Everything you need to know about horse riding

Do you want to start riding and don't know where to start? No worries, you are exactly in the right place! In the following you will find a short introduction to the world of horse riding, everything you need to know about the first steps in this sport, but also the most important reasons that should convince you that it is good to get to know this completely special world, either and only for the benefits that horse riding has for health and physical form.

Horse riding - from dream to reality

Many people become interested in riding at one point or another in their lives, most of the time convinced by the incredible fantasy that riding represents. There are countless reasons why you can take up this sport. Below are just a few of them:

• The idea of ​​having an incredibly beautiful relationship with a 450 kg animal.
• The dream of becoming an Olympian.
• The image of you galloping across the plains with a gorgeous horse.
• The desire to join a riding club.

The possibilities are endless! However, leaving all this aside, it is absolutely essential to know your options and to know what to expect. Below is a basic guide to riding, where you will find everything from riding lessons to renting or buying a horse.

Riding lessons: how much do they cost?

One of the first things you should know when you decide to start on this path is the price of riding lessons in your area. If you live in a crowded city full of tall buildings and shops, the prices will probably be higher. If you live in a city full of farms or somewhere in the country, the prices will certainly be lower.

For a riding session at a club around Bucharest, the prices start from 70 lei for 30 minutes or 100 lei for 60 minutes in the beginner category and go up to 75 lei for 35 minutes or 135 lei for 60 minutes in the advanced category. The price of packages of 10 lessons starts from 650 lei for 10 lessons of 30 minutes each during the week and can reach up to 1650 lei for 10 lessons of 60 minutes each on the weekend.

Add to these costs the price of transport, because in general riding clubs are not located in cities, but on their outskirts, and sometimes the distance is not a problem, but the congestion that makes you lose hours in traffic.
If you are ready to bear these amounts plus the costs for the equipment, the first step has already been taken!

early

Better and more experienced riders probably have their own pony or horse and all the necessary equipment, but to start you won't need to have a horse of your own. Riding schools can give you training if you are a complete novice, but they are a real help even for the most confident and experienced riders. A riding school can help you feel the taste of this sport, offering you the necessary equipment as well as the horse.

Once you have chosen a riding school, it is very important to pay a visit there to see how you like it. If you cannot visit, call ahead and give the instructor some details about yourself, your height and previous experience. In this way, you will have prepared for the first lesson the horse that best suits your needs.

What to expect during a riding lesson

Riding lessons are extremely important to become a good rider. From the basics of riding to safety and mastering a difficult dressage test, the lessons help you with everything! They usually last somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes and can be addressed to between 1 and 4 people, depending on the type of lessons you will choose - group or individual.

Group lessons are a great way to start and can be much cheaper than private lessons, but not all clubs offer them. On the other hand, it is even easier to start horse riding with group lessons, so that the trainer's eyes are not only on you. In addition, if you have other people riding with you, you will learn arena etiquette more easily.

When you take your first riding lessons, you will learn, among other things:

• To put the saddle;
• To mount and dismount;
• To keep the direction;
• To impose the gallop and the slow walk;
• Postures and maintaining balance;
• To build adequate muscles.

Once you learn these aspects, you can start working on anything! Many riders decide to focus on a specific segment of riding, either on jumping, or on dressage, or on cross country, or on other areas.
Don't be afraid if you have to change coaches when you make this choice!

When you reach this stage, you will understand that if you want to focus on jumping, it will be best to have a coach with a lot of experience in this sector. It is not at all pleasant to leave your first coach and go to a new place, especially if the relationship with him is a very good one, but once you find the perfect coach for your segment, you will feel even happier.

The next step: renting a horse

You took riding lessons and enjoyed them a lot, but now you want more! You would rather have a connection with your horse and more freedom in terms of the exercises you do. This basically means that you want more time to ride, and given that it is very expensive to buy your own horse, there is also the perfect solution - renting a horse!

Contrary to what many people believe, you don't necessarily have to own a horse to ride without taking a riding course or paying for each ride. Renting a horse is in many places a popular and more accessible way to feel at least partially what it's like to "own" a horse. When you rent a horse, you usually agree to pay a certain part of the costs related to that horse - feed, vet, farrier - in exchange for the possibility to ride that horse.

If you pay half of the horse's expenses, you can expect to ride 3-4 days a week, while if you pay a quarter of the horse's expenses, you will probably be able to ride him 1-2 days a week, but the prices and the range of services varies from owner to owner. In some cases, the owners may even allow you to pay a fixed monthly fee, instead of part of the necessary costs for the horse. It is also important to know that not all clubs offer these services, so inform yourself before making long-term plans.

How much time do you have available?

How often do you ride? Once a week, two or three times a week, 4-7 times a week? Or, on the contrary, you don't ride at all yet, but would like to? Think carefully about how much time you are willing to allocate or already allocate to riding and see how the courses would fit into your daily schedule.

Buying a horse

Have you been constantly renting one or more horses lately and do you think you are ready to take the big step? It is a decision that you have to think about very carefully and for a long time, because having a horse means a very big commitment. Have you thought about where you will keep it? How much will it cost you to purchase or maintain it? These will all be aspects that you will have to think about before buying a horse.

If you've thought it through and still think you're ready, get ready for the fun part of the actual election!
An important aspect that you have to take into account at this moment is that "a good horse cannot be a wrong color". This means that you should not refuse to look at a horse or refuse to buy it, because of the color. If that horse is perfect for you, its color will quickly become your favorite, and you'll wonder why you didn't like it in the first place.

Here are some things you should do before looking for a horse:

• See if someone from the farm you go to for riding sells a horse.
• Search on useful websites for the purchase of horses.
• Talk to your antennae and ask him to help you look together at some horses that interest you.

Most coaches are willing to do this for a fee and it is a service that will definitely be worth it.

• Decide on the budget you have available. A decent price for the first horse would be somewhere between 1000 and 4000 euros.
• Decide what breed you are looking for and what is the approximate height you want.
• Decide what skills your horse should have (for example if you want to jump, you will have to buy a horse that can jump).
• Decide the youngest and oldest age that you are willing to take into account when looking for your perfect horse.

When you have found a horse that catches your attention, you can make an appointment to meet it and try to ride it. You should know that there is a possibility that some of the owners will use a horse tranquilizer at the first meeting, so it is good to look around if there is any tube of such paste or medicine. If it seems that no medicine has been used, try to hold the horse yourself, to make sure that it is not difficult to saddle.

If you don't feel comfortable riding the horse, you don't have to feel pressured, but you can always ask the seller to ride it first, so that you feel safe. Always check the horse with a veterinarian before buying it. It's worth all the money!

The benefits of riding for health

Horse riding is an excellent sport and activity for all ages and skill levels. More and more people are enjoying this sport and its health and fitness benefits, including:

• Development of leg muscles;
• Improving balance and posture;
• Improving mental concentration;
• Development of arm muscles and hand agility;
• Freeing the psyche from the daily distraction factors.

The physical benefits of riding

Horse riding is beneficial for both cardio health and muscle toning. Although at first glance it may seem that the jockey does not do any physical exercise, an hour's activity can burn a similar number of calories as a 30-minute run or a bicycle race. Therefore, horse riding confers all the health benefits associated with regular cardiovascular exercise.

After riding for the first time, you may feel muscles you never knew you had. This is due to the movement of the horse and its effects on the rider: because the jockey reacts to the horse's movements to avoid becoming unbalanced, the deep postural muscles of the trunk and pelvis and the adductor muscles of the thighs are continuously toned.

The psychological benefits of riding

Horse riding is known to have excellent therapeutic qualities. For riders, the psychological benefits are as important as the physical benefits.
The simple fact that you go out and enjoy being outdoors will give you a greatly enhanced sense of well-being and help you get rid of stress.

Horse riding brings with it a real feeling of release and freedom; in addition, developing a relationship and trust between you and your horse is extremely beneficial. The fact that you learn to control and take care of an animal much bigger than you can have a profound effect on your self-confidence.