Do I need a horse riding lessons or can i teach my self?

Question

Hi

I took 2 riding lessons, the second one wasn't nice the horse was uncooperative, he wouldn't walk when I ask it to he would walk back to the gate and I think he wanted to buck me off, the instructor tried to take control of the situation but i saw him at one stage move away from the horse scared, the only good thing I came out with from that lesson is that I didn't fall yes I did chicken out and ask to change horse but didnt fall.

NOW the question: given the above why would I need horse riding lessons when I am the one who is riding and not the instructor specialy that the instructor him self got scared and failed to take control of the situation and its down to the rider to deal with the situation, can I not buy a beginner horse and ride him and learn from experience?

What would horse riding lessons teach me than a horse that I can buy and ride my self?

Another question I have in mind about this subject is when you read the words intermediate/advanced rider what do such riders have or know that a basic rider dosent?

Thank You

Answer 1

Um. That riding instructor doesn't represent all riding instructors.



That person sounds pathetic. Ditch that one and find a REAL riding instructor.



You can learn to ride on your own, BUT only if you also read books and watch dvds ...to find out how to ride CORRECTLY...yet that will only take you so far.



It's not about sitting on the horse, pulling on the reins and kicking.



It's about balance, learning how to use your seat, legs and hands correctly to not cause the horse any discomfort and to learn to work together with him.



You got 2 lessons from an idiot. That doesn't add up to anything. Find a real instructor who has real lesson horses that can teach you how to ride.



When you have someone WATCHING you....able to tell you when your seat position is wrong, when you're not holding the reins correctly, when you are using too much leg or not sitting up straight or.... that helps A LOT.



People who really want to learn to ride take lessons for a reason. Yes, it's easier to have someone there coaching you in what you're doing right, and wrong....



Also...it's not just about riding....it's also about learning horsemanship.....what does it mean to be a horse....the prey instinct in the horse....how horses react properly and why they act with unwanted behavior.



The horse that you rode clearly wasn't a good lesson horse because he didn't have patience to deal with you. He was basically telling you that you don't know what you're doing, so he can't listen to you....and he'll try to fight the rein pressure and go where he feels safe...to the barn, to his buddies. This is exactly what can happen when you don't take lessons and just go buy your own horse and don't know what you're doing..... Some horses will be forgiving and easy going, some won't.



Lease a horse and take lessons from a real instructor.



Intermediate riders have an independent seat. They are more confident when things don't go just perfect, they know what to do, because they understand the horse better and because they know how to use their seat, legs and hands correctly and not cause problems to escalate.



Advanced riders can ride anything from a horse that's never been ridden before (unbroke) to a horse in a certain discipline...with confidence. They may compete in higher level stuff.



A basic rider just knows how to be balanced and maneuver with the reins, but if trouble starts (the horse wants to go back to the gate or to the barn), the basic rider might panic or fight the horse and cause more problems....a basic rider can ride a well broke horse that's forgiving, but may have a lot of trouble riding the horse that isn't so broke. It's really a beginner rider. not a basic rider.



Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Answer 2

This question is unfortunately by a troll repeating an old question. The first clue is that the troll was born on 22 Feb. (There were a bunch of them earlier born on 22 Jan, I believe.) Searching for the title leads directly to this: https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20091013210034AAse5of



Next clue is the "excellent" answer from "Frances" who is a Level 1, and was ALSO born on 22 Feb! It's a direct copy of the best answer from six years ago! The original was by Finley, who is a Level 7.



Eventually the troll will award its alternate self "Frances" best answer. Yahoo Answers is being scammed here, and the Frances user ID will be sold for use in spamming.

Answer 3

So i took a year of lessons 5 years ago and then about 10 more lessons a year ago, and also owned 2 non riding paddock horses. Then i went ahead and bought myself a beginners horse. Now Finn really is a beginners horse, but in saying that he is still just a horse who has reared to the point i came off and done many other cheeky things us beginners don't really know how to deal with.

Thankfully i'm luckily enough to have Finn at an agistment where there's a trainer so it's ok, but if there was no trainer Finn would fast have become a retired paddock horse who i went and just brushed and fed carrots.



So please, do yourself and your potential beginners horse a favor by getting lessons first. else it's just pure dangerous honestly. often 'beginners horses' are only so quiet because they're owned by knowledgeable people who keep them well disciplined and in work. once they leave that environment there's a big chance they won't still be that easy to ride and handle

Answer 4

What can happen if you don't have lessons?

You can hurt your horse, and yourself.



Go find a good instructor. That is what you need.

Answer 5

You need lessons and you surely need a better instructor.



You need a little class room time (right before the lesson) where they explain to you what you are going to work on and timing.

Timing is CRITICAL. Miss it by a second and you may as well not do at all. You have to recognize when to do, what to do and when to quit doing BEFORE it is time so you are ready to act in perfect time and THIS is what a good lesson horse and instructor will teach you.



If you go buy a trained horse you will undo the training in short order and probably end up in the emergency room. This happens frequently.



Here's a thought for you Olympic Equestrians train with other riders A LOT.

Watch this, and pay attention to the talk at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImzUgnhV-EU

Answer 6

It totally sounds like you could teach yourself!...teach yourself how to get yourself admitted to A&E and have to rehome a horse.

Seriously - "he wouldn't walk when I asked him to" - and what did you do? How did you ask? Did you change your way of asking? Was it that he doesn't know what the aid is to walk? Did you ask him right?

"He walked back to the gate" - and you did what? Sat there like a sack of potatoes getting annoyed that he can't read your mind?

"I didn't chicken out but asked to change horses" - ok, there is nothing wrong with not getting along with a horse. But after 2 lessons you want to go and buy your own horse. What if you don't get on with your own horse? You can't then just say "I want to change horses".



Horse riding lessons will teach you as much as you want to take from them. You could take lessons for a year, learn the very basics and be able to handle a safe "bombproof" horse and have a nice horse to just ride around on. Or you could go and get the wrong horse now, fall off, lose confidence, ruin an otherwise good horse, learn to hate riding and quit.



Seriously - 2 lessons is not enough of anything to make long term choices about it. If you didn't gel with the instructor, change lessons. Try either a different insturctor or a different stable. Actually get some experience and be able to handle these beginner issues before even considering getting a horse. Little newsflash for you - the horses used in beginners lessons are generally going to try every trick in the book to get out of work - especially ponies. I see ponies standing still in the middle of the school ignoring the tiny little aids the beginner is giving. Put a more experienced rider on that same pony and it flys into canter and can jump - it's because the rider is more experienced and know how to handle the napping that the ponies try.



Rather than blaming everything else, take a look at yourself and think "what did I do? Did I do something wrong? What can I do to change it ready for next lesson?" that is the only way you are going to learn

Answer 7

Get a good teacher that you respect and get at least 25 hours instruction. Keep changing until you find a skilled teacher, that your learning style meshes with. If after 25 hours you think you know everything. . .go it alone. If you buy a good horse you will be fine. If not you will find out just where you stand.

Best to be classically trained, and humble. Try Not to rely so much on dumb luck.

Study read. . .German equestrian federation handbooks, pony club manual etc.

IMHO

In my world the more you learn, the more you realize you just don't know.

Answer 8

So you had two lessons and one of them didn't go well. After two lessons you think you are equipped to know when a horse is going to buck? I note that you have blamed both the horse and the instructor but haven't even tried to acknowledge that your own lack of experience might have had anything at all to do with it. The worst you say is that the horse 'walked back to the gate'. Walked. So why didn't you stop it? Because you have not yet got the experience to allow you to. So if you get one beginners horse in a riding school that you can't control, how do you think you are able to deal with a horse of your own? If you can't ride, which you really can't yet, a horse of your own is just going to take advantage of you, you won't learn anything other than to hate the horse. Get over yourself and go and learn properly.