Why Bother Taking Lessons

Jec Aristotle Ballou - Lesson in Portugal

This article accompanies my chat with Jec Aristotle Ballou on 3/16/23. This is the link to that chat. Why Bother Taking Lessons The first part of our chat was dedicated to Jec’s recent experiences in Portugal where she had 2 weeks of intensive, twice a day lessons. She described the benefits of learning to ride movements on horses who are already trained to perform them compared to struggling, as many of us do, trying to teach our horses what we ourselves are still learning. This is a good reason to take lessons on a school horse we can learn from, so we can then bring what we’ve learned back to our own horses. Jec found the Portuguese horses (mostly stallions) exceptionally fit, happy in their work, and well socialized with people and with each other, even though they do not have land for turnout, and their stalls are small by our (US) standards. They are, however, exercised twice a day, normally in the company of other horses. Their work is varied and challenging. This is a powerful reminder that attending to horses’ physical and emotional needs is more important than their physical facilities.
Lessons on any horse have great benefits. Most of us are asymmetric or unbalanced in some way, forcing horses to compensate for us at their own expense. Cues often are not as clear as we think they are. While you're thinking about the cue you mean to give, other parts of your body are often doing things you aren't aware of, though the horse is! Most riders carry tension. Both tension and imbalance take a toll on our bodies, making us less secure and more vulnerable to a fall. They also require our bodies to compensate which creates unnecessary stress and pain. Improving our own balance and communication can solve many issues that appear to be horse behavior problems. Imagine carrying a child piggyback. Remember how you feel every little bump, wiggle, and lean? Now imagine yourself in your horse's place, feeling every move you make. Plus a bit in your mouth or a bitless bridle putting pressure on some sensitive part of your face or head. You would surely appreciate a rider who was well-balanced and gave whisper soft cues!

Lynn and Bronzz shoulder-in

One of the greatest benefits is that good lessons can solve many "horse" problems. Riding lessons are much cheaper than sending a horse to a trainer, and much less traumatic than selling a horse you'd really like to keep. I am amazed how often I solve a problem with my horse by adjusting my riding. I had a dramatic lesson in this the summer I was 13, and my main mount was a blue-eyed piebald (black and white) pony named Apache. I had a bad habit of constantly readjusting my reins. I was told before I got on him that Apache disliked that. “If you fiddle with your reins, he will buck you off.” Best guess, I hit the ground about 10 times that summer. No one ever suggested that Apache had a bucking problem. The implicit message was that he had a right to expect his rider to be considerate of his mouth. A phrase I often heard was, “It’s never the horse; it’s always the rider.” Once I learned to keep my hands steady and quiet, I thoroughly enjoyed riding Apache. Every horse I’ve ridden since then has benefited from the lesson he taught me. Such challenges don’t go away with experience; they just get more subtle. Fast forward (quite) a few decades. I wondered why Bronzz and I struggled with his right lead, and he routinely drifted right. I had my answer when I took a clinic with Wendy Murdoch, a whiz at body mechanics. She had me dismount and sit on a large exercise ball. It shot right out from under me, and I landed on the floor. I was sitting heavier on my right seat bone than the left. This explained Bronzz’s confusion with my signals and (far worse) why his chiropractor routinely found his back sore on the right. I’ve been riding for 60 years, and been a Certified Riding Instructor for nearly 30. I still take lessons at every opportunity. Even if I didn’t love learning, which I do, I owe it to my horse. For tips that you don’t typically get in riding lessons, see What Horses Really Want. Chapter 19 is “Being a Considerate Rider: 13 Ways to Become the Rider Horses Want to Carry."

Where to buy What Horses really Want:
Amazon
Horse and Rider Books
It is also available in Polish from Galaktyka