Imagine getting on a horse and riding for the first time. If you have never ridden before this is may be only a fantasy, or you may have been riding for years and the first time you sat in the saddle is a fond memory. Horseback riding can be a wonderful experience with the right coaching and guidance, but much too often a new rider’s first few experiences on horseback don’t go so well. Many new riders get scared and confused without the proper instruction and they quit riding before they have really gotten a chance to enjoy it. I want to help change that by educating new riders in an easy, effective way that progresses their riding skills quickly. In this series I will be teaching beginning riding for those of you whom may have just gotten into horses or want to start riding soon.
Parts of the Horse
To get started with, it is important to know the main parts of the horse in order to correctly ride, groom, and care for your horse. The main parts of the horse you should know include the poll, crest, pastern, hock, fetlock, and withers. The other parts of the horse you will learn as you spend more time around horses.
Examples of English Tack
Riding Attire
When riding, it is important to wear clothing that won’t interfere with your position or tack. Pants or riding breeches, boots will a heel, a comfortable shirt or sweat shirt, helmet, and riding gloves is all you really need. As you advance in english riding you may want to invest in half chaps or tall boots, which cover the lower legs and give you more grip when riding.
Types of Horses
There are many different breeds of horses, but there are three main categories that each breed falls into; hot blood, cold blood, and warmblood horses. This doesn’t mean that the horses actually have cold or hot blood, these are just groupings based on a particular breeds size. Hot blooded horses are lighter type horses such as Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Quarter horses. These kind of horses are mostly used as riding horses. Cold blooded horses are the heavier breeds including the Clydesdale, Belgian, and Percheron, which are more commonly seen pulling wagons and carts. Warmblood horses are middle weight type breeds which are bred to be sport horses. When you first begin riding it is most important to have a horse who has a calm disposition and is the right size for you, no matter what the breed or type of the animal.