Horse Riding Lessons – Surviving Your First Equestrian Clinic
It doesn’t really make a difference whether you are an advanced rider or a novice. Horse training clinics more often than not offer various levels of horsemanship classes to meet your exact needs.
Our top tips for making your first clinic a success;
1. Don’t leave it too late to book your place. Many horse owners these days are taking an interest in training their horses, so some equestrian clinics get fully booked or have a waiting list.
Book straight away if you notice an advert for a clinic that you want to attend.
2. Try to find suitable horse training clinics close to home at first. Until you are sure how well your horse travels you shouldn’t make a commitment to travelling long distances.
3. If you do have to transport your horse to the clinic you should ensure that they are comfortable with the trailer you intend to use. If you haven’t loaded them before, you could have problems with loading on the day of the clinic.
It is best to have a trial run before the day of the clinic. You both want to arrive calm and relaxed, so practice loading your horse and driving for a short distance.
4. It might be possible to find a clinic close to home that you can ride to. Ask around to see if anyone else wants to attend the clinic as well. Riding in company will help if either of you are nervous of riding out on your own.
5. If you can, look for well-known equestrian establishments as they should offer a good range of quality training. Contact your local riding stables as they sometimes run clinics with guest equestrian instructors. Do you have a local equine college? They usually have excellent equestrian facilities and often run a variety of horse training clinics that are open to the public.
6. Try to meet up with the instructor personally before you commence the clinic. If you are given the instructors phone number before the clinic, contact them to introduce yourself and your horse and ask if there is something you can carry out to make ready for the exercises that they will be using.
If you are completely prepared, you will be able to make the most of all of the various activities and exercises on the day.
7. You should plan to leave early on the day of the clinic. You never know what unexpected events will occur, and you want to leave plenty of time in case your horse doesn’t load well or you get stuck in heavy traffic. Setting out in plenty of time will make sure that you drive safely and don’t arrive stressed out!
Also, plan to have plenty of time when you arrive at the clinic. You will need time to settle your horse, as he/she may be unsettled with the new sights and sounds and other horses.
8. Make sure you take lots of healthy snacks and water to drink for yourself (as well as food and water for your horse).
Keeping hydrated throughout the day will enable you to remain alert and focused. This will help you get the most from your training sessions.
9. If you want to maximise the benefit of the clinic you will need to practice the lessons learned during the day. Back home go through the exercises again and see how much you improve over time.
To get the most from your first experience at a horse training clinic, do your planning in advance so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises!
Follow these tips, learn lots of new things, and most of all – enjoy yourself 
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