How to become a better rider?

Question

ill take any suggestions. i try to ride almost every day and do exercises like ride with out stirrups

is there anything else i can do

Answer 1

A trainer / coach helps alot !

Practice practice practice and have good instruction and that should lead you to be better in a quicker time frame than without a coach

Answer 2

You need to find a riding instructor.  if you want to get better quicker, try a few that are CLOSER to your house, and that are a bit stricter, because strict instructors are on your tail about everything.  but please.. be really careful of HOW strict they are because if they are too strict im not kidding, if your horse isnt conditioned too often, they may push it too hard and give it Monday Morning Disease, which is deadly so just be careful, kay?  Not trying to scare you but i almost made my horse have that disease, so tell them how often your horse is worked, but i suppose if you are using a frequently used horse, the stricter the better!

Answer 3

yes, if you have a river that is deep and you are not scared to get wet, then ride in the river with no saddle or you can ride with on saddle and work to run but alway keep your legs and feet on the horse and hang on!!

Answer 4

There's all kinds of different ways to improve your riding.  This is lengthy but will probably be worth your read.  Riding everyday and practicing without stirrups will help you out, but you should add a helper to that routine.  It's easy to get in bad habbits when riding alone.  Trainers are great, (and seriously helpful with your riding, so try and find one if you don't have one already), but usually don't watch you everytime you ride.  Have a buddy who knows what they're talking about watch you ride and critique you.  If you have particular habbits you recognize (like collapsing your back, leaning your upper body too forward, or riding with "broken wrsits"), point it out to them ahead of time so they know to yell out at you when you do it (especially if they aren't that knowledgeable), and have them mention anythng else they might notice.  This will help you get a feel of what your doing and allow you to begin to self-correct.  If you don't always have time to go to the gym, you can do a good calf building work out at home.  Just stand on a step on the balls of your feet (heels hanging off the edge), and use your calf to lift up on to your toes and slowly sink back down.  This also will help with keeping your heels down in the stirrup and get used to concentrating weight there.  You can do it in the saddle too, pushing up on your toes and standing, and slowly sinking back down.  That will also link to better balance and core control on the horse.  Really pulling yourself deep in the saddle during the sitting trot, using your abs and keeping your hips freely moving to allow the horse to move out well and really stretching your legs long and keeping heels down, also will help you gain better core control which is vital, while building strength at the same time - you'll know you're doing it right if you're getting sore and breakin a sweat.  I'm not sure what type of riding you do, but if it's anything related to jumping, practice your 2-point often.  Just allowing your horse to move around the ring while you stay up in 2-point will really build up your legs, and lower back, and balance.  It's helpful to have someone lunge your horse while you do this if you can, so you don't have to worry about controlling them, and can focus on your position.  There's really a ton of different skill building activities you can do, and there are actually a lot of books out there that might be helpful to you as well, so just start searching around for some, and hunt down some excercises that might fit your needs.  And as someone else mentioned, horsemanship is a very large component of becoming a better horseperson.  When you learn the animals better, things make more sense, and you can find a natural ability to read your horse, and improve your riding from that as well.  Hope this helped! Good luck!

Answer 5

Practice with a trainer - they will help you improve. If you are talking about strength, go to the gym, get a personal trainer, and tell them that you want increased stamina / strength training. Usually they will set up a series of weight-lifting, running, etc. that will help you out. A healthy/athlete diet also helps. :)

Answer 6

i you want better balance have someone led or horse around and but your hands out like a helicopter and touch his withers and butt.. if you have a riding ring like this with the poles that you can set something on you can get a cup of water you can move it down pole by pole each time you come up to it http://www.creekcrossingfarm.net/images/...

http://www.birchhillaccommodations.com/i... for the second you just need something flat you can set something on

Answer 7

Here are some different things you can do.

   1. Start out riding bareback with a bareback pad as the bareback pad helps the unbalanced rider feel more secure.

   2. Eventually, after riding with the bareback pad for at least a week or two, move to riding the horse without the bareback pad, and try posting the trot as this builds up calf and thigh muscles.

   3. When you feel ready, get back into the saddle, if the saddle is loose and still slipping, tighten it, and work bareback again, then move back to the saddle. However, DO NOT ride in a saddle that you know is too loose. This is a way to get yourself and your horse injured. Please tighten the girth before you get on the horse. Riding with a loose saddle to check your balance is NOT a good idea.

   4. Ride in the saddle but remove the stirrups to better your balance with a saddle.

Tips

    * Riding bareback also really helps English riders and jumpers to strengthen their thigh and calf muscles and keep their legs in the correct position. Also for the jumpers, the stronger grip with the thighs and lower legs rather than the knees keeps better balance over the jumps.

    * Improving your balance through exercises, such as ballet or yoga on the ground can greatly improve your balance in the saddle.

    * Make sure you keep your heels pointed down at all times. It increases your centrifical balance.

Answer 8

you are on your way to being a better rider!

and also don't forget horsemanship

to be a good rider you have to have good horsmanship skills not just a firm seat and leg

Answer 9

Practice, practice, practice!

Some good exercises to do are:

1. Ride in figure eights, first at a walk and at a trot.

2. Have your horse walk back and forth in a straight line in the arena, and take your hands completely off the reins. Hold them out at your sides or hold on the to rear of the saddle. This will help you learn balance in your seat.

3. If you have access to barrels, set up about 3-4 of them and ride in and out of the barrels for more practice with turning.

4. Practice flexing your horse at a standstill so that you have your one rein stop down to automatic in an emergency situation.

5. Get in tune with the hips of the horse in a walk first. That is, walk your horse back and forth and learn to sync with his hips as they sway back and forth. Not everyone is going to agree with this, but this is the natural horsemanship way of riding and I think it leads to a better seat and better riding overall.

6. Make sure you are looking up and out and not down at the head of the horse. Pick a point to ride to and focus on looking where you are going. Its also helpful to think about this when turning, so ride out and then look off in the distance to where you want to turn. People who are not good riders and beginning riders are often looking down at the horse. In a word you need to watch where you are going.

7. Practice moving between gaits. Start by alternating between walk trot walk trot walk trot. When you are more comfortable put some cantering in. Remember slowing down is just as important as speeding up so practice dropping your horse from a trot to a walk, and then stopping.

8. Practice your emergency stop at a trot and then a canter. So get your horse going and then flex him down. That way if you need it in an emergency you will have done it before.

Anyway that's my 2 cents!

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...