Adventures on horseback

It’s an activity that charges you with positive energy, keeps you in shape, helps you overcome yourself, improves your physical and mental state and is fun, especially if you like animals in general and horses in particular . It allows you to enjoy, in the company of family, friends or work colleagues, nature practicing an outdoor sport.

Riding a horse is a very complete activity with an infinite number of benefits:

• It brings you closer to nature. Facilitates the promotion and respect for animals and the environment. It increases the sense of responsibility, since the horse is a living being that must be respected and cared for.
• It is an activity that does not make gender distinctions. Boys and girls compete under the same conditions and in the same tests.
• It can be practiced in the family and at all ages.
• Promotes postural correction
• Helps maintain physical fitness and muscle tone
• Increases breathing capacity and strengthens the heart
• Develops motor coordination
• Improves concentration
• Develops respect, patience and self-control.
• Strengthens intuition, communication, confidence and self-esteem.
• Stimulates psychomotor coordination, balance, harmony and aesthetics.
• You don’t need to have a lot of muscle strength, but sensitivity, which is why it can open up possibilities for people who are not physically gifted.
• Develops values such as responsibility, respect, companionship.

This activity, which can be practiced by people of all ages, allows you to be in contact with nature with company by establishing a pure and honest relationship with a horse and… forget everything for a while!!

Horses are sociable and extremely sensitive animals. The horse’s brain works in some ways similar to the human mind, it has evolved to allow it to survive in its prey position in the face of predators.

They experience emotions such as fear, which allows them to react instantly, making use of what is called the “flight instinct”, in front of the unknown or in front of a frightening situation, which allows them to quickly move away of danger When we see a horse upset, we have to understand that it is like that because it is experiencing fear, and not to show aggression.

Horses are very sociable, therefore they need to be in relationship and contact with other horses or with human beings. The horse enjoys your company.

By interacting with horses, humans are able to experience psychological benefits from being close to these animals, especially if they do an activity like riding.

• Being in contact with the horse promotes confidence, self-control of emotions and also improves self-esteem. It also helps regulate stress levels.
• Improves concentration, attention span and therefore has a positive impact on memory.
• Having the animal under our control helps to improve attention span and instill feelings such as respect and responsibility.
• Provides new knowledge.
• It favors location in space and time.
• Helps to socialize with other people, since this type of activity is often done in groups.
• It promotes empathic connection, unblocking psychological obstacles.
• Increases the amount of endorphins produced by the body, which helps reduce depression and generate great feelings of joy and relaxation.

Practicing the activity of riding a horse gives us multiple benefits that are very useful in solving problems of modern life.

Riding a horse is therapeutic and will fill us with joy. At the same time, it is an excellent way to enjoy wonderful landscapes by having contact with nature and with a wonderful animal

A beginner rider can feel like a sack of potatoes in the saddle, but maintaining the correct position requires some strength. Pushing the horse to change its gait works the inner thighs, while sitting tall and straight in the saddle works the back, abs and legs.

Dress appropriately
Wear long pants to protect your legs from rubbing against the saddle and closed shoes with a small heel to prevent your feet from leaving the stirrups. Avoid clothing that can get tangled in the gear, including scarves, thin tank tops, and long, loose sweaters or shirts.

Get to know your horse
Arrive at least 15 minutes early to meet your new partner. When meeting a horse for the first time, always stay in front and if possible to the left. Horses have small brains, and are trained to expect human activity (leading, saddling, riding) from the left side. Because? In the old days soldiers carried swords on their left hips, if they tried to mount the horse from the right, they ended up sitting on their weapons.

Follow the leader
When leading a horse, stand to the left of the head and hold the long leather straps, called the reins, with your right hand under your chin and your left hand slightly below the length of the reins so that they do not drag on the ground

Listen
Before sitting in the saddle, every novice rider should know a little about how horses see the world. All horses, even the most well-trained, are prey animals by nature and are genetically predisposed to run when they sense danger. That’s why it’s always a good idea to approach a horse confidently from the front, speak quietly and calmly, and avoid sudden movements or noises.

Get on the horse
Getting on a horse without help can be difficult, so find support. When the stand is on the horse’s left side, place the reins over the horse’s head. Stick your left toe on the stirrup, (the metal part that hangs from the saddle). Hold the reins in your left hand, resting them on the front of the saddle. Place your right hand on the back of the saddle and gently lift yourself up, carefully swinging your right leg over the horse’s back. When one leg is on each side of the horse, sit gently in the saddle and place your right foot on the right stirrup.

Start the walk
Most horses have 3 progressively faster steps: walk, trot and gallop. The walk is the most stable way of walking because the horse always has at least one foot on the ground. To master the ride it is important to relax in the saddle and move with the horse. You should sit tall, with straight shoulders, heels down in the stirrups, and eyes focused forward between the horse’s ears. This position is the most stable and comfortable for both horse and rider.

Brake the horse
To steer and stop, use the reins, which connect to the metal part of the horse’s mouth. Always be careful with the reins, imagine how uncomfortable it would be to be jerked by the mouth! You should hold the reins one in each hand, with your thumbs on top. Both arms should form right angles at the elbow, with the forearms following the line of the rein. To turn left, move the left stroke to the left in a motion as if you were opening a door. To move the horse’s head well, do the same movement with the right rein. To stop or slow down, pull gently on the reins while sitting up and push your heels down. As hard as it is, try to resist the temptation to lean back and scream.

Trotting with the horse
To tell the horse to go from walk to trot (the next faster step), gently squeeze the horse’s sides with the inside of the legs. If that doesn’t get things moving, give the horse a gentle kick with the heels. A stable mount is the key to preventing it from coming out of the saddle. Sit deep, press those legs down, and keep your back tall and straight (but not stiff).

Gallop
Ready for more speed? The gallop is the fastest gait used in most recreational riding. The gallop is more forward-backward than side-to-side, so it is often compared to a rocking horse. For this walk, sit deeply and add pressure with both legs while keeping your back straight and tall to avoid falling forward.