Having Moments of Fear Is Normal for New Riders

A Mountie's main job is to serve in areas where a car would be impractical or noisy. They're especially good for crowd control because a policeman on a horse can see over the crowd from their higher vantage point. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2. How do I get my cousin to stop getting attached to my horse, while still encouraging her to ride? Make sure your cousin knows that horses are a huge responsibility and are not always that fun to take care of i.

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Either at a halt or sometimes a walk, depending on the horse and rider , the rider will change her seat four times, facing forward, then moving her leg to face sideways, then swinging her other leg over to face backwards, then the other side, then sitting back in the original forward-facing seat. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 2. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Already answered Not a question Bad question Other.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Tips Encourage the student to spend as much time around horses as possible so they can learn other important skills such as stable management, and how to control a horse from the ground. Planning lessons in advance is helpful, but have a plan in place for an emergency upset rider, bolting horse, etc. You don't want to do the same boring old thing every time - you could teach your student how to bathe a horse on a hot day, or have a egg-and-spoon race if your student is a kid.

Warnings Always speak with the parents of the child if teaching one to check that the child is taking lessons with the permission and full knowledge of the parents. If you're not a qualified riding instructor, always inform your student! Check with your insurance whether your student will be covered; and ensure that you won't be held responsible for any injuries. Did you try these steps?

Upload a picture for other readers to see. So to sum it all up. In closing, it is our responsibility as instructors to make sure we are setting our students up for success. It is not going to look the same for every rider. You have to teach everyone a little differently, and that is okay. I'm not saying that you are changing your program or changing your system, you just change how you relay it depending on their personality and confidence level.

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Selecting a Riding Instructor

Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so. For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: Having Moments of Fear Is Normal for New Riders I think that anyone who has been riding for a while would most likely be lying if they said that they have never been scared on a horse.

Instead of Fear Have a Healthy Respect Slowly, with time, and progressing on the right horses with the right teachers, I became confident to the point of doing dumb things and riding any horse no matter what. Put Yourself in Their Boots I think sometimes as instructors and confident riders we forget what it is like to not know what to expect or to just be apprehensive. Get to Know Them and Build a Relationship I think sometimes as instructors and confident riders we forget what it is like to not know what to expect or to just be apprehensive.

Learn About Your Student by Being Observant I believe that you can improve a lot as a riding instructor if you pay more attention to your student's body language—not just when they ride but on the ground. Small Steps Are Always Best so Break It Down I know how frustrating it can be to watch a student struggle and feel like you are telling them exactly what to do and they aren't listening. When and How to Push Sometimes, much to our student's dismay, the only way they can overcome their fear is to be pushed.

Get to know your students, talk to them, get them comfortable enough with you that they can tell you when they are nervous. Let's be honest, if your primary job like mine is teaching beginner lessons then there is no rush to get ready for the Olympic trials! Slow and steady is always better.


  • Human Factors in Traffic Safety, Second Edition.
  • The Brave and the Not so Brave—We All Have Our Moments!.
  • Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3);
  • Instructor Tips for Helping Fearful Students.
  • Book Review: Teaching Tips for Horseback Riding Instructors.

If there was a golden rule of riding instruction I would say that it is easier to take your time and build confidence then to get it back once it is lost. Help them to understand why you are asking them to do certain things. We all feel better and less anxious about things when we know more about them right? Riding is no different, tell them the why's as well as the how's.

Make sure your students know that it is okay to be fearful. I tell my students all the time about certain stories of me getting really scared and how I was able to get over my fear. Our students look up to us, they think we are the best and don't want to disappoint us by being afraid. We need to be relatable. Telling your students stories of your personal experiences and struggles will make them feel better when they realize overcoming fears is all just a part of learning overall good horsemanship skills.

Ask them what you could do to make them feel more comfortable. You may be surprised at the simple answers that you might get. If it is a child that is particularly nervous you could ask their parents what they think you can do. They might tell their parents something that they aren't quite brave enough to tell you yet. It's Our Job to Set Them Up for Success In closing, it is our responsibility as instructors to make sure we are setting our students up for success. Questions must be on-topic, written with proper grammar usage, and understandable to a wide audience. This website uses cookies As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things.

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AQHA: Selecting a Riding Instructor

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We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. She still walked next to me and started telling me more about riding what to do and not to do. Then she let me walk around on the rail by myself and stood in the center of the ring. Then my lesson ended about there. She helped me dismount, untacked, and groomed the horse again. I hope this helps, and good luck.

As a person just getting started in the teaching field, there are some hard firm preparations you MUST make. You have no idea what you stand to lose if your student falls off your horse and gets hurt. You could lose everything! Even if you are doing it for free, you are assuming the liability when you provide your horse.

HOW TO: START TEACHING RIDING LESSONS

Without that protection, I would highly recommend rethinking teaching at all. Allison Finch is offline. Thank you Allison for your input, but I have that side of things handled. And spotted- yes, I am starting right from scratch with catching the horse, handling it, grooming it and them if we get as far as for her to get on and be lead around, that will be great. Thanks for your input! Posted via Mobile Device. I skipped the very first part due to me growing up around horses. So I got to get on the horse for my first ever lesson. Originally Posted by jenainy View Post.

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I agree, keep it simple. Just learning the knots of how to tack up a western saddle will feel confusing. Or how to put on a bridle.