i search questions

Question
jmaddox@ihmschool.org




Dear Ms. Echo Savage:

I am an eighth-grade student at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, and my name is Natalie Owens. I'm doing an I-Search Project on horseback riding, and I thought you could help me.

I would really like it if you could answer some questions for me.
Here are the questions:
How do you stay on the horse while you gallop?
Did it take you long to learn how to ride bare back?
Did you teach yourself how to bareback ride?
Is it really hard to teach a horse how to do tricks?
Do you teach how to bareback ride?
Can you teach something particular, like jumping?
Did you have to get a license to teach how to jump?
Is it hard to find a job in your field of work?
Do you need to have riding experience to become a riding instructor?
Do you have to go to school to learn how to be a riding instructor?

Please try to write back to me at the address above, before November 22.

Thank you for taking the time to read and write back to me.


Sincerely,
Natalie Owens  

Answer
Hi Natalie

When galloping bareback, I find it very easy to stay on.  Then again I've been doing it all my life.  I'm seventeen and started riding pretty much when I was born (in front of a saddle with one of my parents).  When I was 3 I began bareback because my parents where afraid that if I had a saddle I may get a foot caught in the stirrup, fall and be dragged.  So, obviously, for me, riding is second or even first nature.  When galloping I just kind of go with the flow of the horse and I don't grip with my legs I just balance in the middle of the horse.  Now, lets say for example, one of my friends was galloping, they don't have as much experience at it, though they are fairly good.  They would hang on to the main and probebly use the top of their legs for balance, by squeezing.  Also, I may mention that at a trot the more you grip the more you bounce.  So when you trot bareback, a person should try not to grip with their legs at all (they'll bounce) and just let their butt, legs, and body go back and forth with the horse.  Pretty much they have to relax their lower body.

It never took me long to learn and ride bareback, since I started so young, by the time I was 5 or 6, I was galloping all over the place. With a person who starts when their older, say 11 than it will take them some time. If they get a lot of practise at it and have a good teacher than they'll bo going in no time.

If a person knows how to teach a horse tricks than it is very simple, for example.  My horse can say yes and no, he can also hug.  Those didn't take very long to teach, maybe 2 hours in total for each one.  But it takes a lot of repetition.  He can also rear on command that took me 15min. to teach.  He can bow by bringing his leg up and touching his knee with his nose.  That took a very long time... over the course of about 3 months he finally got it.  He can also bow down on the ground, that took a couple of weeks, a resonable amount of time. For me it's easy to teach a horse tricks, for another person, if they know exacally how to ask the horse, than it should be easy for them as well.

Yes, I've given a few ppl lessons and taught them how to ride bareback.  I also taught about 5 to 7 of my friends how to, who are now very good at it.
I can also teach jumping.  I f aperson was doing lessons for a living and have a ton of students than yes they should have a license.  I only do a few people, here and there, so I don't need one.  Not just anyone can do it, they must know a lot about horse to teach because if they don't know what their doing how can they teach another person!


No, there's a broad range of work in the horse industry.  As long as a person knows what their doing.  You can train young/dangerous horse. Train ppl, be a farrier, vet, breeder, be a competitor, give clinics...the list goes on and on.

If you want to be a riding instructor to make a living than yes you must go to school to obtain your license and you have to have horse experience and be a good rider, or else you can't teach another person to ride if your not very good yourself.

Hope I helped, if you have more questions just write!

Echo Savage