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Posts Tagged ‘heels down’

Horse riding basics – how to sit correctly

April 29th, 2010

This rider is not sitting correctly
Horse riding, the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground, has many important aspects, including sitting corectly.
General position
The basic position for walk and halt is sit up straight and tall, keep your elbows in a diagonal line with the horses mouth (your arms should never be straight), keep your heels down. keep the ball of your foot in the stirrup,ensure your shoulder, hip and heel are in a straight line.

Hands
When riding the position of your hands is important. How you hold the reins is also important, you should be able to feel a horses mouth without jabbing or pulling at the reins. Your instructer will tell you how to hold the reins correctly, but remember, always keep your thumbs on top and don’t rest your hands on the saddle or the horses neck.

Stirrups
Stirrups need to be different lengths for different activities. Dressage is done with long stirrups and requires confident riders with a deep seat.
For beginners, stirrups should be as long as your arm from finger tip to arm pit, to give a general idea.

Jumping position
When you start to jump your instructor will explain every thing you need to know but it is good to come prepared.
Approach
The way you approach a jump is very important. Keep your heels down, look ahead, keep your normal position and ride positively.
Take off
As you take off the only change in your position should be that you fold forward at your hips. Keep your heels down!
Moment of suspension
Keep the same position as above.
Landing
As you land, keep your heels down, they are your anchor, and sit up so that as you make the getaway, you are back in your usual position.

To achieve a good seat there are some exercises you can do. These include riding without stirrups and practicing sitting still (although this will most likely not be done in your first lesson).

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Horse Riding Basics – Your first riding lesson

April 18th, 2010

Learning Horse Riding

In the first article of Horse Riding Basics
we looked at how to choose a riding school that suits your needs. In this article we  examine what you need to do and how to prepare for your first riding lesson, including basic safety tips, what to wear, how to prepare for the lesson and other tips to make you first horse or pony riding lesson a pleasant experience.

Preparing for your first lesson
You should get to the riding school at least half an hour before you are due to start, you should consider booking your lessons in such a way that you are not the first pupil of the day, getting there half an hour early would probably mean that you will see the student before you still riding, watch other riders riding and listening to the instruction the instructor is giving usually help calm and prepare novice riders.

What to wear to your first riding lesson
You will find a list of the clothing and footwear you need for your first riding lesson below. You should not rush out to your nearest tack shop and buy all the equitment until you are absolutely certain you want to continue with horse riding, if you buy the equipment and clothing and then discontinue learning to ride a horse, you would have wasted a lot of money so it may be advisable to hire or borrow some or most of the clothing and equipment for a few lessons, once you are certain riding is for you, you can then buy your own clothing and equipment.

Horse Riding Hat Standard
Riding hat: Just like cyclist and motocyclist wear crash helments when riding, horse riders must wear a riding hat when riding to protect their head in case of an accident. The riding hat you buy or borrow must conform to current British Horse Society (bhs) standards such as BS EN1384.
For young riders, buying a second hand riding hat could be an option, because children outgrow riding hat and other equipment quickly, you may find some quality second-hand riding hats for children. But some people say it is unadvisable for any body buy second hand riding hats as they may be be broken inside.

Body protectors: While body protectors are not mandatory, it is advisable to wear one as it reduces the risk of serious injury should you fall during your riding lesson. For phases like cross country they are essential but your first lesson certainly will not involve cross country.

Riding trousers (Jodhpurs/breeches): Though Jodhpurs are the ideal riding trousers, any close-fitting trousers that allow you freedom of movement and protect your skin from getting sore from rubbing agains the saddle is adequate. Avoice trousers such as jogging bottoms or other material made from nylon or related materials.

Riding boots: You can choose the long knee lenght boots or jodhpur boots providers protection for the feet and ankle. As a beginner, you may also use any sturdy shooes with stout heels such as walking boots. The one pair of shoes you should not consider wearing for your riding lesson are trainers.

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