LWR Riding Instruction

From the start it is apparent that the wranglers are dedicated to making sure you are getting all the help you need. Whether it’s teaching you the basics of horsemanship and riding or assisting you with your tack they are there to assure your safety and comfort. Our instruction program is built around teaching each and every one what they need to achieve that level of comfort so that their “week at the ranch” is one for the book.

We at LWR are dedicated to offering you an excellent riding experience. We will select a horse for you based on the information you provide to us on your pre-arrival form after you confirm your reservation. We have horses for every level of rider from the guest who has never ridden to the guest who rides on a regular basis.

We have gentle horses
For gentle people.
Spirited horses for spirited people
and
For people who don’t like to ride,
We have horses that don’t like to be ridden.

Seriously... our horses are well trained. They will perform and give you a great riding experience. It is important that you be honest in your riding ability in order for us to select the best horse for you and to get the most out of your riding experience.

We will not bore you with clinic-style riding instruction. That is more efficiently and effectively done at a riding stable before coming. If you have some specific horseback riding goals you should consider instruction before your arrival so that you don't have to feel guilty about holding up other riders while you get exactly what you want. Our goal is to get you up in the saddle and on the trail to experience Montana as it should be; from the back of a horse.

On Monday morning we begin horse instruction. Our initial subjects will be:

Horse Psychology

· Prey not predator, fright/flight response
· Herd animal, you and your horse are a herd of two and you are the dominate one
· Pecking order of horses, some like to be out front
· How horses communicate, horse talk

Horse Anatomy

· Eyes, range of vision and blind spots
· Ears, pointed forward, one ear back, ears pinned back
· Flank, area to avoid
· Withers, hooves, Muzzle, back, thigh, brisket, etc.

Basic Horsemanship and Safety

· Approaching a horse
· Leading
· Tying safety knots
· Mounting / dismounting
· Sitting / riding position
· Reining
· Starting / stopping
· Verbal communication
· Staying in control of your horse
· Not riding too close to other horses
· Grooming
· Tacking
· Feeding

We will then get you atop your mount and riding in the arena. We will work with you in the arena until we are confident you have a basic understanding of horseback riding and are in control of and comfortable with your horse. We will divide you into small groups based upon riding ability or family groups and take you on a short ride around the ranch and wind up at the lodge for lunch. After lunch you have the option of returning to the arena to practice and hone your riding skills or taking a short trail ride.

As the week progresses we will continue to offer you on-trail instruction and additional pointers to improve your riding skills. As your riding improves we will increase the complexity of the rides if you so desire. We offer short scenic rides (about 4 hours) as well as long challenging rides (about 6 hours) with lunch on the trail.

Our #1 goal is to give you the best horseback riding vacation ever.
Our #1 rule is that all questions are important and we want you to ask us as many questions as you want and to clarify anything when you need us to.

E-mail: Cowboy@lwranch.com

Telephone: (800) 847-5095

Site by Glacier Web Works

Learn more about horse colors you might see at Laughing water Ranch. See our horse colors page for color names and some examples.

You'll feel safer on your horse than on most city highways. While we won't let you take your horse home with you, we'll reserve a horse for your next visit. See our horse picture page to meet some of our horses, or see if they're hanging around the feeders on our real-time dude ranch webcam - we call it the Laughing Water RanchCam.