“It’s our job to grow the future of the horse world, to bring along individuals who can be stewards of horse and human relationships. To do this, we must emphasize the importance of unmounted lesson time.”

When we think of riding lessons, the vision is often a rider astride a horse, feeling the thrill of motion. That’s the magical pull of equestrian life. But riding is just one piece of the puzzle. True horsemanship stems from developing a well-rounded partnership with the horse, and that often begins on the ground.

The Problem

While the term ‘riding lessons’ evokes excitement, it can sometimes limit perceptions by suggesting that progress only happens in the saddle. This mindset overlooks the vital skills acquired from the ground needed to become a safe, skilled, and compassionate equestrian.

As instructors, it’s our responsibility to educate riders, their families, and the general public about the profound value of unmounted lesson time. Time out of the saddle isn’t wasted; it’s an opportunity to deepen the horse-rider connection and master skills essential for a lifetime of riding success.

True riders are made through learning both in and out of the saddle.

Changing the Narrative

Unmounted lessons are frequently overlooked or undervalued, especially by students and families eager for riding time. Our role as instructors is to educate everyone on how unmounted lessons complements and enhances riding, building a foundation for equestrian excellence. Additionally, we must know how to address common pushbacks professionally and effectively.

When we teach the value of unmounted lesson time we build more confident equestrians, and create a safer, more harmonious environment for horse and rider alike.

The Value of Unmounted Lessons

To advocate for unmounted lessons effectively, we must first understand how they enhance a rider’s experience. A 2023 Australian study “Untangling the Complex Relationships between Horse Welfare, Rider Safety, and Rider Satisfaction” underscores the essential connection between rider satisfaction, horse welfare, and safety.

The findings suggest that while riders are primarily motivated by achieving their equestrian goals, the greatest contributor to rider satisfaction is the sense of partnership and connection with their horse. This suggests that fostering a strong horse–rider bond is crucial for rider satisfaction.

Additionally, the findings indicate a need for a balanced approach that considers both human and horse needs in equestrian practices. By aligning training and horse-keeping methods to support horse welfare, rider safety can be enhanced, and rider satisfaction improved. The study suggests that equestrian organizations can play a significant role in promoting horse welfare through the rules and guidelines of their sports.

However, I believe we, as instructors, should facilitate this movement from the ground up.

The Benefits of Unmounted Lessons

For Riders

1. Skill Development
   • Improved Communication: Learn to interpret a horse’s body language and subtle cues.
   • Problem-Solving: Tackle challenges confidently on the ground, which translates to success in the saddle.
   • Broadened Knowledge: Understand grooming, tacking, care, health, and behavior and how it relates to the ridden horse. 
   • Body Awareness: Recognize how posture, positioning and movements impact a horse even without touching them.
2. Safety
   • Risk Reduction: Unmounted lessons helps riders become more aware of horse behavior and potential risks, reducing the chance of accidents from poor handling or miscommunication
   • Physical Preparation: Develop posture, strength, and endurance, which translates to more balanced riding.
3. Mental and Emotional Growth
   • Patience and Empathy: Learn to connect with horses on an emotional level. Learn about give and take. 
   • Confidence Boost: Understanding horse behavior creates predictability which boosts confidence in and out of the saddle. 
4. Long-Term Growth
   • Advanced Skills Foundation: Prepare for complex tasks like owning or caring for their own horse or training a young or challenging horse.

For Horses

1. Trust and Relationship Building
   • Reduce stress to build relationship based on trust and understanding, helping horses become more willing and relaxed under saddle.
   • Improve responsiveness to cues.
2. Behavioral Improvement
   • Reduce undesired behaviors: Horses that have gained comfort and trust with a handler on the ground are less likely to engage in dangerous behaviors in lessons.
3. Health Benefits
   • Reduce physical stress and provide engaging, low-impact activities to build strength, balance and body awareness that all improve horse and rider safety.

For the Rider-Horse Relationship

• Strengthen the bond and foster better communication and allow for the riders to make deposits into the relationship.
• Build trust and mutual respect for a more synchronized partnership. Familiarity which enhances communication, building trust and comfort for a better mounted experience
• Deeper Emotional Connection: Understanding the horse’s mood, body language, and boundaries on the ground allows the rider to approach riding in a more compassionate, attuned manner.

Implementation Strategies

There are a lot of different ways to include unmounted lesson time. You can consider these approaches to incorporate unmounted teaching into your lessons program:

• Create Policies: Require a certain number of unmounted lessons a month/quarter/year.
• Implement an unmounted lesson policy: Ideal for bad weather or horse related cancelations.
• Provide additional opportunity: Offer monthly or seasonal unmounted sessions or an “open barn” time once a week.
• Blend Lessons: Dedicate part of riding lessons to unmounted work. Started with unmounted activities and then move into a ridden portion of the lesson.
• Workshops and Challenges: Host ground-based competitions or join initiatives like the Winter Horsemanship Challenge or Horse Agility Games

Regardless of how you implement unmounted lessons, I encourage you to invest in them. Design interactive, fun activities that engage and motivate students making sure to include your what, why, how. Get creative, make them fun, and interactive to keep them motivated and learning.

Overcoming Resistance

To eliminate some on the spot resistance, be sure that you are upfront in communicating changes with your participants and their families. Share the purpose and value as it relates to the riders and your programs mission.

However, inevitably change is hard and it’s not uncommon to have a little resistance.

Address Concerns With Empathy And Education:

• Explain the “Why”: Focus on how unmounted lessons benefits riding skills, safety, and horse communication.
• Link to Goals: Relate ground skills to the student’s riding objectives.
• Keep It Engaging: Design hands-on, enjoyable, lessons relevant to the riders interest or goals.
• Provide Success Stories: Share examples where unmounted lessons have added to a rider’s experience.

But, I came to ride. Groundwork is boring. Can’t we just ride and do this another time?

This rider loves the thrill of riding, and it’s wonderful they’ve shared their motivation with you! Ask your rider if they could share more about what makes them feel that way. Listen to them and address their concerns.

“I completely understand how exciting riding is—it’s why we all love being here! Part of the joy of the experience is that horses are living breathing animals that can interact with us. But in that, the relationship has to be mutually benificial, give and take. As we ride our horses we are taking from them – we are asking them to expend their energy at our request. Unmounted lessons provide you with the opportunity to give to the horse to build the relationship. But here’s something cool: not only are we giving back to the horse, but you learn how to better communicate, and you’ll notice things clicking more quickly when you’re in the saddle with a better understanding how to read your horse’s behavior.

To make it fun, how about we tie this groundwork directly into what you’re working on under saddle? Since you are really wanting to learn to canter, let work on lunging and observing the horse’s movements. I will show you how we use our body to direct and move the horse around us. Then let’s see if we can recreate the footfalls of different gaits with our arms and legs just by watching. It’s really cool to focus on the horses back movement as well so you can start to imagine what it the horse feels like under you at the canter!

Why am I paying for a riding lesson if they’re not riding?

“Unmounted lessons give you tools to succeed in the saddle and beyond.

That’s a great question, and I understand how it might feel like riding is the only part of the lesson you’re paying for. However, riding is just one piece of becoming a skilled and confident equestrian. Unmounted lessons teach essential skills that directly support what happens in the saddle. This investment of time and money leads to a safer and more rewarding riding and equestrian experience in the long run.

For example, learning how to care for and handle a horse on the ground is about understanding behavior, communication and building a relationship. All of this improves both safety and success while riding but it also builds confidence and gives riders tools to overcome challenges they might face in the saddle. I always plan my lessons—mounted and unmounted—with the rider’s goals in mind, ensuring every session is meaningful and directly contributes to their progress as an equestrian. In fact, many professional riders and trainers dedicate just as much time to groundwork as riding because it’s that important.

By investing in unmounted lessons, you’re helping your rider develop into a well-rounded horse person who understands and connects with their horse in deeper, more effective ways.”

If the concern is missing saddle time, suggest adding occasional unmounted sessions in addition to their regular lessons to deepen their relationship with horses. If the concern is the financial strain, consider if this is a rider that could become proficient at certain tasks to potentially work off part of the expense.

Additionally, going forward, be sure to set clear exceptions about horseback riding being a relationship with an animal requiring knowledge, experience and instruction both in and out of the saddle.

My child doesn’t like unmounted lessons—they would rather ride.

“I completely understand how your child might feel that way—riding is thrilling and such a big part of the fun in working with horses. At the same time, unmounted lessons play an equally important role in their development as a rider.

By learning to handle horses on the ground, your child gains skills that build their confidence, deepen their connection with the horse, and make riding safer and more enjoyable. Unmounted lessons open the door to better understanding the horse’s body language and how their actions influence the horse’s behavior, which can directly impact their success in the saddle. Think of it like playing an instrument. To play the music, they must learn to read music, play the notes, they must build then strength required to hold and play the instrument. And of course they must learn to care for and tune their instrument in order to continue to practice. Even once they can play a beautiful song by themself, riding a horse is like playing with an orchestra. They must follow and work together in order for the music they play to create beautiful sounds to get the full enjoyment.

I always try to keep unmounted lessons engaging and interactive so riders can see how it benefits them. If your child has specific interests or goals, I’d love to incorporate those into the unmounted lessons to make the experience even more exciting and rewarding for them!”

Additionally, be sure you stepping it up as a teacher! Find ways to make unmounted lessons more interesting to them – Unlock and Master Motivation! If you need inspiration, keep an eye out because Half Halt will be sharing a fun, interactive ground based lessons each month in 2025.

Are other barns requiring unmounted lessons?

“While not all barns include unmounted lesson time as a regular part of their programs, many are beginning to realize how essential it is for developing skilled, confident, and well-rounded equestrians. At our barn, we prioritize unmounted learning because it’s about so much more than just riding—it’s about building a true partnership with the horse, understanding their needs, and becoming a more knowledgeable equestrian.

Riders who spend time learning groundwork and horsemanship outside of the saddle often excel faster in their riding skills because they have a deeper understanding of the horse’s behavior, body language, and how to communicate effectively. Unmounted lessons give you tools and insights that you can’t fully gain while riding alone.

In the long run, this approach not only makes you a better rider but also prepares you to care for and work with horses independently. We’re here to give you the skills to succeed in every part of the equestrian journey!”

Additionally to build the horsemanship community – Proudly promote what your riders accomplish from the ground. If and when you are showcasing ribbon or ridden success on social media – highlight the work that individual put in from the ground to build their success or to be compassionate caring towards their mount.

The Value Of Checking In With Clients

I am a big proponent of regular communication with riders and families outside of lesson time. Frequent touch points with your riders and/or families foster collaboration, understanding, and empowerment, to create a supportive environment where individuals can thrive. I encourage you to regularly make a point to reach out to educate and highlight the less obvious wins that were facilitated by unmounted lesson time. It takes a trained eye to be able to notice these things and you, as the expert, should be educating!

By normalizing and emphasizing unmounted lessons as a critical component of equestrian education, we set the stage for creating not only skilled riders but true horsemen and horsewomen. These lessons foster deeper connections, greater confidence, and a more comprehensive understanding of the horse and rider partnership increasing overall rider satisfaction.

It’s time for all riding instructors to embrace their role as the stewards of horsemanship—not just riding. By prioritizing unmounted lessons, we’re paving the way for safer, more capable equestrians and a brighter, more sustainable future for the horse world. Let’s lead the movement in creating safer, smarter, and more connected horse-rider teams. Together, we can redefine the meaning of great horsemanship.