Horse Riding Exercises: Learn Riding Basics-Move and Steer Copy

Riding Basics

Learn the different ways to signal your horse to move.

• Starting off, try gently squeezing your horse’s side with your legs. This should signal your horse to walk
• If your horse does not respond to this, he may need further prompting. You can gently kick your horse with your heels. Do not kick too hard, however. While horses have thick hides, they may experience pain if you kick with too much force. A gentle tapping is generally all it takes to get a horse to walk.
• Verbal cues also help in some cases. Depending on how a horse was trained, he may respond to clicking of the tongue and other noises. Ask the horse’s trainer if there are any noises he responds to

Follow the movements of a horses head with your arms. When a horse walks, canters, or gallops, his head moves back and forth with the rhythm of his body. Allow your hands to bob back and forth with the horse’s head. Not following the horse’s movements can hurt the horse. When starting a canter, let the horse have a lot of rein because they stretch out their neck when cantering

Learn to steer. It’s important you learn how to steer your horse. Steering in English style if fairly self explanatory.

• You keep more contact with the horse’s mouth while riding English. To signal the horse to turn right, very lightly pull back with your right hand. To signal the horse to turn left, very lightly pull back with your left hand. If the horse does not respond to the lighter pulling, you can gradually begin to pull slightly harder until the horse responds.
• You should also use your legs and body to signal a horse to move. Looking in the direction you wish to move helps. Horse’s can feel your seat bones move. You should also gently squeeze your legs to signal a horse to change direction. For example, squeeze your left leg if you want your horse to turn right as the horse will want to move away from the pressure.