Hi all
I really want to learn how to ride properly but all the places use bits, and I have read a lot of bad about them, I don't feel good when I use them! I have been riding very infrequently for about 6 years which is why I still call myself a beginner. (the reason for that is that I live in a small town and there are no lesson places, you have to have your own horse if you want lessons) I have found a place, but of course, they use bits. Is that bad? I know I cause pain to the horse so I feel a little guilty.
The only solution to this would be to get my own horse and do what I want but obviously, I'm not gonna do that if I'm a beginner, don't enough money or experience to have a horse. But I wanna learn! Badly. I've been to a lot of places, I have to drive a while to get to them. I had a horrible experience at one place, this instructor kicked his horse so hard with spurs on his fur went white, he was pulling on the reins so hard it looked like the horse couldn't even breathe, and he told me he had do that to "tune" the horse up
I had like 6-8 lessons there. I really hope I didn't get any bad habits from him.How will I ever learn
I don't want to use bits
I had a different experience with taking lessons- there's a very nice barn a bit from my house. They don't give lessons to able-bodied people anymore, and they just specialize in disabled lessons now. While they did use bits (back then- they don't now), there really isn't anyone near here who doesn't. Anyway, if you want to learn how to ride without using bits, I would suggest doing what Romy did. I don't know if people do this where you live, but here you can lease a horse, in which someone owns the horse but you have the rights to visit the horse and do what you want with it (up to the point specified in the lease contract) on certain days. It's useful to do because you can learn about horses without owning your own horse. You can get experience, and when you feel ready, buy your own. The trick is finding the right person to lease from- someone who is knowledgeable, but not the type of knowledgeable that demands for you to only do what they say because they "know better." Hopefully said person is nice, both to their horse and to you, and is approachable to answer any questions you may have. Anyway, in your quest to find such a mythical person, keep in mind that there are a lot of people who treat their horses badly- and an equal amount hiding out somewhere that treat their horses wonderfully. 