The 5 most common myths about riding
- You just saddle up and get on, no preparation needed! Kick to go, pull to stop.
- Tough horses need tougher bits.
- Spurs are for speed.
- Lean in the direction of the turn.
- English and Western have nothing in common.
One of the reasons people get mediocre results with horses is because they are influenced by common myths.
With these myths propagated as truths in the horse world, its no wonder that so many horses and riders don’t make it past mediocre results. Let’s address them one by one and look a the truths that will help us to get naturally good results:
For a horse to be ready to ride, you must prepare him mentally, emotionally and physically.
1. Don’t just saddle up and get on! Preparation is the key.
This is what pre-flight checks are all about, you check the horse out thoroughly to see what side of the corral he got up on. How is he feeling today, is he good natured and willing or feeling a bit disrespectful? Is he full of vip and vinegar or a bit slow today? Is he limping, stiff or sore in the back? You need to check all of this out and using the 7 Games is the best way. You’ll sort if all out before you ever fork a leg over his back. The best bucking horse rides are made on the ground! Learn to tell when your horse is mentally emotionally and physically ready to accept a rider on his back and your riding experiences will be ten times safer.
Rather than kicking to go and pulling to stop. Learn how to squeeze to go and lift and bend to stop.
2. Don’t kick to go, and don’t pull to stop. So what do you do?
In this section of lessons for Level 1, you will learn the keys that make all the difference. Instead of kicking you will learn how to teach your horse how to respond to the softest squeeze to go, and to quit riding and lift the reins to stop. If you were a horse, would you like to be kicked and pulled, or softly squeezed and lightly lifted?
Tough horses don’t need tougher bits. They need to be taught not to fear. Learn how to get in touch with the horse’s mind not over power his body.
3. Do tough horses really need tougher bits?
Only when you don’t have enough savvy to get into a horses mind. Big bits are used when you think you have to over-power a horse to get control of him. But if you have to use a big bit its a sure sign you have little or no communication with the horse’s mind. By travelling the levels program, we’ll guide you step by step into teaching you how to develop real communication with your horse, and ultimately any horse. When you have this kind of relationship, you don’t need big bits…in fact you won’t need any bit for control. You’ll then choose a bit for greater refinement not greater force.
If you lean into the turn you will unbalance the horse and cause him to brace as well as fall more on the forehand. Ride like you walk, push your turns.
4. Dont lean in to turn a horse! You’ll unbalance him.
How is that what we do naturally on the ground to make turns ourselves we do exactly the opposite when we get on the horses back? If you walk a straight line then make a turn to your right, which foot are you pushing with? The left foot. Your weight is on you left foot so your right foot can lift and shift its position for the turn. Same for the horse! In this program we’ll teach you how to “push” your turns instead of leaning into them. It will feel so much more natural for your horse, your turns will improve and your horse will start to use his hindquarters more underneath him instead of leaning on the forehand.
English riders can learn a lot from Western riders. Western riders can learn a lot from English riders.
5. English and Western have a lot in common!
Pat has often described the difference between the English and Western being like the difference between a violin and a fiddle. Its the same instrument, you just wear different clothes to play it and you hold it in a different position and play a different beat! The horse is the common instrument here, he doesn’t care what you wear, but the communication signals are the same. There might be some different manurers but ultimately we are looking for a soft, willing, well-balance horse that works form his hindquarters. if we can take off our blinders, we can learn a lot from studying other styles of riding. The English could learn about better stops and turns. The Western could learn about lead changes and lateral movements. Being open to a universal form of training the horse will build you an athlete that you can do anything with… and do it well.
In Natural Horsemanship the costume is not important… the communication is. You can do anything with a horse that is soft and sensitive to you communication.
