Stuff to do with my horse?

Question

I want to do stuff with my horse while riding him, stuff that will make us both better (him a better horse, and me a better rider). Does anyone know some stuff that we could do together while riding? Also, how do you teach a horse to leg steer? (I'm asking, cos I might try and teach him, if its possible for us) He is about 20+ (hes a bit old, but he can still do heaps of stuff), and is a quarter horse. Im 16, and we have a 3 acres, with lots of trees. Also his friend (my mums horse) goes all skits when I go and ride him, is there anything I can do to make her calm down, cos today she got more of a workout than my horse did when I rode him. So yeah, if there is anything you can think of, that would be great! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Get yourself an old side saddle!

Answer 2

How long have you had your horse?  Have you tried using leg cues on him yet?  He may know more than you think he does, so try using your left leg on him when you are turning him to the right.  Try two-tracking or even side-passing.  That will give you an idea of what he knows.  Have you tried asking for leads?  You might also try setting up a small "trail" course with a water obstacle, a gate, mailbox, bridge, L back through. There are lots of variations that you can try.  Riding bareback is one of the best ways to make you a better rider.  Have fun.

Answer 3

bone....

Answer 4

You could proberly bend in and out of the trees

Answer 5

all you need to do to teach him direction off of your leg is to start using leg when changing direction adn slowly fadin out the rein aids you are currently using this enables him to realize that the mean the same thing.. pretty simple really...  As for stuff to do you can teach him dressage moves and train him fir that due to his age I wouldnt try jumping or anything like that that would strain him too much

Answer 6

Me and my friend ride together and in 2 hours we go through most/all the english disciplines. eg: we warm up with dressage, move onto show jumping, do a little bit of cross country, do some games and then cool down with bareback. Its great to keep the horses and us entertained, and give us both a good workout. It keeps the horse focused and they dont get bored so quicky, and it keeps you stimulated and enthusiastic.

Ive taught my horse how to basically respond to leg steering. All i did was put my leg on (quite hard as shes not very sensitive) the way i wanted to go. I then opened my hand slightly to accompany the leg movement. I began to slowly use my hands less and my legs more and she responded really well. It also helps if you move your whole body the way you want to go, expecially your head. The tighter the circle, the more leg i used. Practice makes perfect!

With your mums horse, make sure that when you ride your horse, her horse gets HEAPS of attention: eg. being fed, groomed or ridden. She probably has a bit of separation anxiety and just wants to be around someone!

Good luck with everything.

x

Answer 7

Ride bareback and pony the other horse with you

Answer 8

Leg prussue is a great thing and it looks really pro for shows. idk if u show but it's an esier way to ride NEway!

u just pressure your calf mussle into the hoses side. make sure your not useing your heel! that will confuse him and make him think that you want to go faster. just push in on the oppostie side from the way you want to go. so if u want to go more to the right, the put pressure on his left side. that will "push" him over!

i used to ride a horse that was the same way. he was very stiff and i couldn't get him to do anything... i just did simple exersizes like these

things you could do with your horse is simple exersises to keep him occupied! to make his mind work more. like...

1] try to use cones and groundpoles for weeving in and out and makeing him think about the steps to go over the ground poles!

2] figure eights are great to make him think and leg pressure work great for them.

3] idk if u have trails but maybe u could take him on a trail ride, as like a fun thing to do...u don't have to do it "every day" but maybe once every week and maybe he will look forward to that...

hope i helped!!!