Horseback Riding 101: Getting up on Your Horse
Posted: Saturday, November 28, 2009
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
I've been hanging out with, caring for, and riding horses for quite a few months now. That doesn't really qualify me in anyway to write about the care and grooming of horses, let alone how to ride them. But I can share with you some of the things I've learned along the way things I wish people had told me much earlier on. I am passionate about horses in general and just want to share a little bit of this.
The Stirrups: I did not cover stirrups in the other two articles and so a few words are in order here. I've ridden mainly on English saddles for the last few months and the adjustment of the stirrups is a simple buckle arrangement. The stirrup leather makes a loop through the stirrup and a loop through a ring on the saddle up near the midline and under a flap of leather. There is a buckle and numerous holes to choose from. To adjust the stirrups, stand beside your horse facing forward. Put your right finger tips at the top most place the stirrup leather depends from and lift the stirrup into your right armpit with your left hand. If the bottom of the stirrup just comes all the way into your armpit, it is adjusted to the proper length (or at least very close, apparently my arms are a bit on the long side, no monkey jokes please). Many stirrup leathers come with the holes numbered so that it is then easy to adjust the other stirrup.
After riding a bit, you may find that (depending on your level of expertise) the stirrup is either too short or too long despite the armpit trick. In the beginning I liked my stirrups quite short because I would get nervous and tense and then I would pull my knees up instead of leaving my legs long and relaxed. When you do this, your feet tend to come out of the stirrups when trotting. As I've progressed, I've constantly lengthened my stirrup leathers. I consider it a mark of improvement each time I graduate to one hole longer.
Getting Up: Most people mount a horse from the horse's left. You can actually mount from either side, but most horses are accustomed to the rider getting up on the left, so it is probably best to just continue with this.This tradition stems from the fact that most knights were right handed and wore their swords on the left side for a cross draw. Getting up on the right side of the horse then would mean that the sword was in the way.
I'm short and so my stirrups are always going to be a fair bit off the ground. The horse I ride is a big paint gelding which makes the stirrups even higher. So I need a mounting block. Sometimes it is an overturned tub or a telephone pole on its side (telephone poles form the boundary of the little arena I ride in). However you get up on your horse, the main thing is that he stands still while you do it.
The first time you get up on a horse, you will likely have your instructor there to hold the horse steady and guide you in the process. If you are the adventurous sort and decide to just get up and ride all on your own, here are a few tips:
- Be prepared for the horse to move. Never assume that he will stand completely still until you are fully settled in the saddle.
- If you have walked your horse to wherever you are going to ride him, you will have had the reins in your hands. Move them now to his neck.
- Check the girth one more time and make sure the stirrups are both the same length.
- Move to the left side of your horse, grip the reins and the pommel of the saddle in your left hand, reach as far over the saddle as you can with your right hand and grab whatever you can, put your left foot in the stirrup and pull yourself up.
- Try not to poke your horse in his side with the toe of your boot. This can be interpreted as a signal to move.
Try not to plop yourself into the saddle and also try not to pull too much to the one side for too long. Make it a smooth, quick and gentle process and you will increase the odds of pulling it off before the horse wants to walk on. Also, he will love you for it. The less time all that weight is hanging off of one side of him the better.
If he starts to walk as you are trying to mount, take up the slack in the reins so that the bit makes contact in his mouth. Just grip both sides (they should make a continuous circle with either a buckle connection or just constructed that way) so that the excess points toward the back of the horse and re-grip the pommel and give it another try.
Some horses will walk on as soon as your weight settles balanced in the saddle. If your horse tends to do this, be prepared to stop him with a quiet "ho." Never say "ho" as if it is a question. Either say it flatly, or with a downward inflection. A horse should never move forward until you are ready. If you are ready the moment your sitting parts hit the saddle then there isn't a problem. But it is usually a good idea to get settled, get your right foot in the stirrup, feel out your balance, and check that your stirrups are indeed the proper length. Please note that "ho" sounds a lot like "no," so if your horse is doing something you want him to stop doing, do not say "no." It will just confuse him. Rather, say either stop or quit.
The Reins: Make a fist with each hand with your thumb along side your index finger. Hold your hands so that your thumbs are on top. Take up the reins so that they enter from the bottom and use your thumb to apply pressure to them and hold them against your index finger. Then move your little fingers so that the reins are between them and your ring fingers. This is the basic way to hold all leather reins. Frequently, dude string horses will have thick rope reins to facilitate a good grip for novices. Just take those in hand the way your guide tells you to.
The reason for putting the reins between your little and ring fingers is that as you progress in you training, you will find that just a little inward tightening of your little finger(s) or your whole hand will change the contact of the reins on your horse's neck or contact with the bit. Guiding your horse and letting it know what you want him to do doesn't have to be a heavy handed affair. Ideally the use of your aids (legs, seat and hands) should be gentle and subtle and all but invisible. I've watched some very experienced horse and rider combos go through their paces and it has looked for all the world as if they were reading each others minds. It is this to which I aspire.
The reins should be held so that they contact both sides of your horse's neck equally. Also they should be maintained the same length on both sides. To do this you will have to hold your hands fairly low and close to the horse's withers. Keep a comfortable bend in your elbows with your elbows kept next to your body; not out in front of it. Move your hands together or apart as necessary. However, try never to move your left hand to the right side of the horse's withers or vice versa. This can cause you to lose a bit of control and might confuse your horse. How much of the reins you take up in your hands will depend on what you are doing.
If you are warming up your horse at a gentle walk, the reins can have a lot of slack in them (though this isn't necessary). His neck will be relaxed and a bit extended and his head will be down.
When the warm-up is finished and you want to get to work, let your horse know by taking up some of the slack in the reins and urging him with a cluck or a word or small kick that you want him to pick up the pace.
Once you have him in a good fast walk, it is time to really take up the reins and apply a little pressure. It is the application of pressure of one sort or another and the release of it that tells the horse what you want and that you accept the result.
I learned early on that you can pull all you want on a horse's lead rope and if it doesn't get the idea of moving forward with you, it never will. And don't think you can out-muscle him. Two quick tugs in the direction you want to go and then a release of all pressure will get him going. If the initial tugs don't work, wait a couple of seconds (horses need processing time) and try it again. If all you do is apply constant pulling pressure, your horse will just constantly pull back and neither of you are going anywhere. This principle applies to everything you do with a horse. Pressure, whether it is standing too closely or pulling on a lead rope, is an irritant to your horse and he will do what he has to in order to remove the irritant. That is why releasing pressure when he complies works. He says to himself, "Aha, she pulled forward on my rope and when I moved with her, she stopped pulling."
Ideally, when riding English dressage, your horse's neck should be upright and rounded and his mouth should be pointing toward the ground. This rounds out his back and helps to bring his rear legs under him better. It makes sitting or posting to his trot much smoother and easier. This is called collection and a horse moving in a collected manner is quite beautiful to watch.
To do this, you have to keep the reins quite short. How short will depend on the horse and his training. At first, I thought it was bringing cruel pressure from the bit into my horse's mouth. I was told to keep the reins short but not why and so I thought that I would be kind to him and not do that. I'd been doing a lot of riding on my own without an instructor present and had been having a great deal of difficulty keeping my horse in a trot. The reason was that I was not holding the reins short enough and the bit was bouncing painfully around in his mouth and so he would drop out of the trot and walk. Just the exact opposite of what I supposed. I was both grateful and remorseful when I finally had the why of it explained to me. One really good piece of advice that I can offer is that when anyone tells you to do something one way rather than another, ask them why.
So now, there you are. You are sitting comfortably on your horse's back. You have the reins well in hand and you are ready to go. One more article and you'll be riding like a pro. Well maybe not quite like a pro, I'm not there yet; that's for darn sure. Next up will be some tips for getting the most out of your riding experience.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Hey, lets not forget, if you are going to be doing some riding, you need to get in shape to do it.... groin muscles need to be stretched and better be ready for some serious effort... if your not ready for it, you will feel it for a couple of days. In otherwords, your legs are going to be what is holding you on the horse... not your arms or hands... your legs have got to be strong!Hi Bill.You've obviously done some riding and you are so right. I work out every day and a lot of good stretching is part of it. Too, so many people seem to think that holding onto the reins will keep them on the horse, but as you point out, it is your seat (how well balanced you are and how you grip with your legs).Many years ago, I studied Kung Fu for several years. There is a stance called the "square horse" (the stances are "horses") that if done properly is exactly how you should look when sitting on a horse. It stretches your legs at the groin and strengthens your thighs and calves. I stand in this horse for a major portion of my workout.Even when you are ready for it, you can still feel it for a couple of days. Recently I rode a horse that is much wider than my usual, and boy did I feel that!Thank you so much for reading my article and taking the time to leave a comment.Dianne
Great article, I know someone who wishes to get in to horse riding, will pass this on. It is going to cost so much for lessons so articles like this will really help.Hi Paul.Perhaps, if your friend has the time, they could make a "work for lessons" arrangement. This is what I have done with the owner of the horse I ride. She has six horses in all and I go out two days a week and groom four of them (includes the one I ride), muck stalls, clean water buckets and the like. I find it all to be very enjoyable.Thanks for reading and commenting and thanks for passing it on.Dianne
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