To think I can start horse riding at 30?

[Therewillbe7]

I’ve been looking at starting adult horse riding lessons having not ridden a horse since I had one or two lessons as a child. Has anyone done this.? Most people who have taken it up as an adult seem to have been good riders as children then lapsed, whereas I would be a total novice. Is it a stupid idea?

Thanks everyone. I’m quite excited now. I didn’t expect to get booked in so quickly. I hope I’m not afraid once I get on the horse. It’s fair to say I’m not an outdoorsy or animal person.

YANBU it is definitely never too late to start! Remember that it will take time to build up confidence and muscles so give it a good long shot. I’d say lessons at least every 2 weeks if you can afford it - I bet you’ll soon be wanting them more often than that though!

Have a blast!

A good establishment will allow you time to say hello to the horse on the ground etc before you get on. It’s worth seeing if they do any equine management classes as well. As I think if you are used to the way horses move and react from the ground it makes riding them a lot less intimidating.

Hope it all went well!

It did! I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. I’ve booked again for next Tuesday so I’ll see how that goes. I got a bit nervous when the horse started to trot, I was convinced I was going to fall off, and I absolutely could not get the sitting/standing thing.

Ex professional instructor here

Well done for having your first lesson . They shouldn't have pushed you to try rising trot in your first lesson so do tell them you would prefer to take things slowly .

the first few lessons should be about feeling safe and comfortable with what you are doing and getting the feel for starting, stopping and steering , ie feeling like you have some control and getting you into a good position .

The most important thing you should be doing is gaining confidence safely .

If they are trying to teach you to trot in your first lesson it's the wrong riding school - that's WAY too fast.

My DH took a notion to learn for a while and i gave him 2 months of lessons just in walk to begin with to teach him to ride with "feel" for the horses mouth, body and movement. Slow progress yes, but he had a better understanding than many more experienced riders of how his movements influence the horse, and developed the ability to use hands, seat and legs independently. I used to give him entire lessons without reins where he had to perform various movements using only his body and legs to guide the horse.

That makes me feel a bit better, I thought I must’ve been not cut out for it. Do you think I should try another school?

Trying another school depends on you and how everything else was ...

You need good facilities such as a well lit , good surface , well fenced area to ride in , safe dobbins that do as much ( or as little ) as you want .
A good clear instructor who you have confidence in .
I would have a chat with the manager or. senior instructor and tell them you were nervous maybe try another instructor - don't be hoodwinked into feeling that you had to try trot , that would be unacceptable
As I say the first few lessons should be about gaining confidence and getting the feel of how to sit , correct position , starting , stopping and turning , trotting will be much easier if these things are mastered correctly first .

Riding isn't hard but doing it properly is and it takes patience and lots of practice.
Remember you are doing this for pleasure !

I'm a mounted police officer and didn't get on a horse until I was 30! Go for it.

That is brilliant, you will love it, you may ache for a while but of course you aren't too old!

Do keep us informed!!!

OH..I missed a page - whoops.

Getting trot is really hard, don't give up because of that! It may help to try a different horse. Some are easier to rise on than others or maybe longer or shorter stirrups.

If you want to do this don't let trot get in your way....it will happen... promise!!!

I'm glad you tries it I've just found this thread. I started at 26 I love it. I have my own horse but as above I'm a happy hacker. I love it to bits but I don't want to compete. I'm fairly competent I can pop a jump if needed control my boy around traffic etc but I have no desire to be judged. I love just getting out and having a ride around. Trot when we feel like it canter if he's energetic and that's it.