Each rider, regardless of the number of hours spent in a saddle and gained abilities, has gone through the process of being a beginner to riding. The instructor's effort put into our first rides has an enormous influence on our posture (how we put our hands, hips, calves etc.), but also on how we would treat horses and what attitude we would have while coming for rides. The instructor should help us develop such traits as decision, self-consciousness, but also patience and humbleness. All the mistakes for which our coach would be oblivious - would take their toll on the further development.
We need to be aware of that if we have a chance to teach others. The entrant, as a tabula rasa is a much easier "material" to teach than a person who already has some riding experience, as the entrant doesn't have any bad habits and doesn't make any mistakes that would be tough to fix.
So, if you are instructors - seasonally or permanently, or you just happen to conduct a lesson for your friends or their kids - it's worth to take a look at our tips.
Our main goal during the first ride should be making the rider to trust us, thereby to stop being afraid. Balance and developing physical condition are less important.
If we "make" a good foundation - consisting of mutual trust, the young rider would probably come to our stable again. But if we will discourage our charge, even if he or she is adult - that person would most probably give up on another workouts, as the first impression and the first ride - could be experienced only once.
We suggest that the first ride is no longer than 30 min. A longer lesson doesn't really have any sense as riding requires using those part of muscles, which are not much exploited in everyday activities (for example the inner muscles of thighs). After 30 minutes, although the rider might not feel it yet, the muscles will be tired and refuse to work, so each further exercise would be performed a lot poorer. What is more, children have a set attention span, and a workout that lasts too long might bore them. So it is better if our charge getting off the horse's back feels a little "hunger" and would be keen on another ride than feels disappointed and bored.
Each self-respecting instructor should have some general plan for the so-called beginning rider. The time frame of such plan would definitely be flexible, as everybody learns at a different pace. However, we have to stick to the established plan so we can tick another points on the list - accomplished exercises and acquired skills of the rider.
In a situation when we have a lot of entrants under our guard, we tend to forget at which stage each one of them is. In such a case, a short interview with the charge and quick test of his or her abilities would help to place them in the general schedule of our work and the rider's development, so we know which tasks should be done next.
For example:
Anne is on the stage of riding to the trot, she also know the jumping position and training trot. She maintains all these positions without losing balance, she easily shifts between these positions.
That is a sufficient information for us to know that the next stage of teaching will be to teach Anne how do the calves work and trying it in practice - during an unassisted start from stop to a walk, from a walk to a trot, and in all three positions in a trot.
Schedule and some exemplary exercises and tips.
Stretching
The undermentioned exercises can be initially performed on a horse who stands in one place, and then in a walk.
touching the horse's ears once with left hand and once with right hand, the tail, neck, abdomen and shoulders alike
clasping the horse while touching him under the neck with fingers of one hand and then the other
making circles with the right, than the left hand from the front to the back, with both hands to the front and to the back, asynchronously- one to the front, one to the back
riding with both arms raised up
touching toes of the left foot with the right hand and the other way round
doing the "twiddle" (meaning, consecutively sitting sideways in the saddle, backwards to the horse, backwards to a person with a lunge, and then before - returning to the starting position)
"clapping with the feet" above the horse's neck with straight legs, and above the croup (the rider must drop his or her hip, at the same time straightening the legs)
source: franciscobraganca.com
The mere stretching during a ride serves not only for the rider's warming up before the actual ride, but it is also performed for relaxing any kind of tensions, so the rider can check which parts of the horse are stable. All the exercises are meant to build our charge's self-belief and free him or her from discomfort which is caused by finding themselves in a new situation.
Relaxing
closing the eyes with arms spread wide to the sides and relaxing the hips
feeling which leg the horse's actually takes steps with (left or right)
lying on the neck with the eyes closed
Prep exercises
standing in the stirrups while maintaining a vertical position - pushed hips, bent knee, calf on the horse's abdomen, straight pose
learning the jumping position with leaning on the neck at a walk
short segments of a trot while sitting in the saddle
Proper exercises
the rider tries to maintain the jumping position in stirrups during start and in the mere trot helping him- or herself with hands, than without the help of hands and with their eyes closed
learning how to ride to the trot in a walk
learning how to ride to the trot in a trot with support and without, then with the eyes closed
shifts riding to the trot - jumping position
training trot with support and without, with the eyes closed
shifts riding to the trot - jumping position - training trot
The next stage is to learn how to give calves to the horse while starting, but also during a particular pace and chosen position. Only when this is mastered we can give reins to the rider and begin to teach him or her how to properly regulate their tension and length accordingly to the pace, but also while stopping and starting. The next stage is to teach how to turn, joining aids - calves, seat and reins.
The next step might be teaching gallop - of course, we start on a lunge, analogous to the trot - first with support, then without, unsupported trials of starting to the gallop, and at the end the rider gets the reins.
Length of learning
It depends on the rider, there are some of those who would achieve almost ¼ of the whole plan on the first lesson. But there are also those who won't be able to even trot, as they would be too stressed in a new situation. In each of these cases we need to approach the rider individually. People that learn fast often come to a point, after only few of the lessons, where they seem "stuck". We cannot let that discourage them and allow regress to sneak in - try to make the exercises interesting, strengthening what has already been achieved. The usual reason for regress is exhaustion. It is worth to give the rider few days off, for taking a breath and absorbing what he or she has already learnt.
It's good to introduce trainings 2-3 times a week, rather not more often. The absolute minimum is one ride a week. The rider will be able to acquire, and not forget, what he or she has already learnt.
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Defects of posture and corrective exercises
Stiffening the body
Stiffening is a result of fear. A rider who doesn't feel securely reacts with stiffening the neck, shoulders, arms, small of the back, but also legs which might be dangerous. The rider quickly loses rhythm, especially in a ride to the trot, it's hard to "seat through" the training trot, and is also prone to lose balance with any arrhythmic motion of the horse, which might end up with a painful fall.
The aforementioned people, who overly stress about their trainings should not be forced to do anything. It's worth to invest in a great amount of hours spent on relaxing exercises in order to focus the rider's attention on a bond with the horse. Very useful might be the exercise with closing their eyes and feeling the order of horse's steps - the rider has to feel when the horses put his left, and when his right leg, all this while riding with her or his eyes closed.
A very good idea is to ride without stirrups, and also riding bareback. Of course, we still stick to the rule - do not force them to anything. Even if the whole bareback riding would be performed only in a walk, it would be a huge step to relax our charge.
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Too much energy
This problem usually relates to children. If our charge constantly comes up with his or her own exercises, trying to dictate their own opinion, not listening to us at all. Sometimes we might also encounter children who show aggression towards the horse.
The easiest way is to constantly come up with new tasks, which will aim to achieve a certain skill. Let's not forget that it is better not to perform too many repetitions of one exercise, but a wonderful idea is to take a break between the proper exercises. For example, while practicing ride to the trot in a walk, it is worth to stop it for a while after two laps so the child can perform a task which requires a lot of energy, speed, but would be easy to do (e.g. the before-mentioned "twiddle" or "clapping" with foot above the horse's neck). Right after the child accomplishes the order, you can immediately go back to the previous task (here, riding to the trot).
With younger children (6-7-years-old) it's pretty easy to work by changing a ride into conducting a story. For example, we have a boy on a ride - let's gen up on what he likes and relating to his passions, pick the main theme of our story. He can become a rally driver, a knight in shiny armour who fights with dragons, a soldier on a war - it doesn't really matter. The child is supposed to get interested with this story and focus his attention completely on our orders. Let's assume that the kid loves to play in a soldier. A great idea would be to hide before a foe in the jumping position, shooting in the training trot (preferably with an imaginary gun in a hand, so he cannot hold the saddle), always in a vertical position in the stirrups, searching for the enemy etc. Allow their imagination run wild, and at the same time you would be having the time of your life.
Lack of support in the stirrups, calf and knee
Freely dangling legs of the entrants are a pretty often sight. It's obvious that the rider doesn't have the inner leg's muscles strong enough and he or she doesn't really know yet how to use those legs in order to keep balance in every position and at every pace.
It's good to build up the rider's confidence in the jumping position, preferably without support of the hands, and standing up in the stirrups. If our charge has legs long enough, we can try riding without the stirrups - riding to the trot and the jumping position. That will allow the rider to appreciate the stirrups and support they give, but he or she would also stick tighter to the saddle with the knees, not squatting them at the same time.
Slouching
Probably, that is the hardest problem to solve during riding. Rider who slouches doesn't have the "scaffold" of posture and easily loses balance. Most of the exercises with a slouching rider doesn't make sense - straightening him or her must become the first point to which we will pay our attention.
In reality, one magical exercise which would fix our charge's posture doesn't exist. It takes a lot of hours to carve out a habit of keeping the back straight. First of all, the rider must want it and understand how important this is, without his or her will we won't be able to do anything. For fighting with the "slouched" back we recommend all the exercises that are performed without the use of hands - the rider should stick them to the sides in a right angle, so the shoulder muscles are really strained. Sometimes it is useful to interlink fingers behind the back, by grabbing the elbows with the hands.
Teaching the entrants is probably the most difficult, often tedious and demands the most patience for the coach. On the other hand, nobody has a bigger influence on the rider's future performance than his or her first coach. It would be great if we would be able to be the one who can encourage them to ride, support them in overcoming their weaknesses and help them how to achieve their goals. But be careful and don't let the routine and lack of engagement mislead you, as you would be placing more obstacles before your charges by not correcting them and letting them make (really any) mistakes, at the same time stopping their proper development and riding consciousness.
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background source: franciscobraganca.com
source: www.akademiawypoczynku.com.pl, author: Szymon Karlak
source: franciscobraganca.com
source: www. gasconyholidays.info
source: i.ytimg.com
