Do you think horsebackriding is hard?

Question

im talking full on competitive dressage eventing and show jumping. do you?

Answer 1

I don't think I'd call it 'hard.' Demanding, maybe. Time-comsuming, yes. It's something that I love to do, and giving it 100% is not something I consider a chore.

Answer 2

Not hard exactly, but you have to be very meticulous.  You have to care about the details and you have to be willing to spend a lot of time working on it to get better.  It's not particularly physically demanding once you've been doing it for a while.  I'm used to riding every day and I don't ache at all when I ride because I ride so often.  For a newcomer to jump on and do everything that I'm doing, it would be really hard... but for me, I've worked up to this point so it's not hard now.

It's challenging and it's a lot of work for both horse and rider.  It's very impressive to see horses and riders excel at it because I know how much work they've put into it and how much talent it takes.

I can't say that it's "hard" though... mostly because it's so enjoyable!  When I enjoy doing something, it's never "hard."

Answer 3

Maybe my riding career is different than others, but yes.  It is hard, it demands time, energy, study of theory, pratice, real world experience, and skill.  None of which a novice rider can claim.  It takes YEARS of training to reach the higher levels and many never make it.  Each sport also requires a different set of skills, for example, I rode Open Jumpers for years, but when I signed on as Barn Manager and Assistant Trainer at a dressage barn I started back at Training and 1st level and had to work for many years to reach a point where I was allowed to work with the farms FEI and Grand Prix level horses.  Now, add to that the fact that its a thankless sport, I work extremely hard, often 6 or more days a week and I earn very little, most horse owners are not as rich as the world seems to think they are, don't get me wrong there are some mighty rich horse owners out there, but the average horse owner is scraping by just to pay for the one or maybe two horses they own.  Yes, riding is hard at the upper levels, but that is the way it is supposed to be, if everyone could compete at the same level then it wouldn't be considered elite competition.  It is even harder if you have an actual life and job to balance against your competetive riding because you have in effect two lives that need your full attention, this is often why the highest levels are ruled by proffesionals, they alone usually have the time and energy to get there.

Answer 4

I'ts definately a challenge once you get into racing and more serious events but it is soooo much fun when you start to get better at it.

Answer 5

It can be at first but then, like so may other skills, it gets easier with practice and experience. And by "practice and experience" I actually mean communication and bonding. There is not one of my horses which I cannot gallop bridleless through the nearby woods. Well, yes, there actually is one, but I am still training and bonding with her. But I do not train using the pain and fear method but rather by calm bonding first and communication on the level of a horses natural instincts which allows the horse to trust and feel safe and secure, being firm but not forcing. And in training my horses to respond to commands, only a minor portion of that training is reliant on reins while the horse learns to accept and respond without hesitation to leg pressure and balance cues. Cues and timing is everything and once bonding and communication has been firmly established, riding a horse can be as easy and as natural and as pleasurable as this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxUGEN9kS...

Answer 6

its not hard, but more of a challenge. you become better and better at it, and that's what makes it fun.

Answer 7

just riding, no. But the whole package... gosh, that is hard trying to get to the events!

Good Luck!!