What is horsemanship?
In general, horsemanship is the art of handling, riding, and training horses. Here at Liberty Equestrian Center, we are proud to offer our Horsemanship program with the goal of introducing new and new-again riders of all ages to the basics of horse riding and care. Over a ten-week session, beginners learn (or re-learn) how to groom, tack up, do basic groundwork maneuvers, safety essentials, and walk, trot, and sometimes even canter. Each week we build upon the previous week to help get new riders comfortable with the horsemanship "hard" skills mentioned above, as well as "soft" skills such as learning to read and respond to horse emotions.
General session outline:
- Week 1: Groundwork only
- Weeks 2-8: Groundwork, riding at the walk and trot
- Weeks 9-10: Riding at the walk and trot. If the level of the group is appropriate, cantering may also be introduced.
Additional Conditions
If you cannot make it to a lesson there will NOT be makeups available. On occasion, we do need to cancel a lesson due to weather (snowstorms, tornado warnings, excessive heat, etc.) or horse availability. If we have more than two cancellations due to these or other extenuating circumstances, we will schedule a make-up lesson for the whole group.
Each session must have at least four students enrolled for us to hold the class. However, this has not been a problem in the past, as our classes tend to fill up fast. Those enrolled in a class that does not reach the minimum enrollment will be allowed to transfer into another session.
We offer a $50 discount on Horsemanship for riders that will be using their own horse or a horse for which they currently have a yearly lease!
Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds unless you cancel prior to the start of the session AND we're able to fill your slot with someone from the waitlist. Horses are expensive and we need to ensure that we have the necessary funds to care for them.
