horsies!

[rm]

Well.

Despite being terrified of the very brusk man on the phone at the horse riding place -- I've a lesson for Sunday at 2:30p.m. -- he must have verified with me that I've never ridden before like 800-times, which was sort of freaky, but I suppose it's just so they have the right horse and instructor for me.

You know, when I came up with this cracked idea (one of many in a long history of cracked ideas), I didn't think it was that insane.

But no, it's that insane.

I've flown a plane, I can do this. I've flown a plane, I can do this.

So like... what do I wear? Jeans and solid shoes, yeah?

Comments

[rani23.livejournal.com]

This appears to be a pretty good site on what to wear for your first riding lesson:

http://ms.essortment.com/ridinglessonsh_rgyf.htm

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you -- the shoe question concerned me most, so I'm glad to have that resolved.

[irish-rose25.livejournal.com]

I wear hiking boots. Strong, durable, and you don't feel to bad about accidently stepping in horsey poo. =oD

[don-negro.livejournal.com]

I've flown a plane, and I've ridden a horse.

Like flying a plane: while in the early stages, don't put too much pressure on either foot, lest you go somewhere you really don't want to. Similarly, don't twist too hard to either side.

Not like flying a plane: pulling back when it does something very scary won't precipitate your immediate doom.

Otherwise, hang on, don't freak out, and don't make large gestures and you'll do yourself proud. Horses have much more reason to fear us than we do them.

Don't forget the Yeehah!!

[lllvis.livejournal.com]

Like that site says, I'd pay attention to the shoes more than anything.

I should think they won't have you riding through trees or such at first, so I don't think the button-up versus pullover shirt is that big of a concern. From my limited personal experience, the shirt had very little to do with experience!

What do you know about the lessons, so far as: how long will they be? where will they be? That will answer a lot. If it's in a field or pasture, you won't have to worry too much beyond the basic safety gear. If it's 30-60 minutes, chances are you're not going to be too sore afterwards.

My voice of experience will tell you DO NOT make your first horseback experience a 2-3 hour trek through Zion Canyon if you want to walk normally for the next couple of days!! although it was very beautiful...


And lastly, a horse is an animal and given to personality idiosyncracies like any other creature. It may test you a little bit, but if it's accustomed to being a 'training' horse it will likely have a very good disposition. Just be nice (but firm) to it, and don't be afraid of it.

Re: Don't forget the Yeehah!!

[rm.livejournal.com]

One hour lesson, indoor and then maybe out onto one of the public trails in the park.

Re: Don't forget the Yeehah!!

[adriang.livejournal.com]

Horses are really fascinating creatures, and as lllvis said, they have all sorts of personalities. They are social animals, so they do have a keen sense for the way other animals (people included) around them feel. You can be certain that the horse will know you are nervous, but you can also be pretty sure that the horse chosen for you will not be predisposed to take advantage of your nervousness. The main thing to fear is that the horse they give you at first may be rather boring. 8-)

You can think of a horse as a really big child, who is used to the idea of being around humans and of being saddled up and ridden (at least the one they bring you will be). Working around horses involves maintaining a bluff of sorts, and your acting experience may help a great deal. If push comes to shove, the horse would win, of course, but you need to simply assume that you are in charge. Whether or not you are competent is not relevant, and you don't have to cover for what you don't know; Being ready to be in charge is what's important. I try to take an attitude of patient and gentle determination. I relax and avoid exerting more control than I have to, and in particular, I use this relaxation of control as a reward when the horse behaves well. But I do become more insistent when he doesn't do what I want, at first. At some point, it can be okay to back down, because sometimes the horse is trying to tell you something important when he resists doing what you tell him to do. This will probably be hard to judge, at first, and the folks helping you learn will likely be a good source of advice.

It's a good idea to learn to figure out what your horse is thinking and paying attention to. In particular, his ears will tell you a lot about where his attention is. Giving your horse room to interpret your signals and even room to rebel just a little can make it easier to figure out what he's thinking.

The main habit that I had to loose was gripping the horse with my legs when I felt insecure in the saddle. Some (but not all) horses take this as a signal to go faster, and they can get a little frustrated if they think you are telling them to go fast with your legs and to slow down with the reins.

The really are marvelous animals, and I hope you have a lot of fun with them.

Adrian

Re: Don't forget the Yeehah!!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much, this is so useful. My one horse experience was about twenty years ago and involved the horse bolting, for no reason I could discern (this scared the crap out of me, and wound up getting my leg gashed open on a fence). But the thing is, I'm not afraid of horses, but I am, and was even more so then afraid of heights. I could easily have been gripping with my legs too tight out of fear of falling off.

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

It strikes me that horseback riding often leads to sore inner thighs; I'd wear pants with a bit of room to move or stretch, and maybe not pants with big honking inner thigh seams.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Hmm, and following on from that thought ensure you have some soothing skin cream or lotion in stock just in case you end up with chafed portions...

[graene.livejournal.com]

If you have pants without inner leg seams, go for those - you will also get sweaty in jeans this time of year. Also, don't be too quick to assume the horse with be lazy/bored. If you're afraid, they get nervous - use slow, calm, movements (avoid big hand gestures) and speak in a low, calm voice or don't speak. Always approach from the left. Remember that they can't see directly in front or behind them. They tend to kick straight back. If you have to walk around behind a horse, either be further away than it's leg length, or right up against its butt (touch so it knows you're there, and also so it can't get any momentum into the kick).

[rufus.livejournal.com]

As someone else has said, watch the ears. Laid back ears = unhappy horse. Swivveling ears = horse that is listening to what's going on.

Also, don't forget the gloves. Leather gloves -- much like driving gloves. Very, very important. And you want boots with a good solid heel.

The other thing to do is spend a minute visiting with the horse before you get on it. Proffer a closed fist for it to smell, talk to it, pet its neck, that kind of thing.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Why a closed fist? (that's like so the opposite of dogs)

[adriang.livejournal.com]

They may nibble your fingers. It's done sort of playfully, but still you don't want them nibbling on your fingers. I don't offer a closed fist, since I'm used to fending off their mouths, but I can see that as being a good way to keep your fingers safe. In my case, I actually let the horse get his nose right up to mine so he can smell my breath, but I do have to have my hands close by to control the head, because there is some chance that the horse will bite some part of my face. It seems like this sniffing each other's breath thing is a social reflex, and they are a little more polite while they are doing it, but I'm so much in the habit of being wary of that mouth, I just have to keep my hands where I can assert some control, if I need to.

You might also note, in general, that horses tend to be curious, and they will satisfy their curiosity by grabbing things with their mouths and nibbling on them. Anytime you are within easy range of their mouths you probably ought to try to be aware of what they are doing, all the time.

Adrian

[rufus.livejournal.com]

precisely as is noted below, because they might nibble on your hand. some horses will also swing their heads around and whuffle at you rather firmly, or snort, or sort of bonk you gently with their heads while looking for carrots or apples in your pockets. others will just stand there, ears tilted forward or a-swivel, and look at you.

[patashoqua.livejournal.com]

I was always taught a flat palm, with the fingers curved back a bit. For aforementioned nibbling-related reasons.

[graene.livejournal.com]

Actually in tech school we're specifically taught to offer dogs, cats, everything a closed fist, palm down. If they do bite, they'll hit bone before anything else, like nerves, tendons, chomping off fingers, etc. Definitely not what we were taught as kids.

You can also ask when you get there if it's ok to offer a sugar cube, piece of carrot, whatnot to the horse to make friends before or after the ride.