You should always start your horseback riding adventures at a slow pace. This is called a walk. The walk is a slow, flat-footed gait with fours beats,

Once your horse is warmed up you can try a trot. The trot is a two beat gait that is faster than the walk at about 6 miles an hour. The diagonal front and hind legs move and hit the ground together as a pair. At one point all four feet are off the ground. This gives the trot its bounce. The trot should be even and regular with a steady one two one two rhythm. The horse's head shouldn’t bob up and down as it does in the walk. Trotting is good exercise for the horse and the rider. They are gaits that are frequently used to train horses and in practice exercises for riders. They are also excellent gaits for distance riding because they cover the most ground while being the least tiring for the horse.

I believe that Western riding is easier than English. In English riding, the rider has to learn to post to the trot, a bouncy gait .In western riding, horses go at the slower jog gait. Also the wider seat and raised cantle and pommel of the western saddle give even the most experienced rider much more stability. English riding, even for the beginner, involves the coordination of multiple factors, such as legs, reins and balance to maintain control of the horse. This can be difficult until it becomes second nature to the rider. In western riding, even the most inexperienced rider can enjoy an afternoon on horseback without too many worries. It is my opinion that it is actually better for someone considering learning to ride, to start out with English riding lessons, because someone who is comfortable riding in an English saddle and giving "English" aids, will have no trouble switching over to western, if they decide to try a western equestrian sport. Somebody who has learned to ride in a western saddle will essentially have to learn to ride all over again if they decide they want to get involved in one of the English equestrian sports.

I was going to list some good horseback riding sites, but there are too many. I did a search and so many different farms came up. I am looking forward to getting back on a horse soon. They are wonderful creatures and are extremely intelligent and gentle. Over the summer I did horseback riding with disabled children. I was amazing to see these massive animals acting so loving and gentle with these special children. The kids looked forward to their lessons and the parents said it was all they would talk about. It was a very rewarding experience.

The basic method used in all training is to reward a correct response; this helps the horse to make an association between the trainer’s signal and its own response. Horses have excellent memories. Their ability to form associations is often strongly influenced by individual temperament; nervous or high-strung horses and excessively shy horses are poor learners. Most training of horses

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