Ihaaa! 

Idk what that was. It was supposed to be a horse sound… or at least in Romanian. Anyway, hello equestrian friends!!! Here are tips I have collected until now from various YouTube videos and tips I’ve learned throughout my horseback riding lessons. I like to read them sometimes before my riding classes to refresh my mind. Maybe they’ll help you too.

Ps: keep in mind that these are tips for a beginner or someone a bit more advanced than that. They are not however written by or meant for a professional.

 

In general:

  • Flex abs
  •  When going in corners, push with the inside leg and pull outside reign
  • Grip with inner thigh and not knees
  • Canter; To not bounce off and stay connected, isolate your hips in order to move with the horse in the canter (scooping hips forward).
  • Canter: Lightly stomp (push down) with your heel on the 1 that’s in the 1 2 3. Wow I’m so good at explaining.

 

Rising trot

  • When the exterior leg of the horsey is in front, you should be up in your trot, and when the interior leg is in front, you should be down.
  • Don’t grip with the knees, but grip with the inner back thigh muscle instead.

 

Canter

  • Stay tall, abs contracted, arms back. 
  • If your horse has the wrong lead, you’ll see the outside leg be a lot more in front than the inside one (draw an imaginary line). When you’re on the right lead, the distance between both will be smaller.
  • To not bounce off and stay connected, isolate your hips to move with the horse in the canter (scooping hips forward).

 

Sitting trot

  • Flex abs, shoulders back, head high, don’t tense and relax. (Easier said than done)
  • Don’t grip with the knees, but grip with the upper groin muscles.
  • Pelvis moves “up then neutral, up, neutral…” but very gently, do not exaggerate (Please lol).
  • Stomp down with the heel to absorb the shock.

 

Jump

  • Squeeze evenly.
  •  Almost arch your back.

(I haven’t done that many jumps as you can see from the lack of tips, so you’ll have to excuse me 😉

 

other tips: 

  • Keep your toes in.
  •  When going in corners, push with the inside leg and pull the outside reign.

 

  • Canter switch lead – from left to right:

* Push your right seat bone forward (toward your horse’s right ear).

* Right leg: Close it on the girth to ask your horse to go forward during the change.

* Left leg: Swing your left leg behind the girth to signal the new outside hind leg to strike off into the new lead. (Don’t hold this leg back. Pretend your leg is spring-loaded so you give a quick aid.)

* Left rein: Close your left hand in a fist to keep the left hind leg on the ground and maintain uphill balance. Imagine that you’re closing and opening your hand so fast that you can snatch a fly out of the air.

* Right rein: Soften your right rein so you don’t block the new inside front leg from coming forward.

 

If you do something differently or have other tips you’d like to share, please write to me as I would like to know in order to improve 🙂 Happy riding! 

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