Adult new or returning riders up for a chat?

[Hereforthedramaz]

I have recently returned to riding after a very long gap.

I was a very casual rider as an early teen, happy hacking on plodding ponies rather than technical riding. I am thoroughly enjoying having proper lessons now.

I thought it might be nice to chat with other newbies or returners, all non-horsey people in my life and there is only so much they want to talk about it!!!

Also the stables I'm going to is so lovely and welcoming but, in their own words, aimed almost entirely at 8-12 year olds so it would be nice to talk to some adults!

Ha ha yes definitely. Try a Swiss ball as that gives you instability of riding and improves fitness. Honestly 3 mins of rising trot on a Swiss ball is exhausting 😄 but you can then build up.

@XelaM So they change the subject quite a bit we asked about possibly going out on a hack and again the subject was changed. I was doing a dressage test but it was never completed and then we go back to the circles and serpentines.

@Lovelycupofcoffee I think I’d be looking for a different riding school to be honest. The fabulous school I was riding at before we moved had a really varied programme with lots of different horsey activities to try out - hacking, formation riding, dressage, jumping sessions etc as well as standard lessons. The instructors helped riders to set goals for the next few weeks and made sure we were building up skills step
by step. There are good riding schools out there!

@Pleasedontdothat I think you are right as I don’t feel like I’m progressing. Had a lesson today and did a few new exercises but it still feels like there are no plans or goals in place . I will have a look round and see if there is another school I could try

@Lovelycupofcoffee If you tell us approximately where you are I'm sure posters on here can recommend schools in your area. Your school doesn't sound great

@Pleasedontdothat so I’m in Marlborough Wiltshire. I think there is also another lady who would change as well as we have been having a lesson at the same time and she is also a bit fed up .

Beautiful day for riding today, at least in Oxfordshire.

Lovely group lesson on the nice big sporty grey.

I need to work on getting the right diagonals without being told and hopefully without having to think about it eventually!

Today is the kind of day I'd love to have access to a horse, a lovely lobby hack in the fresh sunshine would be a gorgeous way to spend the afternoon!

Try sitting for 2 beats once you pick up trot, then rising and you 'should' be on the correct diagonal

Does anyone else have trouble getting down off bigger horses. I keep falling unless the instructor helps me down.

@Lovelycupofcoffee sorry that’s not my area but there’s probably a local horsey Facebook group you could ask for some suggestions

@Hereforthedramaz getting diagonals right flummoxed me for ages - I’d have to look down to check which leg was doing what but then one day it suddenly clicked. One thing that helped was sitting for two beats, thinking does that feel better or worse, sitting for two beats again - ah, that feels better so that must be the right diagonal and just developing the feel that way - it happened in the course of one lesson and now it’s obvious

@Notanotherwindow can you slow yourself down when dismounting? I keep
my body close to the horse and slide slowly down and bend my knees slightly when landing. I suspect that working on your overall strength and fitness would help with all aspects of your riding including getting off 👍🏻

I pretty much swing my leg over, lay sideways over his back and cling for dear life to the saddle while sliding and sliding and sliding down his flank. He is nearly as broad as he is tall so it feels scary to just drop.

And yes my fitness needs lots of work. I do exercises every evening. I have a dvd and everything. 😂

Thank you for your advice, I appreciate the tips.

Had a completely disasterous lesson again yesterday and feeling really disheartened. I am no longer riding the very sweet obliging mare but a much more opinionated gelding, so far its been 50% good and 50% bad lessons. This week I just couldn't get him listening to me, but my instructor has said if I want to get back to jumping I have to get to grips with the more complex horses so thats the motivation to keep at it.
Took him for a hack to finish and relax a bit after 30 minutes of battling over circles and we came across some sheep who he had such a freak out at I had to get off and lead him past. Quite impressed with myself that I managed to climb back onboard his 16.2hh self from the floor with nobody holding him though. I was certain we where going to have to walk the whole way home.

@Pleasedontdothat @DuaneDibbley thank you for your advice on diagonals, I had a lesson yesterday and she didn't have to correct me! Whooo! So thank you so much x

Ahhh that does sound frustrating and it's really hard to come away from a lesson feeling disheartened. I suspect as with almost everything it was no where near as disastrous as it felt!

At 5"3 I'm also incredibly impressed you back up onto a 16.2, I wouldn't have a chance on the 16.2 I have lessons on!

@Hereforthedramaz yay for getting the hang
of diagonals 😊 when it clicks it just feels obvious!

@Allthegoodnamestakken I too am incredibly impressed you managed to get back on board 👍🏻. It’s amazing what ridiculous things horses can get in a tizz about .. there’s no way he wouldn’t have seen sheep out hacking before but they were probably in a slightly different place from the time before so therefore SCARY 🙄

Hello. I've just found this thread and read through most of it. I'm also a late learner having started June 2021 at 47. It's been slow progress and I've had a mix of privates and now do a regular group lesson. I struggle with everything - balance, fitness and fear! I've been off twice! Recently I've being trying to learn to canter and whilst I want to oh my goodness the fear! I can't get sat back in the saddle to even try and relax the hips! And seem to be constantly on the neck strap hanging on wanting it to stop. Last group lesson I ended up stopping in tears feeling a fool and only trotting after that! So I'm booked in for a private to have another go at canter on Friday. But I'm worried if I can't master it is this the end of my riding journey? I'm 48 nearly 49. Never rode as a child and love it (apart from the canter fear). But I can't have such an expensive 30mins every week if I can't get past the fear! Any words of wisdom?

My riding dreams are quite modest. I'd like to be able to go on a hack and enjoy the three paces. I don't want to jump or dressage or compete just a lovely relaxing ride. And id like to be able to canter not just trot. Will I get there - has anyone got over this themselves?

cakeforme Well done for not giving up! Try doing some yoga or pirates at home. There's lots of treat stuff on YouTube. It'll help your balance and flexibility.

Make sure that you've the right instructor too. It makes a lot of difference if it is someone you feel comfortable with and is patient. And stop worrying about the canter for now. Do they do hacks where you can just walk and trot? That way you can concentrate on enjoying yourself and often it all falls into place.

pilates not pirates 🙄

@cakeforme hi!

Your progress sounds amazing, don't lose sight of all that progress you have already made.

Relaxing and getting into the position for cantering is not easy. I'm a returner as an adult but never learnt to canter when I was younger so it's new to me and I agree it's not easy!

I'm conscious that even if I'm riding through it, I don't feel in control of the horse at the same time! I have a riding holiday coming up and I'm starting to worry I won't be good enough to canter along the beaches!

I don't have any practical advice, there are some fantastic ex instructors on this thread who I'm sure will have some great advice. If it were me I'd book in for some nice hacks and non-canter focused riding for a little while to take the fear out of it and make sure you keep the joy of riding.

Yes you will get there but what will really help us your own fitness and stability in the saddle. If you feel more secure then you eill feel more confident. 2 ways of doing this:
1- I keep banging on about this but pilates/equipilates is excellent at improving core stability and releasing tension in the muscles you use for riding. If you are tight and tense through hips/glutes and upper body then you will never be stable or effective
2- lots of lunge lessons and work without stirrups. The top riders frequently work without stirrups and Ingrid Klimke warms up as every dressage comp without stirrups.
Do both of these things in conjunction with each other and you will feel massive improvements.

Welcome @cakeforme as well as all the other good advice you’ve had I’d add time in the saddle - the more you ride, the more confident and comfortable you become - once you’re completely relaxed in walk and trot, canter will be a doddle! If you’re currently only having one 30
minute lesson a week it’s hard to develop that. Is there any way you could book a few intensive days/go on a riding holiday (there are holidays set up for novice riders)/book a hack and a lesson etc

@Hereforthedramaz I'm 5ft 9 so thankfully have fairly long legs to reach the stirrups with. Still didn't think I'd manage

Welcome @cakeforme you will definitely get there but it takes time.

I have another lesson on Saturday morning and I'm looking forward to it, the few disastrous lessons have made me more determined to keep at it

@cakeforme Have you tried asking to ride a different horse. I was getting really downcast because I couldn't do even a couple of strides of rising trot. Then I had a lesson on a different horse as the one I usually ride was lame (laminitis)

I had it down within one lesson. I think I didn't trust him.

He is a dream to ride, obedient, responsive and extremely well schooled. Really looks after his rider. But on the ground he is a pain. He fidgets and stamps his feet when being mounted and will grab and tug your clothes. He isn't nasty, just grumpy and incapable of standing still.

I'm not confident handling him on the ground at all and considering his size (18.2) he is more than a little intimidating when he decides to dick about.

The new horse I've had my last couple of lessons on is only a bit smaller at 17 hands but such an angel a child could handle him. He doesn't nip or raid your pockets and is generally sweet and cuddly. He is an older horse, a retired showjumper and bombproof. Couldn't give a toss what is going on around him.

In a way he's harder to ride as if you don't keep urging him on he just stops but he'll stand still as long as I need him to.

I think I relax more and ride more confidently on him and I was just too tense on the first horse even though I could confidently ride him at a walk, I shit myself every time he sped up. Being the size of a bloody elephant he has a choppy trot and when I'm terrified it's somewhat hard to relax into it.

Maybe you should try out a different horse and see how it feels?

Thank you for the warm welcome. I like the sound of the Pilates and equipilates as my core could definitely do with being stronger. And if that improves balance I’d definitely benefit. My fitness has improved but I’m definitely not as fit as I’d like. Riding has improved that even with the small amount a week and I have stronger muscles than before in places I never knew I had muscles!!

My instructor is lovely - and very calm and good with me. She also puts me on different horses each few weeks which is challenging but she says helps you learn. There’s a couple I’m not keen on - one because I’ve come off it twice as it’s a bit spooky and one which doesn’t bloody stop!! Well it does but not when I put the emergency tense brakes on!! But most of them are fine.

I’ve a canter lesson tomorrow so I know you say don’t worry about it but at the same time part of me thinks I’ve just got to keep trying. I just got very self conscious of my nerves in my last group lesson and just had to stop.

I would love to ride more or do a riding holiday but finances aren’t going to make that possible for now. I wish it wasn’t such an expensive thing to do. Maybe one for the future. There is another place I might try that do cheaper lessons than where I am to see if they do any hacks out at all as the place I go to now doesn’t seem to do those. It’s more geared up for children or adult experienced riders.

looking forward to reading posts on here.