We all know that horseback riding takes hard work, dedication, and many hours in the saddle, but these simple quick fixes can help to make you a better rider. Try these solutions to common riding problems and see how they work for you.

Hold a Crop Across Your Hands

If you have a crop handy, try using it as a tool to stabilize and quiet your hands. While holding your reins, lay the crop under each thumb and across the knuckles of your pointer fingers. The crop will make a straight line across your horse’s withers, and will alter how much you can use your hands independently. Riding with a crop across your hands will quickly develop your awareness of how much you move your hands during your ride. If you’re active with your hands, the crop will suddenly restrict that. Quieter hands lead to improved communication with your horse – try riding with the crop for a few minutes at the beginning of each ride to quiet and improve your hands.

Ride Without Stirrups

Riding without stirrups is a tried and true way to improve as a rider. Riding without stirrups strengthens the muscles in both your legs and your core, teaches you to wrap your legs down and around your horse, and improves your seat. When you work without stirrups you can quickly develop your ability to move with and stay with your horse, leaving you better prepared in case you ever accidentally lose a stirrup mid-ride.

Stand In Your Stirrups

Develop and improve your balance in the saddle by standing up in your stirrups as your horse walks forward. This can be a difficult exercise at first, especially if you’re riding in a new saddle and need to find your center of balance. Be sure to drop your weight down into your heels and keep your back relaxed. Test yourself by seeing how long you can stand in your stirrups without losing your balance. For an added challenge, try to ride in circles or over ground poles while you’re standing up.

Count Out Loud

If you need a way to regulate your horse’s rhythm, counting out loud can help. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 in time with your horse’s strides, then start again. Counting out loud can help you to not only feel, but also hear the differences in your horse’s rhythm, whether it’s at the walk, trot, or canter. Try putting these quick fixes to the test, and let us know which ones worked for you!

Original Source: Quick Fixes to Make You a Better Rider