Skip navigation

Teaching horse riding for beginners

The first visit to the stables does not necessarily mean mounting and riding. The most important aim is to get to know the environment. Typically, beginners are afraid of these large animals even though they would like to ride. This first visit is a good occasion to calm down these fears. It is a good idea to just go close and touch the horses, groom them, feed them and get to know the rules of the stables.

Necessary equipment for teaching beginners on the lunge:

  • a well-trained horse: a horse with a calm, sane mentality. Calm and steady movement in all gaits (walk, trot, gallop). Breeds and gender may vary.
  • saddle or vaulting girth: on the first session we use a vaulting girth, which has several advantages for a beginner rider. Firstly, the rider can have a firm grip on the two handles. Secondly, there is only a saddle blanket between the rider and the horse, which allows the rider to feel close to the horse.
  • reins, lunge, whip, lead rope
  • good terrain: sandy or grass
  • equipment for the rider: riding hat, trousers, appropriate shoes

On the second session the beginner can mount the horse. As I have mentioned earlier, it is a good idea to use a vaulting girth. The most important thing to learn with a vaulting girth and in a saddle, too, is to sit right. The correct seating is called a “base” exactly because this is the base of everything that will follow. Pay attention to correct alignment: ear, shoulder, point of hip, back of heel are in a line that is perpendicular to the horizon. Drop the center of gravity as low as possible; while sitting this means a heavy seat - not an artificially depressed heel. Unlock the lower back, if necessary, and teach the pupil(s) how to follow the movement of the horse's back with her/his seat. Lunging sessions with beginners take mostly 20-30 minutes at the most.

3 phases of teaching beginners on the lunge:

  • Warm-up phase
  • Work phase
  • Cool-down phase

During the warm-up phase, the rider gets a chance to calm down and to heat up the muscles. The horse also gets a chance to get into contact with the rider and get ready for work. The warm-up exercises are based on gymnastic principles so they are to be carried out from top downwards. 

  • head rolls in both directions
  • shoulder rolls (left, right, both)
  • arm circles (left, right, both)
  • "Ears-tail-toes-toes”: bend forward towards the head of the horse (ears), bend back as much as you can (tail), touch your toes on one side, then on the other. The aim is to regain the steady base each time.
  • hands on hips, rotate your upper body to the left, then to the right
  • bend your whole upper body towards the head of the horse with hands left slightly hanging down at the loins
  • without stirrups: legs to the side
  • without stirrups: leaning a bit forward, heels touch behind the buttocks
  • without stirrups: mill. A complete 360-degree turn on the horses back in four even phases.
  • without stirrups: half-mill (180-degree turn). Exercises riding backwards.
  • arms straight overhead, in side middle, in front middle, etc.

The contents of the work phase vary according to knowledge level. During the first session our only aim is to show the rider what horseback riding as a kind of sport is like. We do not involve all gaits but maximum the trot. First, the rider should learn the sitting trot, which means that s/he does not rise out of the saddle during the movement. The other way to move during the trot is the rising trot, which means that the rider rises in the same rhythm in which the horse moves its legs. This type of trot is easier for the horse because when the rider is standing, the weight is divided more evenly and not only on its back. It is important to try to keep the base during a trot and to avoid bumping up and down in the saddle.

In later sessions the rider will hold on to the saddle with one hand at a time and carry out the warm-up exercises with the other. Finally, the rider reaches a level when s/he does not hold on at all and does exercises with two free hands. These phases serve the independent use of the arms from the rest of the body while riding.

The horse walks in the cool-down phase of the session, the rider performs stretching exercises without stirrups. (Bóka, Dinya 2014. p.61)