English private horseback riding lesson, or a Western group horse riding lesson, safety equipment is of the utmost importance. In this article, you will learn what your child needs to be safe around horses and ponies.

The basic safety equipment needed includes boots, a helmet and riding pants. These can be purchased at a local tack store or online.

Horse Riding Boot Needs

You should always wear a good protective horseback riding boot whenever you are around horses. It doesn’t matter if you are planning to ride or simply plan on a grooming session. Boots are important while you are on the ground to protect you in case a horse accidently steps on your foot. They are also important while riding, because they have a heel that keeps your foot from slipping too far into the stirrup causing you to get stuck. It’s obvious that you don’t want your foot to be stuck, if you were to experience a fall from a horse. So don’t cut corners where an equestrian boot is concerned.

Paddock boots are typically the type of boot used for English horseback riding lessons. A paddock boot is a leather ankle boot that can either lace up or zip closed. These can also be used for Western riding, or a cowboys boots can be used. In English riding, tall boots that go up to your knees are not required for lessons and usually children do not start wearing them until they are over the age of 12 or so.

Horse Riding Helmet Needs

A helmet is probably the most important part of your child’s equestrian wardrobe, because it protects the skull and brain. While a helmet should always be worn while riding, it can also be worn while on the ground as an extra safety precaution while being around horses. A schooling helmet is typically used for riding lessons. As the name implies, schooling helmets are only used for practice, not for horse shows. I personally like the adjustable kind. They have a little dial in the back that you can adjust to fit your head perfectly, so it doesn’t fall down onto your forehead while you are riding.

Horse Riding Pant Needs

Long pants should be worn when riding horses. This is to protect the legs from rubbing against the saddle and horse. It can also protect the legs should your child fall from her horse or pony. If your child is taking English riding lessons, schooling tights or schooling breeches are usually worn. For Western riding, regular blue jeans are typically worn.

Once your child has been around horses for a while, their comfort grows, and there might be a tendency to cut corners. Don’t allow your child to get too comfortable. You must always remind them to follow the safety rules, however much at ease they become around horses.

Author: Eileen Childs
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Multi-cooker