So you have decided you want to buy a horse and become a horseback rider. Where do you start? Welcome to the wonderful world of horses! If you wanted to ride a motorcycle, where would you begin? Learning to ride the motorcycle, or building one from scratch? Riding a horse is very similar to riding a motorcycle in many respects, except the motorcycle usually has an “off” button. But some horses haven’t had their “off” button programmed in yet. A very young, or older but untrained horse has not been fully trained to stop on command, for instance. And the term “green horse, green rider” is describing a combination that is an accident waiting to happen, or at least, terrible frustration for both.

The logical place to start with horses is your own self. You need a “riding instructor” to teach you how to “operate” a trained horse, even before you start horse shopping. You need to learn how to use your body in a balanced manner. You need to learn how to talk to the horse, giving it commands in body language that it has been trained to understand and to respond to. Most of all, you need someone to give you confidence as you ride so that the horse can trust your commands as coming from a “herd leader”. You need someone who can help you be an assertive rider and to speak clearly with your body.

Often the term “riding instructor” and “horse trainer” are used interchangeably. And often, each can do both, but each usually has a focus. One focuses on the training of the horse, and one on the training of the rider, preparing them to ride a trained horse, and eventually even partially finish training on their own horse. For your safety, and enjoyment of your new passion, find a riding instructor first, then keep your eyes and ears open for recommended horse trainers that you can trust, and turn to when the horse seriously gets in the picture. Riding a horse is very similar to riding a motorcycle in many respects, except the motorcycle usually has an “off” button. But some horses haven’t had their “off” button programmed in yet. A very young, or older but untrained horse has not been fully trained to stop on command, for instance. And the term “green horse, green rider” is describing a combination that is an accident waiting to happen, or at least, terrible frustration for both.

The logical place to start with horses is your own self. You need a “riding instructor” to teach you how to “operate” a trained horse, even before you start horse shopping. You need to learn how to use your body in a balanced manner. You need to learn how to talk to the horse, giving it commands in body language that it has been trained to understand and to respond to. Most of all, you need someone to give you confidence as you ride so that the horse can trust your commands as coming from a “herd leader”. You need someone who can help you be an assertive rider and to speak clearly with your body.

Often the term “riding instructor” and “horse trainer” are used interchangeably. And often, each can do both, but each usually has a focus. One focuses on the training of the horse, and one on the training of the rider, preparing them to ride a trained horse, and eventually even partially finish training on their own horse. For your safety, and enjoyment of your new passion, find a riding instructor first, then keep your eyes and ears open for recommended horse trainers that you can trust, and turn to when the horse seriously gets in the picture.