Horse Riding Book Recommendation

Usborne Riding School

source from www.usborne.com

A fantastic guide to all things equestrian.

Contains everything the young riding enthusiast needs to know, including grooming and

stable management, how to train for and compete in shows and competitions, and how to

choose and care for a first pony.

Packed with colourful illustrations, photographs and diagrams.

There's detailed instruction on how to look after your pony and build up his fitness. You can

also find out how to prepare your pony for shows and competitions, including gymkhanas,

 cross-country and dressage.



   This book is packed with coloured photographs, checklists and clear step-by-step

illustrations. Usborne Riding School will help you develop your riding and presentation skills

 to a high standard.

source from www.girlshorseclub.com

The chapters in this book is also available as eight seperate titles : First Pony, Grooming

and Stable Managament, Showing , Jumping, Gymkhanas, Cross-country, Understanding

Your Pony and Dressage. You can learn a lot from this book. This was the first equestrian

related book I've ever read.




sources from www.amozon.co.uk

            CONTENTS

Part One:    First Pony                                                                                           1
Part Two:   Grooming and Stable Management                                                      33
Part Three: Showing                                                                                             65
Part Four:   Jumping                                                                                             97
Part Five:    Gymkhanas                                                                                      129
Part Six:      Understanding Your Pony                                                                 161
Part Seven:  Cross-country                                                                                 193 
Part Eight:    Dressage                                                                                         225

Sitting Trot

First of all, do not grip with your knees and sit very deep into the saddle. You need to try to absorb the movement by relaxing your weight down and allowing your hips to move forward with motion.

source from http://www.yourhorse.co.uk

          To sit to the trot comfortably, you first need to be sure that your tack is correctly fitted and that your horse is supple and balanced enough to work well from behind. Common causes of the rider bumping about in the saddle include bad posture, collapsing through the pelvis, gripping with the knees, legs slipped forward or back, excessive head or set movement, or stiffness due to anxiety. Many of these problems can be related back to poor core stability.

source from www.horsechannel.com



Try these exercises on the lunge to improve your core stability and balance. All exercises are without reins and stirrups:
1. Sit square At halt, take your legs away from the horse’s sides, lifting from your hips. Keep a straight line between shoulders, hips and heels, and maintain your upper body position. Hold briefly and relax. Does you body then tip forward or back? Tipping forwards means you should be sitting further back on your seat bones, and vice versa.

2. Torso turning Make sure your upper body moves independently of your lower body. First at walk, with your seat and legs still, twist your torso to the inside of the circle and then to the outside. Keep your arms and hands as if they are holding the reins. Then try it at trot.

3. Arm circles
Starting in walk, circle your one arm forwards while making sure your legs and seat remain in position. Then circle it backwards, before swapping arms. Then try both arms at once, starting by going in the same direction and then in opposite directions. Recheck that you are sitting squarely on your seat bones

Rising on the correct diagonal on rising trot

In rising trot, you either ride on the left or right diagonal. To chec whether you're on the correct diagonal, look at the position of the horse's shoulder blade. When the shoulder blade of the outside of the arena is at its most forward position, you should be sitting in the saddle. When the shoulder swings back, you should be out of the saddle.

This rider is rising on the correct diagonal.
source from http://www.crystalclearequestrian.webs.com/