Top 10 Beginner Horse Riding Mistakes

If you’re new to horseback riding or getting back in the saddle after a break, you may be making some common beginner mistakes. In this article, we’ll go over ten of the most common errors and discuss why they’re problematic and how to correct them. From pointing your toes down to leaning forward, we’ll cover everything you need to know to improve your riding and communication with your horse. Welcome to our guide on the top 10 beginner horse riding mistakes!

Key Takeaways

• By pointing your toes up instead of down, you’ll have a more secure position in the saddle and be less likely to fall forward or onto your crotch.
• Riding with your foot on the ball of your foot on the stirrup will give you the most support up through your pelvis, helping you to have stable legs and a quiet seat.
• Gripping with your legs, holding your reins incorrectly, and pulling on the reins to stop or turn can all cause balance and communication issues with your horse. Relaxing your legs, keeping your thumbs up while holding your reins, and using your seat and core to stop and turn will help you communicate more effectively and stay balanced in the saddle.

Pointing Toes Down

One of the most common beginner rider mistakes is pointing toes down. This is a natural instinct when we first start learning to ride as we try to hold on to the stirrup and the horse. However, it can cause us to rock forward, putting us in a vulnerable position if the horse spooks or reacts. It also puts us in a position where we are more likely to fall onto our crotch, which can be uncomfortable over a long period of time.

To avoid this mistake, we want to point our toes up instead of down. This allows us to have a nice long leg and sit back over our seat bones. If the horse spooks or moves, we will fall back into our seat bones and be more secure in the saddle.

It is important to remember that our toes should always be up, not just when we are starting out. This will help us maintain good posture and balance in the saddle. By keeping our toes up, we can also avoid putting unnecessary pressure on our horse’s back, which can cause discomfort or pain.

In summary, pointing toes down is a common beginner rider mistake that can be easily avoided by pointing our toes up instead. This will help us maintain good posture and balance in the saddle and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on our horse’s back.

Incorrect Foot Position in Stirrup

Another common mistake that beginner riders make is putting their foot in the incorrect position in the stirrup. There are two common mistakes that we’ve encountered as teachers with putting your foot in the stirrup incorrectly.

The first one is the rider that is afraid that they’re going to get their foot hung up in the stirrup, so they’re riding on their toe, just with their foot barely in the stirrup. The other common mistake that we run into is a rider riding with their foot too far in the stirrup, so they’re riding on the bridge of their foot, and they’re usually doing this to try to feel more secure in the saddle.

Either way, you want to work on riding with your foot on the ball, the ball of your foot on the stirrup, and the reason you want the ball of your foot on the stirrup is that it gives you the most support up through your pelvis. When we walk, we walk by rotating over the ball of our foot, and that is a way that’s really going to help you to have nice stable legs and a nice quiet seat as you progress in your riding.

So, make sure you’re riding with your foot on the ball of your foot on the stirrup, not on the bridge of your foot or just your toe. This will give you the most support and stability in the saddle.

Braced Legs

Another common mistake that beginner riders make is bracing their legs. This occurs when riders try to get their heels down by pressing through their heels instead of pointing their toes up. As a result, their knees lock and brace, making them less balanced and stable in the saddle.

Bracing through the heel can also put more bounce on the shock of motion into the horse’s low back and the rider’s low back, leading to potential pain and discomfort. Additionally, riders with braced legs are more likely to fall back behind the motion of the horse, making them less effective with their leg aides.

To avoid bracing, riders should focus on bending their knees and pointing their toes up. This will help them maintain a stable position in the saddle and absorb shock more effectively. By relaxing their legs and letting their core support them, riders can keep their seat bones in contact with the saddle and communicate with the horse through their weight aides.

In summary, riders should avoid bracing their legs by bending their knees and pointing their toes up. This will help them stay balanced and stable in the saddle, absorb shock effectively, and communicate with their horse more clearly.

Gripping with Legs

Another common mistake that beginner riders make is gripping with their legs. This happens when we try to hold on to the motion of the horse by squeezing our thighs or calves or both. However, this tension and squeezing with our legs will push us up out of the saddle, making us ineffective with our leg aids and unable to use our weight aids to communicate with the horse.

Instead of gripping with our legs, we need to relax them and allow our core to support us. This will keep our seat bones in contact with the saddle, allowing us to use them as one of our main forms of communication with the horse. By relaxing our legs, we can also absorb the shock of motion better, making us more stable in the saddle.

It’s important to note that gripping with our legs is not only a beginner mistake. Even some more experienced riders tend to do this when they try to stabilize themselves on a moving horse. Therefore, it’s crucial to practice relaxing our legs and using our core to support us, especially when we’re learning to ride.

Incorrect Reins Handling

One of the most common beginner rider mistakes is holding the reins incorrectly. Many riders make the mistake of holding their palms or fists facing up, or with their elbows falling out. This can negatively impact your upper body, causing tension in your neck and shoulders and throwing off your balance when you ride.

To avoid this mistake, it’s important to hold your reins in the correct position, with your thumbs facing up and your wrists slightly in. This allows your shoulder blades to stay relaxed and down, helping to keep your upper body in better balance. It also allows for clearer communication when using your reins.

Remember to keep your thumbs up when practicing with your reins, as this will help you maintain a relaxed and flowing position with your hands. Holding the reins correctly will also help you avoid other common mistakes, such as pulling on the reins to stop or turn your horse.

When riding, it’s important to use your core to your low back to stop through your seat, rather than pulling on the reins to stop your horse. Similarly, when turning your horse, it’s important to stay nice and straight in your turns and to allow your horse to easily lift and navigate the turn smoothly.

By avoiding the mistake of holding your reins incorrectly, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively with your horse and maintain better balance and control when riding.

Straight Arms

One of the most common mistakes riders make, even experienced ones, is riding with straight arms. This happens for a few reasons, such as a lack of shoulder strength or fear of pulling on the reins. However, riding with straight arms can cause tension in the neck and shoulders, throw off communication with the horse, and put the rider off-balance.

Instead of straightening the arms, we want to open up our collarbones, drop our shoulders, and bend our elbows. This will help keep the hands and arms relaxed and flowing with the horse’s motion. It will also allow for better communication through the reins and prevent tension in the neck and shoulders.

Remember to keep the thumbs up while holding the reins, as this allows the shoulder blades to stay relaxed and down. By riding with a relaxed upper body and bent elbows, we can maintain better balance and communicate more effectively with our horse.

Pulling on Reins to Stop

Another common mistake that beginner riders make is pulling on the reins to stop their horse. This mistake is made because riders believe that by pulling on the reins, they have more control over the horse. However, this is not the case. Pulling on the reins pulls the rider forward out of the saddle and throws the horse off balance, making it more difficult to stop.

Instead of pulling on the reins, riders should engage their core to their lower back and stop through their seat. By doing this, the rider can stop the horse smoothly and maintain balance in the saddle. It is important to remember that pulling on the reins does not provide control over the horse, but rather creates tension and imbalance.

One way to practice stopping through the seat is to ride on a loose rein and stop the horse using only the seat. This exercise can help riders develop a better understanding of how to use their body to communicate with the horse and stop smoothly.

In summary, pulling on the reins to stop is a common mistake made by beginner riders. Instead of relying on the reins for control, riders should engage their core and stop through their seat to maintain balance and communicate effectively with the horse.

Pulling on Reins to Turn

Another common mistake beginner riders make is pulling on the reins to turn their horse. When we pull on the reins, we lean into the direction we want to turn our horse, which makes it more difficult for the horse to turn in that direction. It also causes us to fall forward, putting us out of balance with our horse, making us more likely to fall off if the horse were to react.

To avoid this mistake, we should make sure we’re riding from our seat, our legs, and then our reins. We should stay nice and straight in our turns and allow our horse to easily lift us and navigate that turn smoothly. We should avoid pulling on the reins and instead use our weight and leg aids to communicate with our horse.

Remember, pulling on the reins to turn your horse is not an effective way to communicate with your horse. It can cause more harm than good, and it’s important to learn the correct way to turn your horse to ensure a safe and enjoyable ride.

Riding in Chair Seat

When we ride our horses in a chair seat, we tend to have our legs forward and braced out. This is a common mistake that many beginner riders make, and it can have negative effects on both the rider and the horse.

Firstly, when we sit in a chair seat, we add a lot of extra weight to the horse’s back. This can put a lot of pressure on the horse’s spine and cause potential back pain and issues. It can also create issues in our knees and our back over time.

Secondly, when we sit in a chair seat, we are not in correct alignment. This means that our core is not supporting us, and we are not absorbing the shock of motion through our core. This can lead to a lot of discomfort and pain in our back and can also make it difficult for us to communicate with our horse effectively.

To avoid riding in a chair seat, we need to make sure that we are sitting in correct alignment. This means that our core is supporting us, and we are absorbing the shock of motion through our core. We want to make sure that we are not adding any extra weight to the horse’s back and that we are not putting any unnecessary pressure on our spine or our knees.

By sitting in correct alignment, we can protect our back and our horse’s back, and we can communicate with our horse more effectively. It may take some time to get used to sitting in correct alignment, but it is worth the effort to avoid the negative effects of riding in a chair seat.

Leaning Forward

Leaning forward is one of those really common mistakes that a lot of beginner riders make. We tend to make this mistake because we’re nervous or fearful. When we lean forward, it makes us feel more secure like we’re going to stay in the saddle better, but it actually has the opposite effect.

When we lean forward, we’re bringing our seat out of the saddle. If the horse were to spook for any reason or get nervous, we are going to fall over. Leaning forward also puts us in a position where we’re more likely to fall onto our horse’s neck, which is uncomfortable for both us and the horse.

Leaning forward is also a position where we’re going to be less effective with our aids. We’re not going to be able to use our weight aids to communicate with the horse. Instead, we want to sit up straight with our shoulders back and our core engaged. This is going to help us to stay balanced in the saddle and communicate more effectively with our horse.

If you find yourself leaning forward, try to relax and take a deep breath. Focus on sitting up straight and engaging your core. It’s also helpful to practice exercises that will help you to build your core strength. This will make it easier for you to sit up straight and stay balanced in the saddle.

Remember, leaning forward is a common mistake, but it’s one that can be corrected with practice and patience. By sitting up straight and engaging your core, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively with your horse and enjoy a more comfortable ride.