So I had my first riding lesson today.........

[Frozenjellybeans]

and I'm not sure how I feel about it .

I am 38 and very outrageously unfit after two pregnancies and two c-sections in the span of four years. I have ridiculously weak core and thigh muscles and, apart from walking a lot, the riding lesson was my first excercise since giving birth 8 months ago. I also still carry some weight from my last pregnancy.

Dc1 (5) also had her first lesson today and, having always wanted to learn to ride as a young woman I thought it would be nice to do this together.

So I dressed in my finest washed out leggings and wellie boots and, although i must have looked quite a a fright, they did allowed me on a horse.

I'm sure I made quite a fool of myself. I was shit scared of falling off due to my lack of core muscles and it took me a couple of attempts to even climb on swing my legs over the poor horse. Anyhow, we started moving at a fairly slow pace and the horse being wobbly and all, I got quite disconcerted so asked the girl leading the poor to slow down .


After 20 minutes I felt a bit more confident but can't say I enjoyed it much.

So, in your experience / opinion dear MN tack lovers, please tell me if it will get better, if there is a small chance I might learn to enjoy this or if this is a ridiculous undertaking given my age and physical ability.....

[carabos]

Anything new taken up as an adult is going to be difficult. Add post-natal wobbliness into the mix and you are really are challenging yourself.

Could you go for a private lesson every day for a week? That might help you decide if it is for you and make quicker progress - if you have weekly lessons it's going to take forever for you to get anywhere.

A lot of the problem will come from the stiffness - I have been riding for more than 40 years, ride to a high standard and have my own horse but if I have a break for any reason, I'm stiff the first time I get back on so I can't imagine how bad it must be if your muscles have never moved in that way before.

When I took up skiing ten years ago (aged 40) I had a solid week of input and went from unable to stand on my skis to snow-ploughing down a red run in four days - not pretty, but I did it. The concentrated effort and instruction got me going and I haven't looked back. perhaps a similar approach might work for you with your riding.

I would look for a school that specialises in adult beginners. It's very different teaching an unfit nervy adult than a gung-ho bouncy kid and no instructor should be teaching an adult beginner and a child beginner in the same lesson. Check out the Where to Ride section on the BHS website for info.

[Phylis81]

I rode a while whilst I was a teenager and then quit.

A couple of years ago I started lessons again and I remember being terrified on that first lesson, it felt wobbly and unsafe and I couldn't wait for the lesson to end. I persevered for a few weeks and then couldn't afford to carry it on so quit again.

A few months ago I started again and this time I was hooked from the start. So it might take a while but if it's for you it will click soon