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Basic Equitation
The fundamental skills of riding include mounting and dismounting; employing one or more of the various riding styles, called seats; and using the proper signals for controlling and directing the horse’s movements.
Mounting -
Mounting a horse involves several separate acts executed in one continuous movement. The rider stands beside the left shoulder of the mount. He or she faces the horse’s hindquarters or the saddle while holding the reins in the left hand, which rests on the horse’s neck in front of the pommel. With the right hand the rider twists the near stirrup. Then the rider inserts the left foot in it, places the right hand on the cantle, and rises from the ground, transferring body weight to the left foot and the hands. The rider then removes the right hand from the cantle, swings the right leg up and across the horse’s back, and settles lightly into the saddle.
Dismounting -
To dismount, the rider holds both reins in the left hand in front of the pommel. Disengaging the right foot from the stirrup, the rider transfers weight to the left foot, then swings the right foot backwards and over the horse’s back, leaning against the horse’s left side to transfer weight to the hands. Pausing to remove the left foot from the stirrup, the rider slides to the ground.
Seat and hands -
The rider’s prime consideration with respect to the seat is maintaining balance with the horse. The rider accomplishes this by sitting directly above the mount’s center of balance. A rider must be relaxed and calm in the saddle, as the horse becomes aware of any tension or fear.
Proper use of the hands is a vital factor in good horsemanship. Because any heavy-handedness may injure and eventually spoil the sensitivity of the horse’s mouth, light but steady hands on the reins are of utmost importance.
The usual style for pleasure riding is called the forward seat, used on the English saddle. In the forward seat, the rider stays on the horse’s back by balancing, rather than by gripping the horse with the knees and clinging to the reins. The rider sits erect in the middle of the saddle with shoulders back and with the small of the back arched slightly. The hands are held low in front of the saddle so that the reins and the rider’s arms form straight lines from bit to elbow. One rein is held in each hand, and the rider tells the horse to change direction by pulling lightly on the rein on the side toward which the rider wishes to turn. This procedure is called direct reining. The stirrup supports the rider at the ball of the foot, with the heel pressed slightly down, the knees bent, and the lower leg vertical. A properly adjusted stirrup reaches the anklebone when the leg hangs freely from the saddle.
For pleasure riding on a Western saddle, the rider sits back against the higher cantle, with the legs extended slightly forward and away from the horse’s sides. The rider places the ball of the foot in the stirrup with the heel pressed down. The stirrups are put at a longer adjustment than for the forward seat on the English saddle, so that the rider’s legs and body are almost in a straight line. Both reins are held in one hand, and the horse is directed by neck reining—that is, by applying the pressure of the rein against the horse’s neck on the opposite side of that toward which it is to turn.
Aids -
a skilled rider controls a horse by means of various signals, collectively called aids. Signals transmitted to the horse by the rider’s legs, hands, and voice, and by the shifting of the body weight in the saddle are called natural aids. Natural aids are often supplemented by spurs and whips, which are used to reinforce learning, not to punish the horse.
To make a horse move forward, the rider squeezes his or her legs against the sides of the mount until the horse responds. To quicken the horse’s pace, the rider increases pressure and gives the horse voice commands. The rider tells the horse to slow, stop, and back up by applying backward pressure on the reins until the horse responds.
The horse steps first with his right hind foot (1), then with the right front foot (2), then the left hind foot (3) and finally, the left front (4). The horse should walk calmly but with long strides, using his legs and muscles and stretching his neck for balance.
The walk is slow, steady and even which makes it easy on the horse and easy to ride.
Walking your horse is good because it:
Warms up the horse's muscles before hard work
Relaxes and calms him
Cools him off after work
The correct posture for riding a walking horse is to sit up straight, keeping your center of gravity over the horse's center of gravity which is directly under the saddle. You should relax. letting your seat and lower back move with the movement of the walk. You should also let your arms and hands relax so that the horse can stretch its neck.
The trot should be even and regular with a steady 1-2 1-2 rhythm. The horse's head does not bob up and down as it does in the walk unless the horse is lame.
A jog is a soft slow trot without as much speed, suspension or bounce as a regular trot. Most western horses are trained to jog because it is easier to ride in a Western saddle. A jog should be even, steady and relaxed. You can ride posting, sitting or balancing in a two point position.
Jogging and trotting are good exercise for the horse and the rider. They are gaits that are frequently used to train horses and in practice exercises for riders. They are also excellent gaits for distance riding because they cover the most ground while being the least tiring for the horse.
The canter is a three beat gait, about 8 to 10 miles an hour. In the left lead, the right hind leg pushes off the ground. In the right lead, the left hind leg hits first.
In the illustration below, the right hind leg (1) pushes off first. Then the left hind foot and the right front feet (2) hit the ground at the same time. Next, the left front foot, which is the the leading leg, (3) hits the ground. Finally, all four feet are off the ground in a period of suspension.
When cantering, you should sit up tall in the saddle keeping your center of gravity over the horse's center of gravity and your seat deep and relaxed, following the rolling movements of the horse's back. The cantering in a ring, your horse should always be on the lead which is to the inside of the turn or circle. When cantering on the wrong lead, a horse could slip or stumble.
The lope is a slow, relaxed canter which is done on a loose rein when riding in a western saddle.
The gallop is a horse's natural speed gait. It is very much like a canter speeded up.
The gallop has four beats instead of three. The horse pushes off harder, reaches farther with his legs and stays up in the air longer between strides and stays up in the air longer than he does in a canter.
When you are riding a galloping horse you should always ride it under control. This is called "riding in a hand gallop." Riding a horse all out is poor horsemanship, dangerous an appropriate ONLY at a racetrack. Galloping is exciting for the horse which can make it wild and hard to control.
You should lean forward when riding at a gallop keeping your center of gravity over the horse's center of gravity. As with a canter you remain seated and flexible, moving with the horse's motion.
Advanced Equitation
Jumping -
As a horse jumps, its center of gravity shifts forward to a point in front of the saddle. To remain in balance, the rider inclines his or her body forward. A saddle with padded knee rolls for support and a slightly elevated cantle facilitates this position. The rider learns to jump by first trotting, then cantering over low fences. The rider’s upper body must not slip backwards, the legs must remain at the girth with heels still depressed, and the hands must not interfere with the horse’s mouth. The rider also must time the horse’s striding so that it reaches a takeoff point neither too close nor too far from the fence.
Racing -
The racing seat of a jockey is an exaggeration of the forward seat. As a racehorse gathers speed and gallops in a straight line, its center of balance moves forward. A jockey therefore crouches forward along the neck of the horse with legs held high by very short stirrups. The crouching posture affords the added advantages of giving free play to the horse’s hind legs, which supply the main impetus of its stride, and of creating less wind resistance than would an upright posture.
Showing -
In riding gaited horses, an English saddle without knee rolls must be used. The gaited horse must be collected, or gathered, which means that through the raising of the mount’s head and the flexing of the neck and jaw, the horse’s hindquarters are brought under it so that it is more balanced, a state that enables the horse to change gaits with ease. The rider’s legs and body are more or less straight up and down, and long stirrups are used to maintain balance.
In a gaited or pleasure class in horse shows, the rider is expected to show the horse at different gaits in both directions around a fenced circular ring. At a trot the rider must post on the proper diagonal, sitting down on the saddle when the horse’s inside front leg hits the ground and rising out of the saddle when the outside front leg is down. The horse must take the proper lead in a canter by presenting the inside front leg first. Most horses have naturally correct leads and alternate them with each change of direction. Others must be made to do so by use of leg and hand aids.
Dressage -
Dressage (French for “training”) refers to training a horse to be thoroughly supple, balanced, and responsive. Basic dressage work includes collection and extension (shortening and lengthening the horse’s stride) at the walk, trot, and canter, and such lateral movements as the leg yield, in which the horse moves forward and to one side simultaneously.
Dressage can be used as training for other disciplines, for competition, as in horse shows, or for exhibition. The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, founded about 1572, is the world’s most celebrated center of exhibition dressage; among the haute école (highest-schooling) movements are the piaffe, or trot in place, and the so-called airs above the ground, including the levade, controlled rearing, and the capriole, in which the horse simultaneously leaps and kicks out its hind legs.
Training -
The training or breaking of a young horse to saddle or harness consists in gradually accustoming the animal to wearing various pieces of tack and then to carrying or pulling a weight. The forcible breaking of older horses, in which a horse that has had no previous training is bridled, saddled, and ridden, is regarded as primitive and unsatisfactory training.
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