These days it is easy to get horseback riding lessons from excellent teachers and it is probably a good idea to study some of the excellent books and view the helpful videos available about horseback riding. Certainly there is no substitute for hours in the saddle, but they can bring skills much more rapidly than anyone could gain on their own. After the great horse escape resulting from the Indian revolt in Santa Fe in 1680 it took only about 50 years for horse culture to spread far into Canada and certainly the American Plains Indians quickly turned into some of the finest horsemen the world has ever known without any help from books or videos. One imagines, however, that they got some help in handling and training their new found mounts from tribes to the south of them who were already acquainted with the Spanish style of riding. Certainly the new technology transformed the life of the Plains Indians.