Calvin as Teacher

This weekend Calvin doubled as a lesson horse! You may be thinking "what? A 4 year old mustang as a lesson horse for beginners? You are crazy!" Well, you'd be right. But I only have one horse and if you want your boyfriend to learn how to ride, you have to make due with what you have! 

That being said, I've been teaching beginners how to ride since I was 14. I actually really enjoy teaching horseback riding, something about watching the lesson click in someone's mind is really awesome. I would have actually enjoyed teaching riding as a career, but I have no desire to be competitive and such, I can't charge enough to make a living. Plus, most horse trainers have a reputation as being borderline. The horse world itself often is so toxic that I didn't want to be a part of it. I could write a novel about all the personalities I've experienced with trainers...but not in this setting. Therefore, teaching has become something more of a hobby for close friends and family. 

Now there's riding a horse, and then there's riding a horse. The former being where you jump on, learn to stay on, and voila. The latter is having a formal and sophisticated understanding of the horse, its mind and body, and how you influence the horse to form a partnership that makes the horse happy to do what you ask. Obviously, this deeper engagement is what I strive for and what I teach. 

Therefore, when teaching beginners the fundamentals for English riding, I teach the "proper" way to ride. First, how to hold your position at the walk: tall and straight upper body, heels down, and soft hands (aka soft steering and stopping). Mainly, how to increase balance and position to keep you on the horse. 

Here's a video of the boyfriend learning how to post. Posting is rising out of the saddle in rhythm with the horse's trot, ideally you should be standing when the horse's outside leg (one closest to the arena fencing) is forward. This is known as the correct diagonal. Anyway, first you have to learn to rise with the horse's rhythm, it uses lots of inner thigh/calf muscles and is much harder than it looks. Honestly, this is the hardest stage in riding because you have so many things you need to be doing. Gripping with legs, sitting up tall, steering, heels down, not pulling the horse's face, etc. 

J is on the lunge line here because then he can focus purely on his position and legs without having to steer. Also, I have Calvin in side reins so he's getting a lesson too by learning how to reach down and into the bit. Also, it keeps Calvin focused and busy, got to keep baby brain working. Although having Calvin's head this low does make him more "downhill" and hence a tendency for the rider to fall forward, but J is doing a good job regardless. 

Overall J was just starting to get the hang of the post before his muscles gave up haha. Also, he really needs breeches and boots before advancing further. Both from a safety standpoint as well as comfort. In case you're still confused on what posting is supposed to look like, here is an older video (Jan I believe?) of Calvin and me at the trot. It's very easy when you've been doing it for 14 years, but we all start from the same place :)