TCJpart44 Riding

GETTING OUT & ABOUT:
...when you might feel worried about getting on and getting out...don't think you're alone, we all suffer from the heebie-jeebies at some point, just take a deep breath, remember all the times you've ridden and had a great time, and take it one step at a time...tack up, go for a short ride, go further each time, until you're back to normal...enjoy xx

Starting to ride again after winter, especially if you've given your horse and yourself some time off, can be quite daunting.  In fact if you don't just do it, you can make all sorts of excuses not to.  But once you start, (that first time is always the hardest), you'll wonder what all the worry was about! 

Will he be fresh?,  forgotten how to stop?, forgotten what the countryside looks and sounds like...but actually, that's just you - your horse remembers everything.  Which is why it's the little things like: when a hedge has been pruned, a crop is at a different stage of growth, or the flowers are out...this wasn't there before, these are the things that will make him look again.

This time of year, most of the hedgerow and trees are at small budding stage, which means he can see everything when your out riding: into fields, across the land, into gardens - nothing is hidden, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all.  Expose them to everything you can, be safe about it, have someone walking or cycling with you the first few times, just so you feel safer, and he will feel that.  and if there's anything spooky, your companion can go first - it's surprising how many times John had 'led' them past something that without him there, I would have had to dismount to lead them past, also not a bad thing.  If I can make my boys feel happier and safer, I will.  When they really don't want to move, I won't make them.  I just sit still and give them time as long as it's safe to do so.  Eventually they'll make up their minds whether somethings worth getting into a froth about - and most often it's not, so tentatively we walk past.  Give your horse time.  No horse is perfect.

Even if you don't have to, practice stopping an getting off, find a place to get back on.  Because you never know when you might need to, and if you've already practiced it, there won't be any problem.  Repetition is key to relaxed horses.

If something goes wrong: don't be hasty or judgemental.  Stay calm and remember he's likely scared if he plants himself to the spot.  If your on your own, try to keep his shoulders moving, even if it's sideways as long as it's safe.  If he falls out through the left shoulder, lift the left rein for example.  If he's stopped, sit still and wait. But don't feel defeated if you have to get off, I never do, use it as practise to find somewhere you can get back on - and the ride is different but no less impressive, because you overcame the 'foe', just you and him.  You have to behave like a team, because most often it's just the 2 of you,  you have to work out a way to get by.

Tom having an after bridle head scratch, it's what the body protector is also for.

Fittening-up: (both your horse and you),  start by doing lots and lots and lots of walking.  Walk at different speeds, across lots of different terrains.  Uphill and down.  This will help build a core strength and fitness, and hill-work will give your horse an amazing arse too - never underestimate how important walking is.  Then I trot for very short bursts, and if I'm on the road, I do a slow up-hill trot for a very short distance, because I don't like trotting on the roads, I worry about the effect hitting the hard ground has on their legs and feet.  So, go slow.

After a few weeks I begin lengthy trotting, I only ever do this around a field I am familiar with, on calm days, never ever on the roads.  I can ask for a trot that lasts for 5 minutes or more, I vary the stride lengths, go up and downhill and round bends and corners too, slowing down and speeding up where necessary.  All these things ask your horse to listen to be relaxed and ultimately get fitter.

Go to the woods.  Bend and swerve around trees and stumps and other objects.  Walk instead of jump over felled logs for a change, walk around them, back-up next to them, it'll make your horse think.

Give your horse something to think about, take him places when stopping and thinking is all part of the experience.  You don't just want a horse that only goes forward and never stops, you want a horse that's always listening and is used to you asking him new tasks.  Stop, turn, go sideways, go back, change your mind, go forward, get off, lead him, get back on and repeat.  All these things mean your horse won't know what to expect and everything will be much more interesting for him and you.  One word of caution though, as this photo could demonstrate, always walk the path first, because there are tracks too narrow for even the best horse to back up from or turn.  I have walked this path, so we did get through, but bending over double to duck under trees and branches is also good practise, and gets you fit too.

Remember, everyone else's view on riding is different, some like a perfect test, or a clear round...me?  I like happy, healthy horses that get me back to the yard in one piece!

Happy hacking xx