Horseback riding
Today you can ride horses in one of the many horse clubs (there are more than 20 of them in Moscow alone!), As well as in almost all country holiday houses, sanatoriums and boarding houses. Equestrian sport has become more accessible and everyone can learn to ride a horse. However, before training people, both the horse and the trainer must have the appropriate skills.
Ride a young horse
The school of a young horse begins at a foal age. And the first thing a foal learns is to give and hold legs for subsequent trimming and forging, and also learns to use a halter. There are several ways how to train your foal to wear a halter, but the easiest one is to put on a halter a few days after birth. The foal will take the new attribute for granted and in the future will adequately treat all innovations. At one and a half to two years, the process of riding takes place, which begins with accustoming to a snaffle headband, working on a line, executing voice commands, as well as gradual accustoming to a person's weight. To make the riding process more gentle and without injury to the horse, a saddle or herd is first put on. The young animal gets used to the pressure on the back and learns to carry itself with weight.
Before taming a horse to a rider, there should be several months of lining under the saddle and saddle.
The first landing in the saddle must be belayed from the ground. One person should hold the horse by the reins and the line, the second person should gently and smoothly, without sudden movements, lower into the saddle. The animal is given a treat. If the animal stands calmly and does not show concern, you can lead the horse on the bit. The exercise is repeated several times. The line is gradually released, giving the horse more freedom. The rider must gently explain the commands to the animal and reward for each correct action.
Horse riding training
The first horse riding lessons should be carried out on experienced and adult horses who understand a person well and listen to vocal commands. Today you can ride horses in almost any equestrian club, as well as in country hotels. The average rental price is 500 rubles. This can be either an exercise on the parade ground, or a horseback ride with an accompaniment to the fields or forests.
Riding lessons invariably begin with an explanation of horse handling safety and behavior on the parade ground.
For regular exercise, you need special shoes, comfortable clothing that does not hinder movement: riding a horse in jeans is completely uncomfortable and unsafe - the seams can rub the skin until it bleeds. A protective helmet is mandatory for training. Classes are held in groups or individually. One-to-one training is more expensive but also more effective. The average cost of an hour of training with a trainer is about 2500 - 3500 rubles. This cost includes both how to ride the horse and how to saddle and clean your charge. The first lessons are held on the bit. A person learns to sit correctly, hold the rein, control his body, correctly press the knees, sluice, hold the heel and toe, give commands to the horse. When the rider has no problems with balance and manege figures at a walk, they move on to trot.
A good strengthening of the fit and balance is riding without stirrups and reins, various gymnastic exercises.
The next stage is canter and cavalletti work. Horseback riding is good for a person's overall health and mood. The step or running of a horse is very close in dynamics and rhythm to human - it has a strengthening effect on the muscles and ligaments of the body, horse riding develops a sense of balance, coordination of movement, strengthens the heart and respiratory system.
Horse gaits
Even amateur riding involves mastering the basic types of gaits, namely:
- Gallop.
- Lynx.
- Step.
A step is a four-stroke movement in which all four hooves are clearly heard hitting the ground. The average speed is six kilometers per hour. The free step is characterized by more free movement, shoulder extension, and a relaxed neck position. The collected gait is distinguished by the greater bringing of the hind under the body of the horse, a higher set of the head, as well as a high elevation and more pronounced bending of the legs. The trot is an average speed and two-stroke run of a horse, in which there is a diagonal extension of the front and hind legs: the right front and left hind legs are carried out alternately, and the front left and right hind legs. The hanging stage is clearly visible. The world record set at a trot is 55 km / h, but the average speed of a horse in this gait is about 30 km / h.
The gallop is the three-stroke, the most effective and fastest run of a horse. The gallop is distinguished:
- From the leading leg - right or left (depending on which front leg the animal takes out first).
- Assembled.
- Worker.
- Added.
The speed of a horse at a gallop is on average about 35 - 45 km per hour, but thoroughbred riders can reach speeds of 65 - 70 km per hour on race tracks!
A less common horse running is amble. This peculiarity is most often possessed by trotters and aboriginal horse breeds. It differs from the trot in the extension of only the left or only the right limbs. The pace of the pacer horse is more frisky, but less stable than the trotter. Especially in turns, the animal can easily lose balance, therefore, to participate in the races, the pacers wear special balancing harnesses.
Equestrian sports
Show jumping
Show jumping - or overcoming obstacles - takes place in open areas and indoor arenas, on sandy or grassy ground. Differing in difficulty and height of obstacles - from 45 cm to 165 cm, and there are also separate competitions for jump power, where the rider is asked to overcome all possible heights, and the world record is 265 cm.The number of obstacles is from 8 to 20, which the rider overcomes in a certain sequence or by choice (if provided by the competition regulations). Obstacles vary in shape, color, difficulty, width and height. The rules of the competition also determine the average speed of the rider and horse at a distance, as well as give a certain time. For a fall, 4 penalty points are awarded, for each exceeded second of time - 1 penalty point. For a fall, the participant is excluded from the competition.
Dressage
Dressage or dressage riding is completely different from show jumping. Here the obedience of the horse, plasticity, freedom and correctness of movement and performed elements, the appearance of the couple are assessed. The Equestrian Federation has developed several riding schemes - from the simplest for young horses and amateurs, to the difficult Grand Prix level. Each of the schemes is complex and only horses that have reached a certain age and have passed all the previous stages of the competition are allowed to participate. In the Middle and Grand Prix there is a separate demonstration performance - KYUR, where the rider himself chooses the program and music. In CURE, not only the complexity of the program and the correctness of the performance are assessed, but also the correspondence of the music to the movement of the horse. To create a composition, all world celebrities use the services of professional recording studios to measure the pace of the horse's movement, transitions from gait to gait, and line up the musical accompaniment every second. In dressage, the horse runs with all gaits smoothly, not nervously, without refusals and failures, penalty points are awarded for disobedience to a pair.
Triathlon
The most active and spectacular sport that includes show jumping, dressage and cross country. Held in three days. A triathlon horse must have strength, endurance, good movement and jump. Competitions vary in difficulty level, and the maximum distance of a 4-star cross is 14 km. The distance is from 16 to 32 obstacles. Height and width, the difficulty of the route depends on the level of the competition. For show jumping and cross, the recommended speed and time of the route have been developed. Deviation is penalized with penalty points. At a distance, the horse runs at a gallop and, in rare cases, at a trot (allowed only in cross-country, when entering some obstacles, as well as when crossing a water ditch). In dressage riding, obedience, softness and smoothness of movement, flexibility, conductivity of the horse, and the rider's position are assessed.
Horse Shows
The running horse has fascinated people for many centuries, and perhaps this very image - free and beautiful - inspired breeders to create the first equestrian exhibitions. Today exhibitions are held on all continents and gather hundreds of thousands of visitors and thousands of participants. The main exhibition in Russia is EQUIROS. The exhibition has been held since 1999. Within the framework of EQUIROS, various seminars, demonstrations, competitions, breed presentations, horse shows, monobreed and general rings are held, and all kinds of equestrian equipment are sold.
The European Equitana is held every two years. This is the largest equestrian show in the world.
The exhibition runs for several days and includes not only competitions in many disciplines of equestrian sports, but also seminars on a variety of topics: how to tame a horse, how to feed properly, how to treat diseases, how to work correctly. Another important event in the equestrian world is the Royal Exhibition at Windsor. The highlight of the exhibition is the parade of the National Horse Guards. Within the framework of the exhibition there are also competitions in ladies' riding, driving, horse hunting. During the five days of the show, there are also monobreed rings of many factory and national breeds.