Horsemanship Lessons
Beginner horsemanship skills you'll develop include:
- Safety around horses on the ground and in the saddle - Approaching and handling - Haltering - Leading and turning - Matching energy - Tying quick release knots - Grooming and tools - Anatomy of the horse - Types and parts of Western and English tack - Saddling and bridling - Mounting and dismounting - Riding with good position and control at the walk and trot - Balancing from the core and riding with "feel" - Being one with the horse and in sync - Reading the horses body language - Basic horse care techniques proper diet, shelter and exercise, etc.) - Building confidence for both you and the horse - Improving understanding through the 4Cs At 4C we have a flexible curriculum that allows each student to progress at their own rate. Students earn a medal and different colored ribbons as they progress up through the levels. We find that these medals are GREAT incentives to encourage our students to stay motivated to learn more about horsemanship and grow in their abilities to connect with and ride a horse. It is important to note that not all 4C lessons take place in the saddle or even in the presence of a horse. When the weather doesn't cooperate, 4C holds inside lessons which allow us opportunities to learn so much more about the horse and become better all-around horsemen/women. |
Physical and Mental Benefits of Riding Horses at Any Age
Horseback riding offers many physical benefits including developing and strengthening your core muscles such as obliques, abdominals and your back, helps improve your balance and coordination, improves your muscle tone and your flexibility. The core must engage to balance the rider on the horse's back. The muscles in the back, chest, inner thighs, and pelvis help the rider maintain proper posture. There is also cardiovascular exercise depend on the type of riding you do.
Research shows that that horseback riding relieves stress, improves mood and creates a deeper connection to oneself. Just being around a horse has shown to slow breathing and motion, help clear the mind, causes you to talk softer and encourage you to relax. Further physically disabled people benefit by the movement of a horse because the gait of a horse is an exaggerated form of the gait of a person, thereby exercising their unused muscles and relaxing their rigid ones. Research has also shown that therapeutic horseback riding can lead to significant decrease in PTSD symptoms, such as insomnia, flashbacks, or panic attacks.
At 4C all students are introduced to mindfulness - the ability to focus on being intensely aware of what you are sensing and feeling at that very moment without interpretation or judgment. Mindfulness has been proven to lower stress levels, improve attention and focus, reduce anxiety, increase body satisfaction and improve memory. We begin developing greater self-awareness, by becoming "mindful" of what our bodies are telling us, our own body language, our tone when we speak, our touch, and our overall demeanor while working with our horses. We learn how our feelings can effect our body language and our responses. Becoming mindful takes practice but we get the opportunity to do just that every lesson.
Horseback riding offers many physical benefits including developing and strengthening your core muscles such as obliques, abdominals and your back, helps improve your balance and coordination, improves your muscle tone and your flexibility. The core must engage to balance the rider on the horse's back. The muscles in the back, chest, inner thighs, and pelvis help the rider maintain proper posture. There is also cardiovascular exercise depend on the type of riding you do.
Research shows that that horseback riding relieves stress, improves mood and creates a deeper connection to oneself. Just being around a horse has shown to slow breathing and motion, help clear the mind, causes you to talk softer and encourage you to relax. Further physically disabled people benefit by the movement of a horse because the gait of a horse is an exaggerated form of the gait of a person, thereby exercising their unused muscles and relaxing their rigid ones. Research has also shown that therapeutic horseback riding can lead to significant decrease in PTSD symptoms, such as insomnia, flashbacks, or panic attacks.
At 4C all students are introduced to mindfulness - the ability to focus on being intensely aware of what you are sensing and feeling at that very moment without interpretation or judgment. Mindfulness has been proven to lower stress levels, improve attention and focus, reduce anxiety, increase body satisfaction and improve memory. We begin developing greater self-awareness, by becoming "mindful" of what our bodies are telling us, our own body language, our tone when we speak, our touch, and our overall demeanor while working with our horses. We learn how our feelings can effect our body language and our responses. Becoming mindful takes practice but we get the opportunity to do just that every lesson.
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