Learning to ride - which is the best way?

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Booboos

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A propos of nothing, which of these two approaches is better for learning to ride well (or perhaps suggest a third one):

- ridding cheecky ponies/horses that are likely to try to deck you, falling off a lot, but having the guts to get back on.

- or ridding really well schooled ponies/horses, probably on the lunge without stirrups and reins, with small chances of falling off, but concentrating on the rider's position
 
I think the answer to that is highly individual (some folk are gutsier than others) and certainly also dependant on how old the rider in question. If I were wanting to learn at the age of 40, I certainly wouldn't tolerate a decking as much as I did at 12. Courage certainly wanes with age.

However, all things being equal, I think the cheeky pony gives the rider a better sense of instinct, and the later the second scenario to refine.

How's that for being on the fence?
 
I actually think the second is a better foundation to learning to ride.

If you're always riding green, naughty ponies - it is very difficult to learn how to do it right, because you've got no base of comparison. Yes, you will learn stickability, but there's a chance you'll lose a lot of confidence in the process and develop a defensive way of riding.

I think if you are taught on a really well schooled pony, you will learn how to do it properly - how to ride with balance and refinement, and have the confidence to really trust and believe in a horse. You'll get experience of more advanced work, and jumping round decent sized courses.

That's not to say that I don't think people should also ride more challenging horses - but I think it is better to begin with a more positive experience. Once you've got the confidence and the ability to ride a well schooled horse, you can bring that with you to help educate a tricky pony.
 
I remember one of my riding instructors told me that novice riders of the Spanish Riding School spend months on the lunge to make sure they have the perfect seat and position before they're let loose on a horse! So in a way, if you have established a solid foundation, then I guess you have a better chance of staying on those bucking ponies and still have your confidence intact! Personally, having riding in riding schools for years, I felt I benefited having lots of lessons on well schooled horses and have managed to stay on board when caught out by the odd spooks and buck from my pony!
 
Well, I taught my daughter (then aged 12) on the lunge (I am an AI) and when I thought she had the basics in place we spent the rest of that summer hacking. She is at Uni now and doesn't get time to ride much, but she has the most beautiful hands and a strong independent seat :)
I think on the whole it is very dependant on the individual, as said above,
 
Initially riding well schooled free moving horse so that you can establish a good well balanced seat and to learn the correct aids for each movement.

Then once your riding has reached a suitable level start riding the cheeky/lazy/difficult horse.

If you are constantly battling a difficult horse, lazy or tearaaway horse you will develop bad habits such as kicking the living daylights out of the lazy horse, hanging on for dear life to the hyer ones and having your confidence knocked by the buckers and rearers.
 
Schooled horse definitely better but how many beginners have access to one!

I think the best way nowadays is to start on a simulator to get your balance and seat sorted out, then ride what you can. Better for horse as well.
 
I asked a lady how to get better, and she said, hack hack and hunt [I was buying a small hunter from her.
I used to have to have asses kids [19+] pdq when I worked in racing [National hunt], and I always looked at their seat from behind, this told me they had a good deep seat, were relaxed, but nice straight back and good self carriage, any slouching is wicked as it causes bad backs.
Flat jocks do tend to ride shorter and therefore they have a more angled position [ they don't do so much walking], but they should not be relying on the horse to adjust its balance, it should be the other way round.
 
I think a mixture of both is good. My first pony was really cheeky and would regularly buck me off for the fun of it so I learnt how to handle her. Then as I got older I swapped to a pony that I needed to ride in a more 'classically trained' way - and most importantly I was old enough to enjoy the discipline of it all and appreciate the subtlety of it all. When I was younger all that interested me was exploring the countryside hacking, and jumping fun things! I think the discipline of learning initially in a more classical way would be lost on most children as young as four or five.
 
I think a strong seat and good technique should be developed first on a well behaved horse then you can ride what you want. Although, i know people who's stickability is down to learning on bad ponies, and if you remember Ross and ed, his seat looks excellent now probably down to ed!
 
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