Why take lessons?
by Stacey Sheley
There are a lot of reasons one would want to take riding lessons. For the adults, perhaps you dreamed of having horses when you were a child and now you have the ability to take lessons, to overcome fear and take on a new and different challenge. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a horseback riding vacation scheduled in a few months and want to prepare. Is your corporation or business looking for leadership training or a team building experience? Perhaps you have found yourself involved with the horse world by chance and want to learn more about it or maybe you simply need a break from life stresses and want a rewarding hobby. The list could be endless.
For children, many kids loves horses; they are beautiful, they are strong, they are magical, they are big, can take them places, they dream of being an Olympic stadium jumper winning a gold; the list is as long as a child’s imagination is prolific.
For me when I was young, it was all of the above. It was probably the scenes in “The Black Stallion” where Alec and The Black were stranded on the desert beach that clinched it for me. To become friends with such a beautiful, fiery, huge animal, to earn his trust, to gallop freely on a beach or swim with him in the water in perfect harmony so much so, that I could ride bareback, with my arms spread out and my eyes closed in perfect trust. Freedom from slow bipedal locomotion, to achieve syncronicity. It was so beautiful, so wonderful and I could not imagine anything so close to Nirvana as that part of that movie.
In reality, building a relationship like that with a horse takes a lot of work. It was my personal goal with my mare to be like Alec and The
Black. We did pretty good together pretty quickly. We were playing tag in the arena within a few months. However, it also took a lifetime of
study of horses to get to that point first. Before I even got my mare I had roughly 20 years of study under my belt. I watched and learned animal behavior (PBS addict), visualized and pretended to be a horse when I was little, all the time. Believe it or not, this truly prepared me to understand a horse’s response and behavior. It helped to make me aware of the world from a horse’s point of view. I read everything and anything horse related, drew them endlessly (anatomy), eavesdropped on riding lessons (theory), studied manure management-beginning to end product (one can really learn a lot about a horse by studying its poop). I took every and any opportunity to ride whenever I had a chance from pony rides at the fair to “Hey, lets ride these guys" after shoeing them at school all day, watched vets and farriers and asked them questions relentlessly. Becoming a farrier and learning blacksmithing after taking a bunch of bio classes in college, and so on. That is the long and hard way.
The easier way, and the overall far less expensive way, is to have at your disposal someone who has done all that already, knows the ins and outs of horses and let them teach you what they already know. For most of us die hard horse addicts there is nothing more thrilling than having someone ask us things like “What is that thing on the horse's foot, in the middle there?” Then I get to explain hoof structure, use my knowledge of architecture and supporting angles, then deliberate about moisture content percentages of the various parts of the hoof and explain how similar a hoof wall is to the human fingernail. Another favorite question I get asked about a lot is “What is that thing on the inside of the horses’ leg and what does it do or is she hurt there?”. It is a … I’ll let you ask me, it will be more fun that way. I love it. The more questions I get asked the more excited about it I get. I would talk about horses every waking moment if I could.
Other than the obvious teachings of anatomy, biology, behavior, etymology, tack, its usage, cueing, theory etc. the benefits of riding and learning are large. Riding horses is made to look easy on the T.V. by the pros. However, it takes years of study, effort, sweat, dirt, bruises, a
few bites, a few kicks and maybe a fall or bail or two to do well at it.
Riding is extremely physical and mental. Every muscle in your body works to stand on your own; now do that while moving at various tempos but keep your mind alert for the potential of a pheasant flying up 2 feet in front of your mount and spooking him, keep yourself from holding
your breath and keep yourself from stiffening your body from fear, exchange a fear for focus, listen for cars if riding on the road and be aware of how fast the driver is driving, ready you and your horse in case they honk the horn or change speed or direction. In the arena, keep tempo, don’t speed up or slow down, keep the horse from stopping, time your cues in the right nanosecond, check your seat, how are you holding your reins, can you feel what your horse is doing and so on.
Riding teaches us emotional control; mental control; body control; tempo; timing; reasoning; problem solving; emotional, mental and physical balance; nonverbal communication; fine and gross muscle control, and much more. For some, these things come naturally; for others
this will help facilitate learning. For some the emotional bonding with a 1000+ pound animal who doesn’t speak English and is nonjudgmental is a healing event. For people struggling with anger it is a mental exercise in self control. For a person with heart problems the act of mindful grooming can slow the heart rate and train the person to monitor heart rate.
So, my question to you is… What do you want to get out of taking riding lessons? Which door do you need opened in your life?
If you are looking for physical activity, this is a great method of working out. The following calculations are for a person weighing 120 pounds (add more calorie burning power to horseback riding if you weigh more than a big jockey). Grooming a horse properly will burn roughly 700 calories, slow horseback riding (walking) for an hour and a half will burn about 300 calories, an hour and a
half of trotting, about 750 calories. Now galloping, if you could do that for an hour and a half, can burn just under 1000 calories. Let’s say you do a good 2 hour grooming for your horse, then a well balanced walk, trot, canter ride for an hour and a half. You have just been simply working towards your goal of becoming a better rider for your own self satisfaction, hung out with a friend and just burned about 1400
calories and spent about 3.5 hours doing something that made you think, and relaxed you at the same time; plus, you have become that much more proficient at a nice healthy activity. Wanna work out in a gym or would you rather come play with horses?
While there is no mental “calorie” counter for brain usage while horseback riding that I am aware of, I can assure you that it keeps a rider thinking. When a person rides they have to consider the environmental factors, anticipate a horse's reaction to them as well as cueing, timing, and the strength of cue. The rider has to make snap judgements, counter cueing, reaction, correct their physical balance as well as their mental balance, and judge the possible reactions from the horse to all of the above. There is a lot of “If this, then that” thought going on while
riding. Take into account that every time a person interacts with a horse they are training them in one way or another, then add the pressure of properly doing all of the above in order to keep the horse trained properly. Now add speed to the event and cut reaction times down by two or three times. From my personal experience I can honestly say that just about every ride I’ve had has taught me something new or gave me something to think about later on as far as training goes. It is most definitely a thinking sport.
There are emotional benefits to riding. When accomplishing a goal, overcoming a fear, or navigating a course well and feeling pride in a job well done, there is the partnership of horse and rider. There are up days and not-so-up days, there are horses that really really challenge a handler/rider, and this can be frustrating enough to push the handler/rider into trying different approaches to this particular horse in order to overcome an impasse. There are horses that can really challenge a person’s view on life as well. Working with horses can be an emotional roller coaster that can prepare and or teach a handler/rider emotional change and endurance.
I will share this with you as well. For me horses have opened many doors. I was told in horseshoeing school by a fellow student,
“You’re too small to shoe horses!” and my inner response was “Ha! Watch me and I
will do it better than you too.” I did do a better job than him. In grade school, I heard “You don’t have the right KIND of money to have horses.”, “Really?”, “You really need to work on projects that aren’t horse related.”, and “What would be the point of that?” Later in life I started to see that other things had value, such as martial arts. Horseback riding requires mind control and a Zen-like attitude; yoga stretches the body, keeps you limber, and teaches the importance of breathing properly; studying medieval architecture can assist in learning the form and function of horse anatomy; Latin helps to understand why they name some horse parts what they are named; history shows how horses and humans interacted through time. The list goes on.
Horses have opened the doors to knowledge, to understanding myself and others. I have learned from them compassion, inner strength, courage, fortitude, when to recognize enough is enough, emotional control, how to handle a bully, body language, and more. They have given me the best job ever and for the best reasons ever. There are more doors on the horizon, this I am sure of.
So, now you see that there are a lot of good reasons to take riding lessons. It is just a matter of doing it and not being afraid to take that fifth step, the one in the stirrup.
One last note on this topic for now; A lot of thought, conversations and debate went into choosing the name Open Door Equine. I want
the reader to keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to write or call. Horses are indeed expensive but there are many ways to trim and or share expense. Never let anyone hold you back from a dream for any reason THEY think you should and most importantly, never hold yourself back. If this is really something you or your child needs to do for whatever the reason, let’s work together and figure out ways to make it happen. Horses hold so much good and I truly want to make this good available to anyone wanting to let horses into their lives, especially those in most need and with deepest desire.
For children, many kids loves horses; they are beautiful, they are strong, they are magical, they are big, can take them places, they dream of being an Olympic stadium jumper winning a gold; the list is as long as a child’s imagination is prolific.
For me when I was young, it was all of the above. It was probably the scenes in “The Black Stallion” where Alec and The Black were stranded on the desert beach that clinched it for me. To become friends with such a beautiful, fiery, huge animal, to earn his trust, to gallop freely on a beach or swim with him in the water in perfect harmony so much so, that I could ride bareback, with my arms spread out and my eyes closed in perfect trust. Freedom from slow bipedal locomotion, to achieve syncronicity. It was so beautiful, so wonderful and I could not imagine anything so close to Nirvana as that part of that movie.
In reality, building a relationship like that with a horse takes a lot of work. It was my personal goal with my mare to be like Alec and The
Black. We did pretty good together pretty quickly. We were playing tag in the arena within a few months. However, it also took a lifetime of
study of horses to get to that point first. Before I even got my mare I had roughly 20 years of study under my belt. I watched and learned animal behavior (PBS addict), visualized and pretended to be a horse when I was little, all the time. Believe it or not, this truly prepared me to understand a horse’s response and behavior. It helped to make me aware of the world from a horse’s point of view. I read everything and anything horse related, drew them endlessly (anatomy), eavesdropped on riding lessons (theory), studied manure management-beginning to end product (one can really learn a lot about a horse by studying its poop). I took every and any opportunity to ride whenever I had a chance from pony rides at the fair to “Hey, lets ride these guys" after shoeing them at school all day, watched vets and farriers and asked them questions relentlessly. Becoming a farrier and learning blacksmithing after taking a bunch of bio classes in college, and so on. That is the long and hard way.
The easier way, and the overall far less expensive way, is to have at your disposal someone who has done all that already, knows the ins and outs of horses and let them teach you what they already know. For most of us die hard horse addicts there is nothing more thrilling than having someone ask us things like “What is that thing on the horse's foot, in the middle there?” Then I get to explain hoof structure, use my knowledge of architecture and supporting angles, then deliberate about moisture content percentages of the various parts of the hoof and explain how similar a hoof wall is to the human fingernail. Another favorite question I get asked about a lot is “What is that thing on the inside of the horses’ leg and what does it do or is she hurt there?”. It is a … I’ll let you ask me, it will be more fun that way. I love it. The more questions I get asked the more excited about it I get. I would talk about horses every waking moment if I could.
Other than the obvious teachings of anatomy, biology, behavior, etymology, tack, its usage, cueing, theory etc. the benefits of riding and learning are large. Riding horses is made to look easy on the T.V. by the pros. However, it takes years of study, effort, sweat, dirt, bruises, a
few bites, a few kicks and maybe a fall or bail or two to do well at it.
Riding is extremely physical and mental. Every muscle in your body works to stand on your own; now do that while moving at various tempos but keep your mind alert for the potential of a pheasant flying up 2 feet in front of your mount and spooking him, keep yourself from holding
your breath and keep yourself from stiffening your body from fear, exchange a fear for focus, listen for cars if riding on the road and be aware of how fast the driver is driving, ready you and your horse in case they honk the horn or change speed or direction. In the arena, keep tempo, don’t speed up or slow down, keep the horse from stopping, time your cues in the right nanosecond, check your seat, how are you holding your reins, can you feel what your horse is doing and so on.
Riding teaches us emotional control; mental control; body control; tempo; timing; reasoning; problem solving; emotional, mental and physical balance; nonverbal communication; fine and gross muscle control, and much more. For some, these things come naturally; for others
this will help facilitate learning. For some the emotional bonding with a 1000+ pound animal who doesn’t speak English and is nonjudgmental is a healing event. For people struggling with anger it is a mental exercise in self control. For a person with heart problems the act of mindful grooming can slow the heart rate and train the person to monitor heart rate.
So, my question to you is… What do you want to get out of taking riding lessons? Which door do you need opened in your life?
If you are looking for physical activity, this is a great method of working out. The following calculations are for a person weighing 120 pounds (add more calorie burning power to horseback riding if you weigh more than a big jockey). Grooming a horse properly will burn roughly 700 calories, slow horseback riding (walking) for an hour and a half will burn about 300 calories, an hour and a
half of trotting, about 750 calories. Now galloping, if you could do that for an hour and a half, can burn just under 1000 calories. Let’s say you do a good 2 hour grooming for your horse, then a well balanced walk, trot, canter ride for an hour and a half. You have just been simply working towards your goal of becoming a better rider for your own self satisfaction, hung out with a friend and just burned about 1400
calories and spent about 3.5 hours doing something that made you think, and relaxed you at the same time; plus, you have become that much more proficient at a nice healthy activity. Wanna work out in a gym or would you rather come play with horses?
While there is no mental “calorie” counter for brain usage while horseback riding that I am aware of, I can assure you that it keeps a rider thinking. When a person rides they have to consider the environmental factors, anticipate a horse's reaction to them as well as cueing, timing, and the strength of cue. The rider has to make snap judgements, counter cueing, reaction, correct their physical balance as well as their mental balance, and judge the possible reactions from the horse to all of the above. There is a lot of “If this, then that” thought going on while
riding. Take into account that every time a person interacts with a horse they are training them in one way or another, then add the pressure of properly doing all of the above in order to keep the horse trained properly. Now add speed to the event and cut reaction times down by two or three times. From my personal experience I can honestly say that just about every ride I’ve had has taught me something new or gave me something to think about later on as far as training goes. It is most definitely a thinking sport.
There are emotional benefits to riding. When accomplishing a goal, overcoming a fear, or navigating a course well and feeling pride in a job well done, there is the partnership of horse and rider. There are up days and not-so-up days, there are horses that really really challenge a handler/rider, and this can be frustrating enough to push the handler/rider into trying different approaches to this particular horse in order to overcome an impasse. There are horses that can really challenge a person’s view on life as well. Working with horses can be an emotional roller coaster that can prepare and or teach a handler/rider emotional change and endurance.
I will share this with you as well. For me horses have opened many doors. I was told in horseshoeing school by a fellow student,
“You’re too small to shoe horses!” and my inner response was “Ha! Watch me and I
will do it better than you too.” I did do a better job than him. In grade school, I heard “You don’t have the right KIND of money to have horses.”, “Really?”, “You really need to work on projects that aren’t horse related.”, and “What would be the point of that?” Later in life I started to see that other things had value, such as martial arts. Horseback riding requires mind control and a Zen-like attitude; yoga stretches the body, keeps you limber, and teaches the importance of breathing properly; studying medieval architecture can assist in learning the form and function of horse anatomy; Latin helps to understand why they name some horse parts what they are named; history shows how horses and humans interacted through time. The list goes on.
Horses have opened the doors to knowledge, to understanding myself and others. I have learned from them compassion, inner strength, courage, fortitude, when to recognize enough is enough, emotional control, how to handle a bully, body language, and more. They have given me the best job ever and for the best reasons ever. There are more doors on the horizon, this I am sure of.
So, now you see that there are a lot of good reasons to take riding lessons. It is just a matter of doing it and not being afraid to take that fifth step, the one in the stirrup.
One last note on this topic for now; A lot of thought, conversations and debate went into choosing the name Open Door Equine. I want
the reader to keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to write or call. Horses are indeed expensive but there are many ways to trim and or share expense. Never let anyone hold you back from a dream for any reason THEY think you should and most importantly, never hold yourself back. If this is really something you or your child needs to do for whatever the reason, let’s work together and figure out ways to make it happen. Horses hold so much good and I truly want to make this good available to anyone wanting to let horses into their lives, especially those in most need and with deepest desire.