Horses

Trail riding can be fun and enjoyable. Some places you can rent a horse and go trail riding for your own enjoyment. Trails can help make the horse stronger by going up hills or down them. Trail riding helps the horse with different terrians.

There are trail ride competitions where you must open a gate and walk through or cross a puddle of water. A lot of horses are afraid of water and will go around, so you need to find a way to make the horse go through. It takes a lot of time a practice but practice makes perfect. When you approach a gate you turn your horse sidewase, open, walk through, and shut it. There are more obstacls but these are common.

Horses

There are different types of jumping courses. Here are some of the different kinds of jumps: vertical, wall, triple bar, cross rail, hogsback, and filler. Some jumps include water obstacles to challenge the horses and trainers. Some horses are afraid of water and this can cause disaster.



Vertical jumps consists of pole or planks placed above each other with no space. Wall jumps are bricks but made out of lighter material in case the horse knocks one off. The wall resembles and actually brick wall. A triple bar has three bars placedd at different heights. A cross rail consists of two poles crossed like an X with on end on the ground, this helps the horse learning how to jump. Hogsback  has three rails where the tallest pole is in the center. A filler is like a box of flowers or water under the jump.

Equestrian Events

In Equestrian Events you work towards points, and championship awards. Your points are based off events, such as: Jumping, Cross Country, and Dressage. Each event except Dressage are timed. Depending on how fast you complete race determines how many points you earned, and you can also be penalized for hitting an obstacle. If you hit to many obstacles you will be disqualified.

There is three different events: Dressage, Cross-Country, and Jumping. The first event is Dressage, this shows the judges how beautiful the horse can move and listen to the rider. Riders use different movements to make their horse impressive. The scoring chart is based from zero to ten, and ten being the best.

Cross-Country is the second event, this consists of water, jumping, and trail riding. The goal is to be as quick through this event without falling off and getting disqualified. You cannot do a jump more than once if you make a mistake.

The final event is Jumping. In this event they have props for you to jump and if your horse knocks one down you get a penalty. You want to be a quick and precise in this event to do very well.  

Horse Training

To ensure your safety while riding a horse, it's important to have correct posture and seat. This helps the horse make the appropriate moves and will also help it move it's feet freely. You must make sure your stirrups are your length, otherwise you will fall and get hurt. To make sure they are the correct length you would stand up in the stirrups and check the gap between your seat and the saddle. You should be able to slide your hand vertically in between you and your saddle. You want to the the stirrups to be your length  every time you ride.


If you ride bareback you can feel every muscle and movement of the horse. Never practice riding bareback on a young or inexperienced horse. It's best to learn bareback by riding a broke horse. As you are riding, focus on developing what is called an independent seat. An independent seat means that your hind end is separate and independent from your legs and your back; your seat is what moves with the horse. The best way to develop an independent seat is to spen a lot of time riding bareback on a nice horse.

Horse Training

When you are ready to mount the horse, it's important to practice both sides. This helps the horse be equally developed and have less of a risk of scaring your horse. Start by putting both reins in your left hand and turning your stirrup so you can put your foot in it. If your horse is to tall, you may hold onto the horn to help pull yourself up. As you pull yourself up don't kick or pull on the reins.Once on the horse, sit and pet the horse.

When dismounting you don't want your horse to start walking because you could get hurt. The first step is to stop the horse and stand. Once the horse is relaxed place both reins in your left hand, with the left rein shorter than the right. Lean froward and swing your right leg over the back of the horse until you are back in the standing position.

 

Horse Training

To avoid getting bucked off a horse, take a lot of time reading the horse. The reason why people get bucked off their horse is they ignore what the horse is trying to say. If you get bucked off you missed the signs telling you that the buck was coming. Bucking, rearing, and running off are signs of a horse being emotionally immature and being pushed too far.


Once you have your horse safely saddled and feel confident in the horse's ability to carry the saddle and individual. Before getting on your horse you want to exercise the horse by doing circles. You make the horse walk, trot, and lope to help the horse breathe with a saddle on.  If the horse does great one day riding, the next day might not be so great. Horses and people are the same because we all have our bad days and good days. The next day might not go so well but as long as you exercise the horse you will be fine. Once you have exercised the horse you may get on and ride.

Horse Training

The most important thing in saddling your horse is to make sure it's emotionally and mentally prepared. Having the horse prepared prevents any pulling back and flipping. You want to use your understanding of the nature of horses to make saddling easier. If you do a good job preparing the horse, then you will have no major problems.

When approaching your horse with the saddle pad, keep the pad down low to introduce it to the horse. The proper position is about one foot in front of the shoulder, with a small amount of slack in the rope. The saddle pad relaxes the horse. Once relaxed your ready to put the saddle on. Approach horse with saddle while watching the horse. If the horse is still relaxed then you may get closer. Pet the horse and let it know you are there. Grasp your saddle with your left hand on the pommel and the cantle with your right. Then swing the saddle around to place on the horse. Then you put all the straps together and ride.