Horse Lesson Guide: The Most Important Factor No. #1 to buy the first horse for a beginner

I cannot stress this enough… YOUR NUMBER PRIORITY IS YOUR CHILD’S SAFETY. One of the biggest mistakes parents make is buying the prettiest horse, or the horse that has won the most ribbons that ends up being too much of a horse for their beginner. You want to buy the most reliable horse you can find: a horse that is well trained, well mannered, with a calm disposition and a stable temperament. Your first horse should be so tame that almost anyone can ride it and be around it on the ground. If his first horse is too passionate or difficult to ride, your child will be scared of it, may lose confidence, become insecure and timid, and will soon stop enjoying the sport. This is important parents! Don’t fall victim to a salesman who wants to dazzle you with show records and a lot of glitz about how good his horse is. Instead, focus on a horse’s temperament.

Temperament is the most important factor to consider when looking for your first horse. You want a horse that will stand on its feet, completely impassive when the children run around it, yelling, jumping on it bareback, pulling its tail… you know… a horse that will put up with almost anything and won’t back down. will get angry No bad habits… no biting, no kicking, no hitting. For beginners, a lot of mistakes will be made! You don’t want to pay for those mistakes with a horse that won’t tolerate them. This first horse must have such a good character that your son will have no problem handling it. Of course, you’ll always want adult supervision, but your child should be comfortable catching him in the pasture, leading him down the barn alley, grooming him, carrying him, climbing on and riding him down the trail. He can’t be spoiled or sour. He can’t be creepy. Many times, this will be an older horse, who has been around the block with many children, who has become desensitized to his antics and is still kind and gentle with the children.

Even if you are not an expert, you will be able to notice many things that will tell you what type of temperament a horse has. How calm is the horse? Are you prancing around without paying attention to the guide? Are you looking around and scaring things? Does it respect handle space? Is he obedient when the guide asks him to do something? Does he stand still or kick and dance? Will he stay put to be groomed and fixed? Does it pinch its ears or rattle its tail when the cinch is tightened? Does he stand still for the rider to climb up, or does he step to the side, making it difficult to get his foot into the stirrup? Does the horse stop until the rider stands and asks him to move forward? Is he calm and sensitive to the rider?

ALWAYS have someone else mount the horse for you before loading your child. You may not want your child to ride, depending on what you see first. If the horse is creepy and poorly trained, don’t bother! Why take the risk? Also, if you ride a horse and you like it, I advise you to come back another day, when the owner is not expecting you so that you can be sure that the horse was not given some kind of calming agent. You’d be surprised what some sellers do to sell you a horse. Take this horse lesson very seriously!

For more information, visit www.trainahorse.com or www.howtotrainahorse.com