The basics on leading horses

Hey guys! I'm posting twice today so if you haven't already make sure you look below for my first Storytime Saturday post!
Today will be a relatively short post on how to lead horses. This is pretty easy stuff so some of you will probably already know the information here. But if you don't know how, this post will explain everything you need to know!
When around horses, you aren't going to ride them everywhere. You're going to have to lead them from the ground a lot as well. So I put together a list of things you should do when leading a horse.

This picture shows a horse being led correctly with a lead rope. Pic from http://www.carolynresnickblog.com

• Stand on the left side of the horse (as shown above in the picture). Originally this was so your right hand was closer to the horse to give you more control, but now everyone leads from this side, even left handed people.
• Don't look at your horse when you lead them. Instead, look where you are going. If you look at your horse it makes them nervous and reluctant to move.
• Lead the horse with your right hand close to the horse's chin, but not too close. Make sure you give your horse some slack in the rope so they are comfortable. Hold further down the lead rope with your left hand to make sure it doesn't drag on the ground.
• Now walk! Your horse should follow you without too much trouble but if they are being stubborn give a small tug with the lead rope to get them to move. Make sure you stay beside the horse and don't walk too much in front of them otherwise they might step on your heels.

A horse being led correctly with reins. Pic from http://ajilbab.com

•  When leading a horse with a bridle and reins, you lead the same way as you do with a lead rope, except you hold the two reins together in one hand (as shown in the picture above).

I hope you learned something from this post. See you next time! 

Rachel.

Storytime Saturday #1

So incase you missed it I am starting something new called Storytime Saturday. Technically it's monday today where I am, but whatever I have a story so I'm sharing it anyway :)
Today I was horse riding and after my ride Minty (the horse I was riding) was really sweaty and dirty. He's a grey, so dirt shows really easily, and it was too cold to give him a bath.
So I groomed him for a long time using my new brushes that I got last month. I got most of the dirt out, and  I spent a while getting rid of a lot of the sweat and making his hair all smooth. I stood there for at least half an hour, trying to get him relatively clean. And then when I was finally satisfied, I gave him some carrots and released him into his paddock.
And do you know what he did? As soon as I walked out of the paddock and shut the gate he started rolling.
I know that horses roll for a bunch of different reasons, but when minty rolled, it looked like he was doing it not because he was in pain, not to scratch his back, but for fun.
I groomed him for over half an hour and then he just had to roll and cover himself in dirt again, making all my hard work go down the drain. Thanks Minty.

Anyway its holidays now so I should be posting more often so watch out for more soon :D

Rachel.

How horses are measured.

If you read one of my first posts, I mentioned that horses are measured not in cm, not in inches, but in hands. But how big is a hand? A hand is not the length of your own hand- a hand is 4 inches, or approx. ten centimetres. 
A horse is measured from the ground up to its withers, which is the tallest point of a horse's back. They are not measured to their head, like humans, because their head is constantly moving up and down, so if they were measured from their head their height would always be changing.

The circled area is the horse's withers

So if you look at this picture:

Then the green line is the length that is measured to see how tall the horse is.
So let's say that you have a horse that is measured to be 15hh (hands high). That means that the space from the ground to the horse's withers is 60inches long, or 150cm.
If the horse is 16.2hh, then it means that it is 16hands and 2 inches tall, or 66inches tall. This means that if a horse is 65 inches tall, they would be 16.1hh, or if they were 66 inches tall, they would be 16.3hh. When horses are 68 inches tall (or any other number divisible by four), then they go on to a new hand, so they would be 17hh. That's why there is no such thing as a 16.5hh horse. They would be called a 17.1hh horse instead.
A horse that is less than 14.2hh is classified as a pony. If they are taller than 14.2hh then they are classified as a horse.

To find out the exact height of your horse, you can use a tape measure, or if you are experienced you can usually make rough estimations on the horse's height by looking at them.

How horses are measured can be a bit confusing at first, so hopefully this post made sense! 

Rachel.

Hotblooded, Coldblooded, and Warmblooded horses.

Hi everyone! If you've looked up horse breeds before, you've probably seen the words hotblooded, coldblooded and warmblooded horses. These are basically three categories that all horses fit into.

Hotbloods

Hotblooded horses are very lively, bold and are bred for speed and agility. Hotblooded horses are slim with long legs, the most well known being the thoroughbred and arabian horse.

A warmblooded horse, picture from http://reinsofthenight.com

Coldbloods

Coldblooded horses are draft horses that are bulkier and calmer than hotbloods. They are usually tall and strong and were bred to carry big loads. Coldbloods include Percherons and Clydesdales.

A coldblooded horse, picture from http://horsebreedslist.com

Warmbloods

Warmblooded horses are a cross between hotbloods and coldbloods. They are taller than hotbloods with a milder nature. The term is also used to describe sport horses that excel in things like jumping and dressage. Warmbloods include Hanoverians and Dutch Warmbloods.

A warmblooded horse, pic from http://www.wimborneparkstud.com.au

Rachel.

New- Storytime Saturday

Hey everyone! As you can see I gave the blog a bit of a makeover- I was sick of the old look, so i changed the title, the backround and the sidebar. What do you think?
Anyway, this is a bit of an update post. I've decided that on this blog I'm going to start something called Storytime Saturday. On saturdays (not every saturday, maybe one or two a month) I'll post a funny, interesting, inspiring, or just any horse riding story. If it's a story about someone else, I won't be using names. I'll probably just make up fake names for them.
I will still be putting up informative posts about horses, so don't worry about that :) I haven't had much time to post on this blog much but I will be trying to fit in more time!
I hope you like the new update- Look out for Storytime Saturday soon!

Rachel

Stirrup lengths- which length is right?

Hey everyone. I'm so sorry about abandoning my blog! Things have been very busy with the new school year and everything, so I'll try my best to make up for it!

ANYWAY....
I'm going to be blogging about stirrups. Stirrup irons are what you put your feet in to make your more balanced and stable. They aren't completely necessary- you can ride without stirrups if you wish (this is actually a good way to develop seat and leg muscles)- but most riders will ride with them almost all the time.

Stirrup irons are attached to stirrup leathers that hold the irons to the saddle. Stirrup leathers are adjustable so people with different leg sizes can use them. That comes with the question- which stirrup length is right for you?

To give you an idea of the standard stirrup length, there are two well known rules.

1. Put your hand on the stirrup bar (the bar on the saddle that the stirrup leather hangs from). Raise the stirrup so it is against your arm. The stirrup should fit snugly in your armpit. 

Rule number one is shown in this picture.

2. Sit in the saddle without putting your feet in the stirrups and let the stirrups hang next to your legs. The bottom of the stirrup iron should be next to your ankle.

Rule number two is shown in this picture.

Some other factors to put into consideration:

How long are your legs? Obviously, if you have longer legs than someone you are going to need longer stirrups.
 
What discipline do you ride? Western riders tend to ride with longer stirrups, while most english riders prefer theirs a bit shorter. Jumpers usually have shorter stirrups than other riders so it is easier to go into two point position over jumps. Dressage riders prefer longer stirrups than jumpers so they are able to give aids with their whole leg and use their seat more effectively. 

What do you prefer? In the end, how long to have your stirrups is up to you. If you are new to riding, it will take some experimentation to figure out if you like riding with your stirrups longer or shorter. I personally prefer shorter stirrups, as I feel more comfortable and stabilized when they are shorter, but others prefer longer stirrups.

How do I adjust my stirrups?

This video will show you:

That's all for now! Hopefully I'll be back soon to post more!

Rachel.

The two point position (jumping position)

Hi guys! As promised, I made a two point post for you.
Before you start jumping of any kind, you must master the two point position. This is basically your jumping position, what you do over a jump to make things more comfortable for your horse and to make sure you don't fall off. 
This is what it looks like:

Credit to http://www.artofriding.com

Well it should look something like that, anyway. Everyone has a different jumping position- different instructors teach different ways. Example, this is a very different two point position photo I found:

Credit to http://americashorsedaily.com

Completely different, so you might be wondering, "Which one is right?" For bigger jumps, you will want to be using the first position. For trot poles, cavalletis, and other small jumps, it is alright to use the second one. 
My two point position is a little different from the pictures, so I'll give you some tips.

• You want to put all your weight in your stirrups and rise out of the saddle, but you don't want to rise so much that it looks like your trying to stand up. You only need to rise enough out of the saddle to get out of the horses way so they can jump the jump. 
• Make sure you shorten your stirrups before you jump. You want your stirrups a few holes higher than normal so you can be balanced over the jump.
• When you go into two point, ideally you want to be able to draw a straight line from your head to shoulder to knee to toe. 
• When you jump, you want to give your a horse some release. Beginners are usually taught a crest release, which is basically just sliding your hands forward up your horse's neck. This is so that you are not pulling back hard on the horses mouth and making it harder for him to jump. Some horses also use their neck for momentum, so it's important to give them some release. Make sure you aren't putting your hands too far forward though- you still want to have a light contact with the horse's mouth. 
• Make sure your lower leg doesn't slide back- you want your leg to be close to the girth. It's a common problem for a rider's leg to slide back. It is often caused when a saddle doesn't fit properly, when a rider grips to much with their knees, when their stirrups are too long or when they don't put enough weight in their heels. Remember- heels down!
• When you start bigger jumps, you want to make sure that you bend a lot at the hips, like this:

This rider has a good amount of bend in her hips for bigger jumps. pic from http://www.equestrianandhorse.com

Think about it like sticking your butt out at the person behind you. Bending at the hips is important to keep your center of weight over the saddle and your leg under yourself (remember, you want to be able to draw a straight line between your head shoulders knees and toes). This is essential in staying balanced over a jump. If you just lean forward without bending your hips, your center of weight will be over the horse's neck and your leg will be out behind you, leaving you unbalanced. Keep in mind that you do not need to bend nearly as much in the hips when you are jumping smaller jumps.

Last but not least, don't go into your jumping position too early. Try and let the horse push you up into two point. If you anticipate the jump too much and go into two point early, your horse might refuse and you'll fly right over his head! That's all the tips I have- Good luck jumping!

Rachel.

Getting over fears and doubts in riding

Hi Guys! Long time no see. I truly am sorry for this- I'll make up for it soon with a post about two point/ jumping position. You see, I spent most of my holidays overseas, and the start of school has come with lots of homework. I hope to be on here more often though.
Anyway, as horse riders, we have a lot of doubts. Doubts about whether we are good enough, doubts about trying new jumping heights, or a million other things. Along with those doubts comes  fears (which is understandable, since horse riding is one of the most dangerous sports.) Everyone has a small fear of falling off their horse, and nobody likes it happening to them. So I'm going to try to help people with this post who are not confident with their riding.

 Doubts:

doubts usually develop after a bad day of horse riding, or when someone insults your riding. A number of other things can cause doubts, so first you have to ask yourself a question:
Are you the problem, or is the horse a problem? Once, I was riding a jump course on a mare called Summer. She refused to jump every second jump on the course. I went home devasted, wondering what I was doing wrong and doubting my riding skills. I rode her again the week after on a very similar jumping course, and guess what? She was perfect. She didn't refuse once. Sometimes, horses can have bad days, just like humans. They can have enthusiastic days and lazy days, angry days and perky days. So don't put yourself down if your horse won't do something for you. If necessary, take some private lessons and the problem will be fixed in no time.
If someone insults your riding skills, just talk to your trainer about it. They will answer your question honestly. A lot of people say bad things out of anger or jealousy, so remember that the next time someone insults you.

Fears:

The most common fear in riding is falling off. Falling off can cause some serious injuries, so everyone has a right to be scared about it. But you shouldn't be on a horse if you are scared to death- horses can tell if you are scared, which will make them scared, with will then make it MORE likely for you to fall. If you lack confidence, take some private lessons to build your confidence.
A lot of people develop fears after having a bad fall. Bad falls cause some people to stop horse riding all together. If you are one of these people, don't remember all the bad times- remember the good times, remember why you liked riding so much. Maybe take some lunge lessons to rebuild your confidence. A lot of people get a bad fall, but it shouldn't stop you doing something you love.
Fears can also be because of a particular horse. Horses that buck, rear, bolt, or a mixture of those can cause people to be scared while being around or riding the horse. If you are not confident on that horse, maybe ask your instructor to swap horses. But before you do remember, that the horses with the most problems are often the ones that have the most to offer you.

Horse rearing

Anyway, I hope this information helps you with your fears/doubts. Look out for a post on two point soon :)

Rachel.