Help with Horse Riding book..

[horsebanter]

Hi Every one,

What a great forum this is:)

My name is Shelley and I'm in the middle of creating a beginners horse riding virtual coach/instructor program. To help beginning riders when horse riding lessons are out of the question or to complement an existing riding instructor...

I need your help to make sure I've covered all the bases.. Can you send me your most pressing question/what you found hardest to pick up when learning to ride?

What do you think beginners should be aware of to make their riding experience as rewarding as possible?

I'm only asking this because I don't want this to be just another "How To Ride" product, I want it to have real value to people! Something they can use over and over again.

Thank you for your help

Shelley

P.S. You can post your answers here on the forum or email me at the_brady_bunch@bigpond.com, if you send them direct to me I will send you a copy of the program when it is complete, to say thanks :-) Please feel free to contact me via my email address (this is my personal email address).

[Giveitago]

IMHO,

Riding lessons do not offer the experience of getting to know your pony.

How many kids have you seen canter around, get off, and cant even lead their horses properly? Or, even worse, are absolutely petrified of the horse when they're on the ground.

There's a massive gap in teaching horsemanship to our youngsters. Kids need to know that a horse is an animal and not a machine and whipping it harder won't make much difference.

The most difficult bit to learn for me was a good rising trot on the right diagonal, difficult when you're small. And the sitting trot after that was just weird.

Just to note, I can do that now but I am 36! and started riding soon after I could walk.

[~*sugarlump*~]

bending and turning, everywhere i looked, the instructions for aids were different for some reason.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

rising to the trot was my personal problem.
I didnt get why i had to stand when i got bounced up anyways so maybe some pictures/animation/film of a rider doing sitting and then rising trot to illustrate the difference.

canter leads eluded me for a while too.

[shakey rider]

Leg aids, Balance, weight aids I found the hardest, also the fact that if you are riding a school horsey, that slow doesn't always mean that you don't learn anything!

I had lots of Riding school ponies that usually didn't respond to any aids and just wanted to follow the horse in front but I learnt how to ride slower and concentrate on my seat and balance in those times and learnt not to get fustrated with the horse/pony.

I usually found that as I accepted the slowness, i relaxed and the horsey responded anyway!!!!!

[Wobblydeb]

Pictures!!!!!!! :)

They're the most useful, and easiest thing to learn from, I find. Some books show you how things should look from the instructors view point, but don't show you how they should look from being on board...

So..... looking at your earlier responses, some pictures of the horses shoulders to tell you which leg to rise with in trot would be great. Same with canter - piccies of leading leg from the riders viewpoint would be good! :D

Also include some "off" horse excercises that will help the rider develop some riding muscles. That gets asked a lot in Mature riders ;)

[Trewsers]

Definitely tips for cantering - pics too. Also a bit of groundwork info, eg, leading properly, turning out into fields etc.

[NoviceNic]

Techniques on how to "Relax" and "Breathe". The biggest challenge I had to overcome. Still it comes back to haunt me and remind me that I am still not always in control. :o

[HorsieLuver]

I had the most trouble saddling. I would ride a different horse every week, and I was always confused as to how far forward or back the saddle should go. And then add in swaybacked horses, and arabs with high withers, and I got even more fustrated.

And I agree, lots and LOTS of pictures. I know I'm a visual learner, so it's hard for me to understand something without seeing it. Also, I would have appreciated more depth into learning about bits, different types of grain, parts of the saddle and it's care, and other important info like basic horse health. Most books already include this, but for me, I think it's the best part!!

Also, it would be cool if you had something like a "case study", where you're discussing a problem with a horse/rider/instructor that may not usually be covered (ie, the pony I have to ride is mean and bites me!/what kind of exercises can I do so that I'm not sore after a ride?/My instructor wants me tto learn to canter next, but I'm nervous. How do I know I'm ready?) and walk them through it step by step...I read a book like this a couple of years ago and it really boosted my confidence to know other people have the same issues as me! :p Anyways, good luck, and hope you find what you're looking for!

:D Lissa

[inhs]

Hi Shelly,

I'd say definitely figure out what age group you're going for. A book for adults will be completely different to a books for tweenies, or a book for teenagers. You'll need a different style of writing for different age groups, watch what words you're using, and also presentation will be completey influenced by age group. Have you got a publisher to help? Book publishing is quite expensive on your won, and for book you really do need a publisher to help you out with printing costs and marketing & promotion. Also, figure out what's already on the market, how much it costs, how much yours will cost, and why yours will be better. If you go with a publisher, you'll get about 10% of cover price (about). I think normally you need to sell 5000 copies to break even. Also as your in Aus, do think about doing a AUS/US book, and then a UK/European book. Ideally have a range of pictures which incude both areas (eg western, english, different styles of riding etc) PM me if you like :)


FAO GIVEITAGO & TREWSERS: "There's a massive gap in teaching horsemanship to our youngsters. Kids need to know that a horse is an animal and not a machine and whipping it harder won't make much difference."

There's an interactive cdrom just out for kids which deals with horsemanship & groundwork for ponies & children. More info at www.irishnaturalhorsemanship.com

[Greentchr]

Is this book aimed at a particular age group? I hope it is for adults:) .

One thing that really confused me is all the strange terms! THe RI just assumed that we would know basic stuff, and I did not. She passed out papers every week (I was taking at a university), but even some of the simpler terms were greek.

The other thing that I needed to know was how to know a green/unsafe horse from a good beginners horse. I know that sounds silly, but I bought a horse after just a few weeks of lessons (well, the horse just sort of found us and we paid for her), not realizing that she was quite unsuited to a green rider. A good caution about not buying before you are ready would be a good addition!

The differences in terms between countries would be helpful for those of us on online forums- I don't know how many times I have had to ask silly questions "what does that mean?" on here because it was not obvious from the posts.

I agree it ought to be a glorified picture book- and use different riders/different horses to illustrate the same principal. It is so hard to visualize something when you are only given one example. Give right/wrong pictures. Is this going to be book form, or CD rom form? If it is DVD, it would be very helpful to have action videos. Trotting is hard and needs a real breakdown of all the things a new rider can do wrong. It took me 2 years to realize I was going up on my toes everytime I trotted:rolleyes:

Basic horse care is another need: not the details but things like how to pick feet, how to saddle different types of horses, how to be sure the saddle fits right, how to bridle an uncooperative horse, how to tell if a horse is not feeling right.

How to lead a horse properly, and the whys.

Safety issues: not coiling the leads, wearing a helmet, not going under the lead rope when a horse is tied, staying close to the rump when passing behind, etc.

The differences in teaching style- what to look for in a good teacher. I ended up with a broken back because I chose the wrong teacher and was given advice ("Just get on and go riding"- ground frozen and icy, green horse, green rider, out on mountain roads...) that was totally inappropriate for a green rider, especially an older (50ish) one that does not bounce.

Also the differences in training/riding methods- natural horsemanship and others.

What the difference in disciplines means.

Be sure to put some information in on how a horse thinks- some new riders fall into the trap of thinking they are on a big puppy dog, not a prey animal that thinks totally differently. A local lady here made the mistake of thinking "my horse loves me, he would never hurt me!" The horse, of course had no thought of hurting her when he spooked, but she was just as broken up when she came down on a fence rail as she would have been if the horse meant to do it. She will not be riding again for a long time, if ever.

[Friendly Filly]

What do you think beginners should be aware of to make their riding experience as rewarding as possible?

Hi Shelley
I was 46 when I started to learn to ride last year. The hardest thing for me has been to learn to balance and sit tall no matter what the horse is doing. I was (still am a bit) nervous if the horse moved in an unexpected way, or went faster than I was happy with, and I used to hunch over and tighten up.

More explanation and description on how the body weight and balance affects the horse's going, and also a description of how my muscles as a rider could be used with or against the horse's would be very useful.

I also still find it difficult to use different parts of my body independently when in canter, possibly because I get a bit nervous. I would have loved a book which said to a new adult rider: "You will probably find it difficult to do .... at first" Just an acknowledgment of how much harder it can be for an adult rider makes you realise you are not on your own with these problems.

Good luck with the book.

[dancing-horse]

wow. What a great idea you have. I found that the sitting trot and defintely learning to use your aids properly wasd a real challenge.

[stormchaser]

Pictures--clear, big photos AND diagrams are a must.

There were several obstaces that I was faced (in chronological order) while progressing from a complete beginner to becoming a novice:

-basic position
-rising trot
-turning, aids, general control of the horse etc.
-sitting trot
-diagonals
-jumping
-giving clear aids, learning how to communicate effectively etc.
-counter canter and flying change
-handling tack, basic horse care, grooming etc. (still shocks me, I know, but I know it's also due to lack of practise)
-lateral work (still nonexistant to me as of now)
-variations within each gait (I still cannot find a book that told me how to collect and extend!)

[vimto92]

Rein adds, really do emphasize on a light contact.... and get the beginners to think about the right approach to each horse... (I know what Im on about.. ;) )

Urm.... sitting trot... ;)

Lateral movements definately! ESP. leg yield!;)

Basic horse care...

More photos than you can imigine!;)

[willumau]

My name is Shelley and I'm in the middle of creating a beginners horse riding virtual coach/instructor program. To help beginning riders when horse riding lessons are out of the question or to complement an existing riding instructor...

Hi Shelley

I think it is fantastic idea. When you say you're "creating a virtual coach/instructor program", does that mean it will be electronic rather than a printed book. If so then some of the graphical suggestions that have been suggested in the above posts could be demonstrated in a short video via a link. It will certainly be different to all the other printed books that are available.