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!

@Greenfairydust good luck with your first lesson at your new school.

Interestingly I do get nervous before lessons but it's not the riding, it's all the yard stuff that stresses me out and slightly puts me off!

I agree with others, teaching adults is entirely different to kids and some instructors can't do both. Don't be shy to try out a few schools to find the right instructor for you. Luckily in Kent you must have lots of options!

Exciting news, I think I've found a horse share!

It's almost within walking distance of my office so would be after work hacks now it's getting lighter!

Hacking only in the most amazing setting, miles and miles of off road hacking.

The owner has two at both ends of the spectrum size wise for me to try.

Hereforthedramaz how exciting , let us know how it goes!

That is exciting news @Hereforthedramaz - I hope it works out 😊

Wow @Hereforthedramaz , that sounds fantastic :)

@Hereforthedramaz very exciting! Best of luck!

@Allthegoodnamestakken that's so lovely to hear and so encouraging. I had my second riding lesson last weekend since re starting and I loved being up there so much but felt so down about what a long way I've got to go. Looking forward to that click moment now though!

Operation Restore Confidence is in full swing 😉. I booked myself onto a long hack yesterday morning at a trekking centre which has rides out in beautiful countryside. I had a glorious morning on a lovely, straightforward horse. I just stayed in walk and trot as I wanted to feel completely confident doing that as it was my first hack out since the end of last summer. Next time I’m going to canter though - the canter tracks are short, uphill stretches on a straight line so not much to think about! Another lesson tomorrow and I’ve started writing down the things I’ve been working on when I get back from my lessons.

@Pleasedontdothat that sounds fabulous! Good for you!

I love the sound of the hacking around you!

@theferry - hope the ride went well! If you are still struggling have a look at my blog post, I work with nervous riders/owners as I've been there, done that (many times!)

https://www.outofchaostherapy.com/post/nervous-here-s-why-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

I am laughing about it today but I had probably one of the worst lessons ever yesterday so I thought I would post to make everyone who is struggling with anxiety/learning to ride as an adult realise you are probably nowhere as bad as I am!

I had a break from riding for about 6 months as I was just too busy moving to a new location and changing jobs.

Started again yesterday at a brand new riding school.

It was a very windy day, windy enough to repeatedly knock my wooly hat off my head as I was walking to the school, so I was already worries about riding in that weather.

I was presented with a tiny mounting block with 2 tiny stairs only (I am used to bigger mounting blocks in my previous school) so it took forever to gracelessly get myself onto the horse.

Once I finally got on the horse I seemed to have forgotten everything I had ever learned (I had got to a level where I could canter and go on hacks) and was really nervous.

10 minutes into the lesson the horse spooked in a corner, jumped sideways and took off.

I thankfully managed to stay on by he continued to shy every time I rode past that corner so I ended up having to use half of the arena only.

My trot was appalling.

With the wind I could not hear half of what the instructor was shouting and I had sand in my eyes.

All I can say that was positive about this was that I stayed on the horse! :)

So having made a complete muppet of myself I can confidently say that I probably did not impress anyone at the school.

Of course today I am sore as hell.

Oh well...

I've been riding for 35+ years and I still get nervous! My go to is either singing wheels on the bus OR if my nerves are really bad, a swig or 2 of whisky out of my hip flask 😳.
The key is to acknowledge the nerves and do it anyway. Focus on the positives and work on the negatives.

@Hereforthedramaz That is really exciting, I hope it works out!

@LikeAnOldFriend You will get back to that! this moment has taken me 8 months of riding on average twice a month, private lessons mostly with a couple of hacks thrown in. For the first 6 months I was like a sack of potatoes my brain knew what I needed to do but my muscles just wouldn't do it. I think a lot of it has actually been building up the muscles needed again. I am pretty fit I train at a crossfit gym 2x a week, run in the summer, Walk miles a week with my dogs and yet I still found I would ache and ache after riding.

@Greenfairydust Oh dear that sounds like chaos! but at least you stayed on! I hate riding in windy weather I am just on edge waiting for a spook and probably end up making it worse because i'm sure the horse picks up that I am on edge.

Thanks everyone, I went for the first hack on the pony share at the weekend.

Unbelievably amazing 100% off road hacking and the pony is lovely. A mare so I need to get used to her different energy, but I suspect a lot of that is the move out of riding schools to "real" horses and ponies!

Also the gait is quite a change from the big (comfy) geldings I'm used to!

I had a lovely lesson yesterday too, focusing on half halts. Although still found the yard part stressful

3rd lesson yesterday, its interesting how much an ancient back/hip injury on my right hand side is affecting my riding. It doesn't bother me at all walking, sitting, driving etc, but it's really keeping my right hip and knee tense which is causing issues sending the horse mixed signals as I compromise by keeping my right hand quite tight.

Instructor had me ride rising trot with the reins in one hand and the other loose down by my side, the difference between each side is remarkable!

Had a very brief canter which was fun but messy. Going to go to a smaller horse for my next lesson as we decided the one I've been on is really a bit too big and strong for me and as he is through and through a riding school horse he's gunna do what's he's gunna do and not what I want him to do!

How did you go about finding a loan/share? It's something I might consider later this year but I have no clue where to start! I've tried looking online but I'm wary of the horse version of pre-loved or P4H.

@LadyFlumpalot isn't it fascinating how injuries you don't notice in everyday life become obvious in your riding! Would something like Pilates help do you think?

I tried Facebook for possible shares but they were all complicated horses or needing bringing on! Very few older boys who need a bit of love and light exercise which is really what would be best for my riding ability!

It was actually Preloved that I found more successful, but I can understand your reticence to use them. Coincidently another share has come along which is arguably better suited for me but a far far less convenient location so I'm a bit torn!

I think without a doubt word of mouth is the best way to find them but it's a catch-22 to get to know people on yards!

@Allthegoodnamestakken yes, that's exactly what the instructor was saying: the horse picks up on the fact that you are nervous and he becomes nervous too and more likely to spook...vicious circle!

I really need to keep working on my confidence/deal with the nerves.

In a weird way I was thinking, well the horse spooked and he also tripped at some point and I still stayed glued to that saddle so maybe I should believe in myself a bit more!

We advertised our lovely easy cob on Preloved for a share, so I don't think all adverts on Preloved are bad. We found 3 teenage sharers through that and had many more enquiries

Ahh brilliant, thank you! And that's exactly why I needed to ask, you hear all the time about pre-loved etc being akin to the devil when it comes to cats or dogs, didn't realise it could be reputable for horse shares!

Just had my third lesson and my legs and bum ache! I managed to canter this lesson...well it was only about 6 strides of canter but it still counts doesn't it? Unfortunately I am still suffering the effects of long covid so am working with my instructor to figure out a manageable way for me to ride regularly without it causing flare ups. Today we did lots of short bursts of trot, interspersed with walking over poles, in and out of cones etc to give me some recovery time between the more active bits. I'm hoping this works and I can gradually build up my stamina. I'm still pining for the days when I could ride fairly effortlessly though!

@Chaosandmadness definitely a canter in my book! 👍. I’m not suffering with long covid but I still need a break in my lessons after trotting a lot. I wish I was as fit and light as I used to be.

I'm glad my short canter counts! My arse and legs are feeling a bit delicate today though 😂

After my gloat about how good my previous lesson was and how everything was finally clicking I just had a disaster of a lesson. Back to feeling like a sack of potatoes and cried on the way home because I was so annoyed at myself.
Going to see if I can squish in another lesson over Easter so I don't stew over it for weeks and convince myself I can't possibly go back

@Allthegoodnamestakken

After my gloat about how good my previous lesson was and how everything was finally clicking I just had a disaster of a lesson. Back to feeling like a sack of potatoes and cried on the way home because I was so annoyed at myself.
Going to see if I can squish in another lesson over Easter so I don't stew over it for weeks and convince myself I can't possibly go back

Have a look at my post above about going back to lessons and having a car crash of a lesson at a new school trying to cope with in strong winds and a constantly spooky horse. I can assure you your lesson was not as bad as mine! :)

Seriously I felt the same way at the end of the lesson: that I would never get on a horse again and that everyone at the school thought I was pathetic...

I am definitely going to try again out of pure stubbornness, even though I pulled a muscle controlling the bolting hose, and because it took me so much work/resilience to learn to trot and canter in the first place and I am not going to just let all that effort and knowledge go to waste.

@Allthegoodnamestakken i think everyone feels like that at times - like learning pretty much anything else, progress won’t be linear and sometimes it feels like you’re going backwards. I had a rubbish lesson last weekend - the normally forward pony was like a wiggly slug and the instructor was one I hadn’t had for a while - she was very ‘old school’, didn’t ask me what I wanted to work on etc I ended up struggling to get a decent trot and what made it worse was I was being watched by a load of kids who were there for a junior dressage competition that afternoon 😳. I went home thinking what was I doing but then had really good lessons on Wednesday and yesterday with my usual instructor and came away having felt I’d both my riding and the pony’s way of going by the end of the session.