What To Expect On Your First Horse Riding Lesson
Finding The Right School For You
The first thing you need to do is look around the different horse riding schools and see which teachers and centres you get a feel for. This can be overwhelming but I found checking out their social media sites and websites helped me narrow down my search. I also spoke to friends and family who where aware of local schools and ended up choosing a beginner school with a smaller track. This can be quite troublesome though, once they surpass the beginner stage and have to move schools
Horse Riding Equipment For Your First Lesson
On their first lesson we had no idea what equipment we needed or even what to expect. Fortunately, most centres offer hat hire which is probably all you will need for your first lesson. You can buy your own hats but as they are expensive it might be worth seeing if you enjoy riding first. Other equipment you may need is flexible clothing and a good pair of boots.
If you are looking to buy new boots I highly recommend Morettas. They come in various and colours and are often fairly priced. We always opt for black, but that's just a preference.
Arriving at Your First Lesson Early
I would always arrive early at your lesson as there will no doubt be waiver forms to fill in and emergency contact details too. If you are going to borrow a rental hat it can also take some time to find the right helmet to fit your head, so its good to arrive that little bit early to give yourself that extra time.
What To Expect On Your First Ride
Don't worry, they won't make you canter off on your own.. infact your first lesson will have someone holding the reigns of the horse at all times so that it won't walk off randomly. First of all though, the teacher will teach you how to mount the horse and hold the reigns. The two most vital things which at first people get wrong. Holding the reigns like ice cream cones can really take some getting used to coinciding with a straight back, however after a few lessons this will come naturally.
Be Realistic..
I think that we all have this idea that you will be able to do so much on a horse and so quickly, however its good to be realistic. You may have 10 lessons doing the same maneuver, this is because you need to show confidence before the teacher moves on to the next move. As we say to the girls all "seat time" on a horse is valuable, so keep on and gradually you will see improvement.
For reference, this was the Freya when She first started out.
Please check out my other horse riding blogs, recommended equipment / equipment we use blogs and horse gifts for those equestrian horse loving fanatics!
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