As I was brought up through the United States Pony Club, I started teaching seventeen years ago when I was in my mid-teens. Over the years I have taught children and adults of varying degrees of ability. Prospective students routinely call me and say, “I would like to take some riding lessons.” One of the most important things that horses have to teach, however, is not riding at all but horsemanship. I write this as a letter to my students.
When you are on a horse, basic balance and harmony is very important. You learn first to control your seat, your leg and your hand. You learn to walk, trot, and canter and maybe to jump over cross rails. You learn to ride out in the open. As you progress you choose a discipline of interest. For my students that means eventing, dressage, or jumpers. As you decide to specialize, your skills increase.
All of these skills are mechanical skills that you learn while you are on the horse. Horses, however, are not mechanical. They are animals. There is an art not only in learning how to ride, but also in learning how to make responsible choices in caring for the animal that you ride.
The art of horsemanship starts with your daily routine in the barn. Do you know the names for the parts of your horse and your equipment? Do you know how to properly turn yourself and your horse out for a lesson, a clinic, or a show? In the barn you need to know which spots your horse, I’ll call him Pokey, likes rubbed on the best, which brushes are too hard for Pokey, and what kind of mood Pokey is in on any given day. This is not just about how many treats you can give your mount while it stands on cross ties. This is about talking to your horse, petting it, loving on it, and making it a more polite animal. A horse that dances all over the place in the barn is a liability and indicates an owner that is either afraid or doesn’t have a good sense of discipline.
A daily inventory must also be taken of a horse’s condition and of any new nicks or scratches that it has come in from the field with. Does Pokey need more grain, more hay? Does he need less grass? How do his feet look? Does he wince away from the currycomb in a certain spot indicating that he is sore there? Are his legs tight and clean with no sign of swelling? Is his eye bright?
Next is the tack. Is the saddle fitting properly? Is it sitting level on the back or is it rocking either forward and backwards or side to side? Does the pommel sit two to three fingers above the withers when the girth is tightened? Is the saddle pinching anywhere? Many riders on low budgets will buy inexpensive or used saddles, and many of these saddles do not properly fit their horse. Your saddle is one of your most important items of equipment. Buy the best saddle that you can afford and have someone with knowledge help you fit it to your horse or tell you what pads to use with it. If you want to save money, buy an inexpensive girth or ten dollar saddle pads!
The bit and bridle must also fit properly. The bit must be appropriate to your mount. If you have a horse who gets quick, you will need a stronger bit. If you have a horse that backs away from the bit, you may need a rubber coated bit. Make sure the bit is the correct width so that it does not pinch Pokey at the corners of his mouth. The bridle should be of at least medium quality leather. The bargain basement bridles are more heartbreak than they are worth. The runners never fit or the stitching comes undone. All of your tack should show regular care and attention. Dry, cracked leather is unsightly and unsafe. Also, if you are using a cavesson noseband with a flash, please tighten the cavesson until it is snug so that the flash does not sag down and cover Pokey’s nostrils!
When I was growing up most horses were still kept at home. Today, however, most horses are kept at a boarding facility. There is a whole book that can be written about the knowledge you need to take care of horses. The chapters would include basic safety issues on a farm, how to assess the quality of different types feed and hay and how to know which one is appropriate for your horse, the pros and cons of different types of bedding, correct practices for manure disposal, how to recognize signs of good shoeing and dental work, when and why to worm and vaccinate, how to discern which horses to turn out together, correct pasture management, knowledge of poisonous plants, how to ship a horse safely, basic first aid ranging from how to treat puncture wounds to recognizing colic, and lastly how to recognize lameness and how to know when to call a vet.
All good horsemen will be aware of this knowledge and the more involved they become with their horse the more first hand experience they will have with it. At the very least, though, they need to choose a strong support team. This team includes the barn manager where Pokey lives, his vet, his farrier, and his dentist. Will the barn manager notice if he is losing weight or acting sulky? Will the farrier balance the shoes properly and keep Pokey’s feet at a good angle? The best way to find out about the caliber of the various practitioners in your area is to ask the most knowledgeable people that you know. This is another area where price is often a consideration, so if possible shop around. Also, look at the health and well being of the horses of your source person. If his or her horses are a good weight and well muscled with a gleaming coat and strong feet, you can bet you are asking a good source.
Once you are mounted, there is still more to learn in the category of horsemanship. First, you must learn your horse’s temperament. Does Pokey get nervous easily? Is he lazy? Is he mischievous? Does he lack confidence when he is alone? You must understand your horse’s personality so that you know when to be compassionate and when to be firm.
Often times riders set external goals for themselves. They have a paper chase they would like to go on or a certain show they would like to attend. Sometimes they would like to move up a level. The good horseman lays out a six to eight week plan leading up to this event. This plan includes an honest assessment of where you and Poky are now in your skill level and what skills are imperative to solidify before the big day. Is Pokey capable of the next level? Are you? This is always a good thing to talk honestly about with your instructor. The six to eight-week plan should also include how to get Pokey to the appropriate level of fitness. Horses are not like automobiles. It is not a matter of putting gasoline in the engine to make it run when you want to go somewhere. If you are planning to go on an all day ride as your goal, you need to formulate a gradual plan to build Pokey up to that level of endurance.
Although there are often wonderful crescendos where goals are met or exceeded, sometimes goals cannot be met. This too is a lesson in horsemanship. Sometimes the hard truth is that a rider is not yet ready to move up a level, or may never be. Sometimes a rider must face the fact that she is not mounted on the correct horse for her. Other times, even with the best care possible, Pokey will go lame. One of the best lessons horses teach us is humility. With horses it is inevitable that at least part of the time our goals and our desires will not be met, or will not be met on the date and time that we want them to be met. It is at these times that we must remember why we chose riding in the first place and not a myriad of other sports. It is the horsemanship element of riding that makes it a special sport. Horsemanship teaches us accountability towards ourselves and responsibility towards our animal. Horsemanship teaches us generosity and gratitude, for in our mounts we see the power, beauty, athleticism, and peacefulness that they are so kindly willing to share with us. Finally, horsemanship teaches us how to dig down deep because although sometimes we may fail, the best possible course of action is to get up, dust off the derriere, and get back going. Pokey is waiting on you!
