The other day we were out on our boat with friends,  the weather kicked up, and it got a little choppy.  I went up on the bow to put a fender, and a line away, and was moving with the boats motion.  When I came back down my friend asked how I managed such good balance?  My answer was simple, horses.  Now she’s a rider so I didn’t have to go into an explanation.

When we were kids we struggled to learn to balance on our first two-wheeler, remember?  Now that was narrow with narrow wheels, with nothing to wrap our legs around.  We would just sit there on our perch, and hope for the best.  Most of us mastered that.

Okay, so on a horse you are up higher than a bike, but the landing after a fall, is a lot softer.  When we were riding our bikes we were usually on a road, sidewalk, or other hard surface.  So why are people so afraid of falling off a horse?  We get really tense, hold our breath, and kind of space out.

Here are some exercises to help you gain confidence and balance on a horse. Don’t forget you also have the advantage of grip, not like a bike.

First thing you need is a quiet, bomb-proof horse.  It’s better to be in a small enclosed area such as a round pen and/or have someone stand at your horse’s head to keep your horse from moving.

This is easier to do with an English saddle, or if you’re brave, bareback.  So borrow an English saddle from a friend if you don’t have one.  Make sure your girth is tight.

• Sit up straight and drop your reins on you horses neck close to the saddle so you can pick them up, and correct the horse if needed.
• Make sure your legs are directly underneath you, there should be a line that runs from your ear, through your shoulder, hip, and then the line should go through your heel.
• Keeping your legs in that position stretch your arms out forward and touch your horses ears.  Make sure your legs stay underneath you.  Then sit back up.
• With your legs in the same position (never having slipped backward when you reached forward) take your right hand and touch your left toe.  Make sure your other arm is place behind your back, and that your legs don’t slip back.  Return to upright position. Your helmet is on, right?
• Now do the same with the left hand.  With left hand touch your right toe placing your right arm behind your back.  Do this sequence 5 or 6 times.  Always make sure that your legs stay underneath you.  Never, never let them slip back.
• Now go back and touch your horses ears again.  Great job!
• Now I want you to lay down on your horses back.  Lay flat and put your arms over your head and touch your horse’s tail.  Now ears, now tail, now ears, now tail. Left toe, right toe, left toe, right toe, ears, tail.  You get the idea.
• If you are having problems with that, work on it until you feel totally comfortable and your legs are consistently in the proper position.
• Now we are going to do what the kids love to compete with, “Around The World.”
• Sit up straight with your reins farther up on your horse’s neck out-of-the-way.  Drop both stirrups.  Swing your right leg over the front of the saddle until you are sitting sideways.  You do not want to put your leg through the reins, ever, so make sure they are well out-of-the-way.  If you start slipping, it’s okay, just slide down, remount, and start again.
• Now swing your left leg over his butt so that you are sitting backward, swing your right leg over so you are sitting sideways on the right side, swing your left over his neck and return to your original position.  This is when the kids want to do it again and see who can finish first.

It’s amazing to watch the children and adults faces change from “deer caught in the head lights” and move past relaxation to actually having fun.

This is a great way to improve your balance on a horse, realize that you can slip off and not get hurt, and in general, feel more comfortable and free up on their backs.

When you’ve mastered that, you can challenge yourself a little more by doing the toe touches without stirrups, eventually doing them at a trot (with stirrups then without) in the round pen, riding arena, or with the help of someone, on a long longe line with stirrups and then without.

Have you ever seen the All American Cowgirl Chicks do their trick riding?  Now that’s what I call freedom and balance.  They move with, and become one with their horses.

Give these exercises a try.  Never stop learning, and never, ever, stop trying.