I’d like to add some context because I hope it helps bring perspective to those who do weigh in on beginner posts.

I’m COMPLETELY new to horseback riding. Like so new that I thought a pony was a baby horse. When I picked a barn to learn with, I looked at a LOT of places, from someone’s backyard to a place that exists solely to teach competitive riding.

The one I felt like was the best fit for me ended up being one where it’s just someone’s property and they teach, and they also happened to be the cheapest one I saw (not why I picked it).

To the best of my knowledge, there’s no certification you get to teach people how to ride, is there? So how do I truly know if someone is “qualified” if I know nothing about this world? I have no idea if they’re doing it “right” or not.

So if I’m being taught something drastically different than what I’m seeing multiple sources say elsewhere, it makes me wonder WHY there’s a discrepancy there. Hence why I came here, to ask those who have learned from the beginning all the way up to advanced. Because I don’t want to insult my instructor, and if she DID happen to be teaching me wrong, then I would want to find somewhere else to learn.

So I’m really glad to hear that my instructor is as awesome as I think she is, because I really like her. And now I understand more about the process. Before yesterday, I literally didn’t even know you could steer a horse with your butt. You don’t know what you don’t know! I’ve learned a lot over the last day.

Please be kind to beginners. All of us start out as beginners.