I think that the fastest and best way to learn to ride is to independently ride as much as possible in the nature (accompanied by the instructor) out of marked trails.
To do so, you must first learn a few things. The first part of the riding school involves learning about horse psychology, learning and practicing the type of behaviour that protects you from injuries, cleaning and saddling the horse, learning the ideal riding position and overcoming the basis of rising trot.
Learning to trot is always performed on the long lead, one instructor to one student and one horse. Our goal is to have you master all parts of your body while you're bouncing on horseback, a meter and half from the ground, and have a high dose of adrenaline. In other words, you are asked for a counter-intuitive behavior. It is found in various forms. It's intuitive to jump off the horse and run away from situation that frightens you, or to at least freeze. You can't do that.
It's intuitive to tighten the thighs and calfs at the same time, what you'd normally do for example when jumping into the air. You can't do that either, the calfs must stay relaxed while while the upper thighs are moving. It takes as long as you manage to connect the control over keeping the heels down, moving your hips in the rhythm of the horse during the trot.
When you manage to to perform a real western trot for the first few times, it feels as if someone had suddenly turned on the light in a dark room and suddenly all the instructions are given meaning, you also have the feeling that you have installed an anti-gravity device in your rear.
The right or wrong position of the rider during riding is established very quickly and it's later very difficult to change. To adopt the good habits that will keep you away from the floor, it is essential that someone in the first classes watches you like a hawk and corrects your every wrong move and if necessary, invent half-exercises that will help you overcome the blocks in learning. If you do not learn to trot in 2 - 4 classes, something is wrong and the prognosis is not good.
It's useful and necessary that as long as we are in the round pen, you wear something narrow and tight. This way, it's easy to see all the wrong movements that your spine and back perform. The first step is brief but intense, I'm on the other end of the long lead, there is no wriggling out or sleep, we are usually done for 2 to 3 lessons. The first part is hard, you drink a loto f Andols and it's difficult to walk (the muscles that you did not know existed hurt).
Usually, students manage to get to the first two hours of riding in the woods during the first six riding classes.
Several important observations in the end. I have noticed that if for any reason, there is a gap longer than 7 days between rides, it's hard to learn trotting, there are fears and uncertainties. Also it is necessary to "confirm" the lessons learned with the 3-5 rides through the forest and field. And then what you've learned becomes what you know and the imagination stops flourishing. Then and only then you can make and break of several months or years and nothing you've learned doesn't get forgotten. Like riding a bike.
