Planning to Start Taking Western or Dressage Riding Lessons?

Western and English riding lessons tend to be expensive--financially, emotionally, and physically--so my first recommendation is to be absolutely certain you have a suitable instructor. That means finding a person who is not only knowledgeable but focused on rider safety. My ideal first instructor has a calm, trusted longe horse confirmed in all three basic gaits. Group lessons and/or individual lessons may work well for intermediate riders, but a true beginner is better off not having to worry about guiding a horse while struggling to develop a solid, independent seat. Finding someone who can provide even a month or two of longe lessons gets a neophyte rider off to a stronger, less stressful start. 

The oldest student I started was a PhD psychologist who took his first riding lesson when he was 65. He moved away after only a few months on the longe, but he was already confidently using the reins and walking and trotting my longe mare with me acting only as a fail-safe at the end of the longe line. While fairly rare in the US, the Spanish Riding School still puts riders on the longe for many months, and even US Olympic riders often take regular longe lessons. A skilled instructor with a sharp eye can stop problems from becoming hard-to-break bad habits.   

As a person who taught herself the basics on a green horse and who fifty some years on still suffers from some seat faults because of that, I put choosing the right instructor at the top of my list. Again, it's impossible to underestimate the potentially devastating effects of even small seat faults.Given the importance of a correct and independent seat, knowing how to interview and select a potential riding instructor then becomes perhaps the largest obstacle in learning to ride correctly and safely. 

Luckily, reading some good books on teaching riding can help avoid choosing an unsuitable instructor. First on my list is Jan Dawson's Teaching Safe Horsemanship. She provides advice invaluable for instructors, advice that can also serve as a template for the beginner to use as a checklist to rate prospective instructors. If an instructor doesn't follow most of her advice, I would look elsewhere. Of course, there will be some divergence. I, for example, teach my horses and students to be comfortable working from either the right or left sides. Leading and mounting from the left side is however European tradition dating back to the time men wore swords, so I warn students to expect most other horses to be used to left handling only. However, those who want to ride a horse in Japan will find horses there are worked from the right side because ancient Japanese warriors wore their swords on their backs. Sometimes knowing trivia can prevent problems.

Reading's a good way to pick up both trivia and general principles. Good and great books on equitation abound, so picking the few to start off can be a challenge. Ericka Prockl's Learning to Ride As an Adult: A New Training Method for First-Time Riders could be a good place to start since an actual horse isn't necessary. Her book and an exercise ball can start the horseless student toward a correct, secure seat. Exercise balls give an essential feel--and one can easily watch TV or videos while sitting on one! If available, a mechanical horse is also a wonderful tool. I wish I could afford one, but they're usually found only in big riding centers. They're the ultimate in safety and convenience. Three keywords--mechanical horse simulator--bring up some great videos on  YouTube.

One of my favorite riding masters teaches by starting her students on a mechanical horse she helped design. I've given copies of Heather Moffett's Enlightened Equitation: Riding in True Harmony with Your Horse to several of my students. Moffett, while a fully certified British Horse Society instructor, goes beyond their theory and may be considered a bit of a renegade by some because she touts the pelham bit over the snaffle for most riders. While I tout bitless over bit, both of us have the same reasoning--the comfort and posture of the horse as well as the safety of the rider.

Moffett's Facebook page also serves as a wonderful discussion forum, as does that of another English riding master: Sylvia Loch & The Classical Riding Club. I've found the discussions on these two sites to be extremely high quality. In fact, some absolutely top level authorities, including Olympic riders post in these forums. Another Internet resource I use is YouTube. By sheer accident, I found Warwick Schiller there. I recommend pretty much all of his videos because he uses the least force of any reining horse trainer I've ever seen and he starts his horses bridleless. For a sample, I recommend "Bits for Bolting Horses"  and "Teaching Collection to People."

One of the few horsemen I've met with a real sense of humor, Schiller's also a keen observer of people as well as horses and a clear interpreter of the theories of the inimitable but often opaque western horseman Tom Dorrance.  For sheer fun, I also recommend his "Harlem Shake with Horses." He also has DVDs and a subscription video service that's heavy on hows and whys rather than the promotion of a line of gear. 

As to books, dozens of great books on equitation exist. For a short list, I'll recommend  a few. Mary Wanless's Ride with Your Mind Essentials: Innovative  Learning Strategies for Basic Riding Skills offers a straightforward, well illustrated overview. Wanless also talks about breathing, a powerful riding tool and something most masters of the past likely used without any conscious awareness. For those wanting more detail on, I'll slight Seunig and a number of other 20th C. German masters whose books have helped me and mention Wilhelm Mueseler's Riding Logic instead. Although Mueseler was not a classically trained rider, his Riding Logic provides a clear and relatively brief introduction to the intricate world of German riding theory. For an even better one volume work on classical riding, The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky of the Spanish Riding School still tops my list.  

Podhajsky's my hero. Although I haven't cracked _Complete Training_ in years, I reread his My Horses, My Teachers not that long ago and realized how profoundly it had affected how I work with horses. It did not teach me to ride, but it taught me the fundamentals of how to train horses--no force, lots of analysis, lots of reward. Podhajsky and my first difficult horse convinced me to stop riding with a snaffle. My students spend their first year or two riding bitless. When they're advanced enough to graduate to a snaffle, I often hear them say, "Why?" 

For many pleasure riders, bitless provides all they need. So far, not much is published on riding bitless, and even some experienced riders don't know how severe some bitless rigs are. Right now, most information on bitless riding comes instructors and the Internet. Aside from natural horsemen like Schiller and Pat Parelli who demonstrate their methods, few other widely available resources exist. Facebook has bitless forums. Web sites such as LightRider Bitless Bridles exist. Hmmm. I may have to write a book on bitless work.

Good luck learning to ride!

Captain Meyer of the Meyer Remount Farm

One of the most influential riding instructors I had was an old cavalry officer.  When I started taking beginner lessons from him many decades ago, he was quite old--his 80s I later discovered--and extremely crotchety. Several people warned me to expect yelling, swearing, and little concern for the comfort or mental health of the rider.

For the first few lessons, I found him exactly as described. I also discovered I had about as much aptitude for jumping as I did for playing the piano: next to none.

Since Captain Meyer taught jumping, this was frustrating for all involved, but one day things changed.  Captain Meyer was loudly badgering me because I was refusing a small coop. Captain Meyer knew I was causing the refusals, not his mare. I knew this too, but under his yelling, my tension increased with each effort. Finally, I did the totally unthinkable. Near tears, I turned my head and snapped, "You wouldn't treat me like this if I were one of your Thoroughbreds."

To my surprise, he didn't curse.  He instantly softened his voice. I don't remember his exact words, but his voice soothed and soft directions provided confidence and the timing. The mare and I trotted in circles a few times as he talked me calm. Then he had me approach the jump. His words urged and encouraged, his tone saying "Easy, easy, easy now. Now FLY." And his mare and I sailed over the little coop.

After that, Captain Meyer never yelled at me again.  Even when he barked instructions from a distance, I could hear encouragement in his tone. I still had no talent, but I became a favorite student of his, and he became my first memorable instructor.

I'll always remember him sitting neat and stern on Native, his tall, mobile lectern.

Legal Documents for Riding Instructors

Most people who teach riding or allow instructors to give riding lessons on their property already know the importance of legal protection in the form of lesson releases. Some have codes of conduct, but here I’m going to suggest that even these may not go far enough. I propose that those who give riding lessons should ask their students and the parents of students to read and sign that they understand a list of commonly used and/or idiosyncratic terms they are likely to hear during their lessons, their children’s lessons, or in discussions with an instructor about lessons. I’ve found from personal experience that horsemen without all three of these open themselves up to anything from bitter misunderstandings to serious lawsuits.

THE LESSON RELEASE

The bare minimum is a lesson release. Any rider, whether it’s his first time on a horse or her fourth Olympic competition, can end up injured or even dead. Ignorant survivors of the most ordinary sort of accident are likely to sue. Ignorant kin of those who've had fatal accidents are even more likely to sue.

Before I allow a human on one of my horses I require a signed release. I drew up mine based on my knowledge of riding, and I had my attorney husband review it before I presented it to anyone for signing.
Anyone teaching riding needs to be as bulletproof as possible because, even with a signed release, some people will sue. For example, here’s a unpublished--except on the Internet!--Vermont Superior court case opinion as an illustration showing what can happen. Click on the title for more. Here, I’ve edited a bit and cleaned up typos.

Gorlin V. Jacobson

Ventura County Superior Court

2005 WL 3163537

Unpublished Opinion

November 29, 2005

Plaintiff Gorlin was injured during a riding lesson when her already bucking horse was caused to stop abruptly. Plaintiff fell when owner’s daughter ran at the horse shouting “whoa.” Court held that falling from horse was within those risks contemplated by the release.

Thankfully for Sweet Spot Farms, the judge in the Superior Court ruled in their favor, citing previous cases and adding, “The prospect that Gorlin's horse might encounter an animal or a person that would influence its behavior was something any rider could reasonably anticipate.”

Hallelujah.

However, even though the defendants were awarded costs, they had to go through a lot of time and agony. Furthermore, the plaintiffs were definitely out of pocket for the whole thing, and, most likely, they still think the horse should have been an automaton, not a well-trained horse who stopped on command.

Aside: Did anyone else reading this opinion wonder what the rider’s actual position was when the horse stopped? I’m betting she was neither sitting deep nor sitting back as she should have been on a bucking horse. How many times have I called out "Sit back!" and watched a rider curl forward? Sigh.

CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT

The second legal form I recommend is a Code of Student Conduct. For example, Serenity Farm of Texas integrates a section of Rules and Policies into their Lesson Contract.

Here are some rules of Serenity Farms:

3. Respect the instructor—no arguing.

13. No loud noises or running. These actions can spook a horse and cause serious injury/death to that horse and/or student.

22. Please be responsible and treat the horse and equipment as if it were your own

[I’m going to rewrite this one because some students really do treat the horse and equipment as if it were their own, and they’re wearing month old shoes that are already torn up. Much of my equipment is over forty years old and in exquisite condition. I want my students to treat my tack like I treat it.]

24. Failure to follow the rules and guidelines of Serenity Farms can result in removal from a lesson or permanently.

27. By signing this contract, you (student/parent) agree to adhere to the rules and policies set forth. However, instructor/owner has the right to remove student at any time if any infractions are made toward this contract including a parental conflict at any time.

Reading these points, I sighed deeply. My guess is that these folks have had some of the same experiences I have. Through my thirty years as an instructor, I’ve taught many wonderful people, children and adults. I’m still in contact with many by phone, in person, or by email, and those now living in other states often stop by if they are visiting my area. Unfortunately, it’s the few negative experiences that haunt me. My Swifthorse rant of 13 February 2009 details some of those.

Some unfortunate incidents are, of course, inevitable. It’s simply impossible to anticipate everything. However, I now suggest that there’s a new way to anticipate at least some of them: Add a glossary of terms to your list of legal documents.

THE GLOSSARY OF INSTRUCTIONAL TERMS

Good instructors always explain the principles of riding and define concepts before, during, and after lessons, but not everyone hears or understands. To help prevent this, I suggest riding instructors prepare a list of possibly confusing horsey terms that students and parents are likely to hear from them during lessons or discussions. Sadly, I’ve discovered some ordinary words often mean one thing to horsemen and another to the rest of the world. This can lead to grievous misunderstandings.

So far, I have not found anything online like the glossary of terms I suggest. Basic lists of horsey terms are available, but many are rudimentary at best, for example, saddlery terms, gaits, that sort of thing. The list I suggest will be more specific, more idiosyncratic. Although many of the terms will be ordinary horseman’s jargon, some may be unique to one instructor; others may be terms used within a specialty field.

Since every instructor’s list will likely be different, I suggest instructors jot down any term they have ever had problems with in the past lessons or discussions. No instructor should assume riding students or parents of riding students will intuitively understand horseman’s usage and be on the same page. It’s more likely they don’t yet own a copy of the same book.

Sometimes even experienced horsemen work from different books. For example, several decades ago, I foolishly allowed a local “trainer” to ride my Arabian stallion. I watched in dismay as what should have been a simple circle went horribly wrong. I said, “Half halt” and waited for results. The situation got worse. Raising my voice, I said, “Half halt!” Instead of saying something halfway reasonable like “Which rein?” this “trainer” looked up from my horse’s ears, which were by now alarmingly close to the guy’s nose, and said, “What do you mean? Just stop for second?”

This situation was my fault. I failed to ask him if he was familiar with dressage terms before I allowed him to sit on my poor horse. If I had asked him, he never would have gotten on, and my stallion would have been spared a nasty few minutes.

So anyone who teaches or talks about horses needs to sit down and think both of specialty words like half halt and of even more dangerous words where everyone understands the standard use but is likely ignorant of a variant or non-standard use typical of horsemen. Preparing such a list may take a while, and most of us will be adding to ours over the days, months, and years. No matter how short or long, the list may come in handy.

I also suggest that anyone teaching children make sure parents read and sign that they’ve read and understood this personal glossary. Trying to teach students with highly protective, non-horsey parents creates a whole new set of problems for a riding instructor. For example, here are my definitions for two words now prominent in my glossary:

Monster: noun. Any person, place, or thing that spooks a horse; any action emanating from objects animate, inanimate, or imaginary that might spook a horse.

Recently, I saw a non-horsey father nearly shaking with rage because he’d heard an instructor had called his child “a monster.”

Actually, this term is not at all uncommon among horsemen. Anyone who’s talked to a few riders has probably heard stories about the plastic bag “monster” or the running child “monster.” In fact, here’s an example of the term in use. The source is the January 2010 Equus, page 53:

Respect: verb. To respond instantly and appropriately to a clear, established cue or command. Applies equally to horse and student.

A schooled horse shows respect by moving away from the pressure of a rider’s leg. A schooled horse shows respect by stopping upon hearing “whoa.”  When a frightened, clutching student loosens the reins in response to an instructor’s command, that student respects the knowledge of the instructor—and possibly avoids injury or even death for rider, horse, or both.

For an example, I again post a link to the YouTube video “Bolt.” I love this video because I teach using Thoroughbreds and Arabs--hot and hotter. My horses are kind and responsive. They are so because I try to keep students off their mouths. Even after months on a lounge line, most students will still be heavy-handed, so it's vital they respect my commands and loosen when I say loosen--lest they DIE.

As a further example, a couple of years ago, I dismissed a student on multiple grounds after several futile attempts to explain the problems to the mother over a period of months. At the end of my rope, patience, and expertise, and fearing my kindest TB was at the end of his rope—literally--I offered the mother the fundamental reason for the dismissal. I said, the student “doesn’t respect me.” I meant the student would or could not follow my commands and was ending up in more and more dangerous situations.  

The mother, however, replied calmly, “Of course she respects you. She quotes you all the time at home.” She then added, “Couldn’t she at least come out and ride [my kindest TB]?”

I just stood there flummoxed. It took me a long time to realize what caused the level of disconnect the two of us experienced. I like to think a glossary might have helped.

In any event, it can’t hurt to compile, hand out, or post such a list somewhere around the barn. The horse and mind you save may be your own. Better yet, make it a legal document, separate or part of your total lesson contract. The time and money you save could be yours, too.

"Stop Pulling! Stop Pulling!!"

I just watched this video of a bolting horse and I felt like I was channeling this rider's instructor, mouthing her words, feeling her concern.

Although I can't quite tell what started the bolt on this video, it's quite common for beginner riders to go off balance and tip forward after even a small jump. In fact, it's an inevitable part of learning, but more serious problems then arise because a horse understands leaning forward as a request for more speed. English riding instructor Heather Moffett, cleverly and appropriately, calls this curled position the "fatal crouch." The situation typically becomes even worse when the rider tries to slow down the horse by pulling. Again, it's a natural response. People instinctively want to bend forward to protect their soft bellies and to use their hands to force a stop. Unfortunately, this clashes with the horses' instincts to go faster when humans tip forward and to flee in terror when people grab and pull at their mouths. So, if a rider wants a recipe for a bolt here it is: Lean forward and pull.

Anyone wanting to see how experienced riders slow a horse down has only to watch a televised horse race. After the finish line, how do jockeys slow and stop their horses? Do they crouch and hang on tight? Hardly. That's what they did to get their mounts to try to break the sound barrier. To slow and stop, they stand straight up and slowly lengthen the reins.

Going back to the video, it also shows how pulling can also cause a horse to rear. This far more dangerous situation is from seconds 30 through 38 on the video. The horse had stopped, but the rider's adrenalized tension and lack of experience likely caused her to pull when the horse fidgeted. Luckily, this rider respected her instructor enough to follow her instruction to "stop pulling." Almost anyone who's ever taken a riding lesson understands how much bravery and discipline it takes to surrender to instruction and respond appropriately when the body is screaming clutch the reins and hang on for dear life.

Learning to disregard instincts is among the most difficult challenges for a rider. This is one reason my students typically spend months and months on the longe. And even when they go off the longe line, they ride in bosal hackamores or natural horsemanship halters for a long time before their introduction to the snaffle. A beginner can do enough damage with even a halter, but my no-bits-for-beginners policy helps keep my horses sane and,in turn, keeps my students safer. Meanwhile, they learn that even riding with a halter means working on lightness.

It takes a couple of years to develop a good seat, but it's generally a lot longer before a rider grasps--pun intended--the limited role of hands in good riding.

Who Are You? -- Part One

The English have this proverb: "Show me your horse and I will tell you who you are." Still one of the best lines I've ever heard, it deserves several posts on the history, psychology, politics, ethics, and meditative aspects of horsemanship.

I'll start with a personal story. My husband grew up in a wealthy Southern enclave, a place where women wore gloves and hats to shop and not just on Sunday. He once described his hometown as a place where people could live long, full lives without ever knowing what others thought of them. This most likely describes the ideal of a community where gatherings were superficial or politely guarded to promote a tolerant yet non-intimate type of social harmony. Such an ideal is, alas, far less likely between those brought up in less proper communities, and almost impossible between horse and rider where the horse will be direct and honest even if the rider isn't. In other words, the intimate relationship between horse and rider reveals the inner self whether the rider knows it or not. Aside from basic horsemanship skills, this relationship shows our ability to communicate, our basic assumptions on the use of force, fairness, reciprocity, and a whole bunch of other things. In short, it shows much about our personalities and even our politics.

Of course a few riders of extreme patience and skill avoid too many awkward and intimate revelations of their flaws and those of their horses. These few make themselves and their mounts look good no matter what problems they’ve encountered. I’ve seen some examples. A local woman regularly exhibits a Shire at the local county fair. In his early years, she rode him as both a dressage horse and a western reining horse. And now, showing him as an exhibition horse, she still makes a member of the coldest of the cold breeds look light and easy! On the international level, Many years ago, I watched a televised interview with veteran eventer J. Michael Plumb where he complained how dull and uninterestingly unpleasant his Olympic mount Bluestone was. I was surprised. Watching him on the cross-country course, I would have sworn they were a happy, harmonious pair. Those who have been lucky enough to see Reiner Klimke's victory lap with the heralded seventy-five consecutive flying changes on the once notoriously difficult Ahlerich will know what I mean. Such tactful, persistent skill in riders is rare indeed. At the very least, it shows a nearly miraculous connection with a horse. At best, it may well show the most noble, patient aspects of a human being.

Most of us can expect our horses to tell the world—at least the world of horsemen—exactly who we are. Non-horseman may argue with this. In fact, one of my daily vocabulary emails arrived just now with this as the daily quotation:

         The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older
         and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete,
         gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never
         attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not
         brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught
         with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of
         the splendor and travail of the earth.
                        -Henry Beston, naturalist and author (1888-1968).

With the horse, Beston was wrong. While most of the elements Beston describes are true, the horse did not arrive “finished and complete.” Man selected and shaped the horse, and, for better or worse, that selection and shaping of the species and finally the development of specific breeds, for work, for war, and for display, allowed man to spread across the world and dominate the earth. This shaping and developing also reveals much about the people who changed horses and horsemanship

That's what I want to talk about over the next series of posts.

Kendell's Leg

Kendell was just trotting around on my OTTB when I snapped these. Most are fuzzy, but as I sifted through them, I realized how consistently lovely Kendell's leg position is. As her instructor, I'm taking total credit for this.

Relaxed Riders

Kendell on Red after a ride



Erica on Razz during a dramatic strikeoff

A Rant Moved from My Farm Site to This Obscure Blog

"Lessons? Why? It's Just Like Sittin' in a Chair, Isn't It?"

Do you train people to ride horses or horses to be ridden? If so, how do you react when someone who has revealed an ignorance of ANY type or school of equitation says, "Can I ride your horse?"

Are you a casual rider with little or no formal schooling? Have you ever asked someone who lives and breathes horses, "Can I ride your horse?" Ever get an evasive or downright hostile response?

For the trainers, I suggest this line by long dead British horseman Colonel M. F. McTaggart: "I can guarantee that a horse is perfectly schooled. I cannot guarantee that anyone else can ride him."

For the casual riders, I suggest pondering another McTaggart gem: "Most people do not ride; they are conveyed."

The suggestion of LESSONS leaves many non-horsemen perplexed. While otherwise informed and intelligent, too many are totally unaware of the spectrum of aids and cues, theories and schools, all of which focus on how to get horses to do as we wish.

Many tell me they don't want lessons because they "just" want to ride my horses for "fun." As if I ride because it makes me miserable?

Typically, these folks just don't know that experienced riders use subtle aids and cues. Furthermore, they simply don't know what could happen if they were to make the wrong moves. For example, lean forward and clutch the reins on Lion. He's a model trail horse for those with a basic dressage or western seat, but he also raced for five years. Consider jockey position, then guess what he might do if someone went into a crouch and took a strong hold on the reins. He still LOVES to run and would probably hit 35 miles an hour within a couple of strides.

How could that lean and clutch happen? When something unexpected happens--for example when a horse spooks at a piece of plastic--instinct curls surprised, frightened people into the fetal position to protect their bellies. Unfortunately, this's a good way to invoke a runaway even on a horse that wasn't a professional racer. British riding instructor Heather Moffett refers to this reaction as the "fatal crouch."

Instincts do not make us good horsemen. For most of us, it's learning to override our instincts that makes us good horsemen. We learn to relax and stay with the moment and the movement. Easily said, not easily done.

Horses are prey animals and hence prone to sudden defensive movements. Hot-blooded horses like Arabs and Thoroughbreds can turn this into an art form. I still remember Razz suddenly lurching about fifty feet down a hill when I was on a trail ride. To my surprise, when I finally pulled myself upright--with my abs, NOT the reins--he immediately dropped back to a walk. He trusted my assessment that whatever frightened him didn't frighten me, so he relaxed.

So my conclusion is that most people who ask "Can I ride your horse?" have simply never ridden a hot or highly trained horse. In short, many think lessons are unnecessary because have "ridden" dull-sided, dead-mouthed automatons, the type found on dude strings. Others have been lucky enough to have been hauled around by someone's saintly packer. Or maybe they once put a quarter in the mechanical horse outside K-Mart.

For whatever reasons, all too many people think that riding a horse is simpler than riding a bicycle. After all, on a bicycle, a person has to pedal, while on a horse all a person has to do is sit there. It's just like sitting in a chair, right?

Uh, no. It's not. But how do you tell someone who's never really RIDDEN a horse?

I keep trying to find the perfect analogy. So far, this is the best I've found for the "Can I ride your horse" question:

"I've flown United, Southwest, and many other airlines. I love to fly. Can I take up your Cessna (or Stearman or Tomcat)? I mean, flying, how hard can it be?"

Imagine photo of ambulances and/or flaming wreckage here.


HERE ARE SOME RESPONSES I'VE GOTTEN AFTER SUGGESTING RIDING LESSONS.

Please bear in mind, most of these people have graduate degrees and otherwise show sense, intelligence, and reason.

"How hard can it be? You keep one leg on each side, kick to go, and pull to stop."

"Oh, I took some lessons when I was a teenager [thirty years ago], so I don't need any more."

"I assure you, I connect well with animals. We'll get along fine."

"When I was a kid, I rode every summer at my uncle's ranch. I know horses."

"The counselor at my Girl Scout camp [maybe twenty years ago] said I was a natural."

"I only want to go on a little trail ride. That's not asking much, is it?"

"Jay Leno said the idea of riding lessons was ridiculous." [Leno did. I watched the program.]



SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET IT

One of these "How hard can it be?" people visted me on the weekend of the Rocky Mountain Dressage Championships. After arriving, she went with me to view the upper level championships. I was sighing at the level of expertise, but she, knowing nothing, was bored. I mean, circles and some funny slow trotting, how hard can it be?

The next morning, I put her on a longe horse. Within minutes, she was gasping at the difficulty of balance and timing at the trot. That night, we went back to the dressage championships where the lower levels were being judged. After one longe session, my visitor was clutching my arm, saying, "How are they doing that?! That's IMPOSSIBLE!"

I facetiously told her it was done with mirrors. Inside joke. Horses indeed mirror their owners and riders, but this is beyond the scope of this rant.

MY WORST EXPERIENCE AS A RIDING INSTRUCTOR

In the early 1980s, shortly after I first started taking on students who weren't friends or neighbors, I got a phone call from a mother who wanted riding lessons for her daughter. Her daughter, she said, was "an expert western rider" who now wanted to learn English as well.

I probably should have been concerned when the woman showed up with a seventeen year old girl, not a twelve year old, but I wasn't. I prepared my longe horse and from the ground did a basic safety orientation with the young woman. Everything seemed OK.

Then she mounted the horse. Within seconds, I could see she was a total beginner and shortened the longe rein. The poor girl looked fit enough but was incredibly clumsy even with the horse at a slow walk. With the mother hovering at the fence, I asked the girl where she'd ridden. She said she'd had two whole weeks at a dude camp a year before.

I gulped and continued a beginner-beginner lesson. After a few minutes, I thought things were going a bit better, so I asked the girl to grasp the neck rope and try to balance in two-point/galloping position. With my horse barely moving, the girl lost her balance and fell backward, crashing onto his croup, causing him to flinch forward about two feet. The girl slid off his rear and landed hard on her back.

Luckily, she was not injured. But her mother started ranting that this was my fault because her daughter was "an expert western rider"--she actually said this again--and if she "had the reins, this wouldn't have happened." I thought to myself that if she'd had reins, the horse might well have gone over on her even though he was bitless, but merely said that I didn't think I was a good fit as a teacher for her daughter.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they pulled out of the driveway, and I went into the house to make a list of things to ask potential students in the future.

A DELIGHTFUL SUCCESS

Around the same time that the "expert western rider" showed up, a young man came down our lane on a borrowed horse, a Half Arab gelding belonging to my first student. (The student's brother had without permission loaned his friend her horse, but that's another story.) This young man was extremely frustrated because he couldn't get the gelding to go where he wanted. Knowing the pony had become utterly pushbutton, I asked him what cues he was using. The young man looked at me and said, "Cues?"

I explained the basic principles and he looked like he'd been hit by lightning. He'd ridden broncs for fun in high school and had wrangled at dude ranches. But he still had no idea that horses could be TRAINED to respond to subtleties.

I got on the pony, cantered a figure-eight with a simple change, halted, and backed a couple of steps--all on a loose rein. At this point, the young man wanted to know HOW I was doing this.

All instructors should have a student like this at least once. He was incredibly athletic. As a former bronc rider, sitting a horse was no problem at all. He just wanted the basics of equitation and some theory, so he took only about six lessons from me, but by then he looked better than many riders ever do.

But that's not the best part of this story.

Quite a while later, I ran into him again, and he told me he and a friend had visited the ranch of a Paso Fino breeder and he'd asked--you guessed it--"Can I ride one of your horses?"

When the breeder said no, he responded with "Oh, I understand. Your horses probably work off totally different cues than the ones I know." Hearing the magic words, she smiled, told him her cues, and put him up on one of her horses. He said he had a wonderful ride.

A wonderful ride. On a horse trained in a different school. This is still one of the best things I've ever heard.

Then there are those of us who have worked at riding and realize we are still limited. A long time ago, I had a delightful conversation with a gaited horse trainer. Since I knew little about training gaited horses and he knew little about dressage theory, we ended up explaining our systems.

When I explained how I used my legs, seat, shoulders, and abs to stop a horse, he said, "Do that on one of mine, and it'll bolt."

When he explained his method of using his hands, I said, "Do that on one of mine, and you'll probably have ears in your teeth."

He ended up giving me a brief lesson on one of his horses. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I fretted the whole time, trying to keep my legs away and my hands in a position they'd never occupied before. The horse was beautifully schooled for saddle seat. I wasn't.

In short, there's no one "right" way to signal a horse to do something. Aids--natural pressures from hand, leg, seat or artificial pressures from whip and spurs--inspire universal responses, but these can be blunted or extinguished when a rider fails to reward the the horse. Cues, the conditioned responses, can be anything, but they need to be understood by both horse and rider. For example, I love telling my students about the highly individualized anti-theft cues installed by the Bedouins. For example, an individual mare might be conditioned to put forth her best speed only when the rider touched her right ear and yelled, "Allah be praised!!"

So my recommendation to anyone who wants to ride someone else's horse is to describe the type riding you've done and and then follow the lead of that young bronc rider and weave "What cues do you use?" into your request to ride.

If the horse owner is a good horseman, this question shows a level of awareness that could start a dialog that'll eventually get you on a horse. On the other hand, it might be a good idea to back away slowly if the horse owner says, "Cues?" If there's anything more worrisome than an untrained rider, it's an untrained horse owner.