Horseback Riding 101

Lesson 5: Where Do I Go From Here?

How to maintain a good walk, and why

Before the invention of the automobile, people used horses to get someplace. We don’t have to do that anymore. But the horse’s walk should still be a ‘going to market’ walk. Otherwise, he will not be carrying his weight, and yours, properly. He will actually tire more easily, and break down with age sooner. When he is balancing you on his back, it is best for a horse to always ‘track up,’ that is, bring his hind legs forward under his long body almost to (and in dressage, into) the same spot his front legs just left. Only if he is tracking up can his muscles easily support you. So, there is a very cogent physical reason for getting a good forward walking pace. If you are relaxed on the horse and you don’t feel your hips swinging in the saddle, he’s not walking forward enough. Add some leg, and/or a cluck. At first, adding leg will mean kicking. But as you get stronger and begin to develop an understanding of how much pressure to use, you will begin to be able to do it by pressing.

If your horse is particularly lazy, you may have to ask him to move on at each step for a while. To do that, glance down and when you see his inside shoulder begin its forward swing, use your inside leg. Then as his outside shoulder begins to swing, use the outside leg. It can be a tap or a press, as required to get the response you want, a more forward (which means faster and more ground-covering) walk.

Until you can feel the horse’s movement, which takes a while (shorter or longer, depending on the movement and sensitivity of the horse, and the sensitivity o the rider), you will have to glance down to accomplish these things. But don’t concentrate on looking down. Make it as quick as you can, and then raise your eyes to the horizon ahead of you and soften them once again.

While you are using your whole field of vision, practice seeing the shoulder without specifically looking down; that will begin to develop your feel for the horse, your sense of what’s happening and what needs to happen to achieve what you want to achieve.

Again, don’t work your horse to your satisfaction if it means taxing or boring him. Your enthusiasm will hold for the next time, and probably increase. And you’ll avoid creating a sour horse

Finally—you guessed it—BREATHE!

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