Riding Skills for Working Moms We send our sons and daughters to dance and karate lesson. And they go once a week. And a year later, lo and behold, the little guys can dance and fight a little. You may only have time to ride once a week, but if you practice these little do it yourself lesson, you will find your riding skills improve drastically. These instructions all work on practice-makes-perfect. You won't need someone telling you whether or not you are doing them correctly, the constant repetition will improve your overall skill. Lesson #2 is to praise your horse. Easier said than done, because this is something I want you to develop into a new habit. We are vocal critters, but our horses communicate thru body language. They learn to respond to vocal cues, "whoa", "click", "easy", but they won't return the conversation. - 1. Develop Strength - 2. Develop Communication - 3. Correctly using your legs. - 4. Correctly using your reins - 5. Correctly using your back - 6. Lope for more strength  Additionally, we love our horses, and we expect them to do good. We are always surprised when they disappoint us. Consequently, when they do good, we don't tell them. But if there is anything that has made me a better horse trainer, it is my "Good Boy" command. My horses start looking for it. And some days when they are doing very, very well, I start sounding like a broke record... "Good boy... cchk... Good boy... cckrk" Start using "Good boy/girl" as a cue for when your horse does well. And use it every single time that your horse does well. Use it when you lead him, use it when you are grooming, use it while you are riding. After every request, acknowledge his compliance with a "Good boy". On to Lesson #3