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!

I’d never thought of any of these horse (plus experience) days. Good finds. I need to get googling….

@Hereforthedramaz the equine spa day sounds particularly good! 😁

@Hereforthedramaz I love the sound of the equine spa day! I will have to see if there is anything like that here.

I finally got back out to see Horse today - the road was clear although there was water right up to each side of the road, and the paddock was too wet for riding. The horses were also a bit wild after some weeks off, so we just did some ground work - but it was so nice to be out in the sunshine after all the crazy climate-changey rain we’ve had.

@Gremlinsateit so pleased for you, it must be so nice to finally get out there to them and start riding or just even seeing them again!

Hi, can I join you, I don't have any horsey friends in real life which is sad because between the ages of 5-20 all my friends where horsey friends.
After 9 years of very sporadic a few times a year rides I've just started taking some proper lessons again. I've a probably insane goal of learning to jump properly again and throwing myself round the schools cross country course.
I was surprised by how hard I have found the lessons I'm terms of fitness. I'm pretty fit and do weekly cross fit and running but riding is a whole different set of muscles I've been waddling after every lesson.
Currently my biggest challenge is leg position and getting the correct lead in canter so welcome any tips for that.

@Allthegoodnamestakken we have the same goal!! I’m aiming for the x-country course after 23 years 😂!! Go for it!

Hi @Allthegoodnamestakken, leg positioning seems to take up a lot of my lessons too! I've even had calf stretches "suggested" to help!

Great targets! I'd love to try a cross country course, good for you!

@Tinkerbell1281 how was your hot lesson on Monday morning?

@Hereforthedramaz very slow and very hot. We just did a lot of jumping position (without the jumping) and getting the horse to stop dead from a trot/canter because he tends to get very excited when he’s jumping and gets very strong. When is your next lesson? So glad it’s cooler!

I have a group lesson tonight, glad it's cooler!

Pilates, or more specifically equipilates, is great for helping with all sorts of positions issues. It may be that with all your gym work you have tight muscles that need to be more relaxed for riding especially pelvis/lower back. With riding a tight lower back and unstable pelvis can lead to leg/upper back instability and tension.

@twistyizzy oh I will look into equipilates. Its possible you are correct as one of the things my instructor is always saying is for me to relax and let the horse take me forward.
Main leg issue is in the canter apparently my legs are great in walk and trot but as soon as I get into the canter my toes start pointing outward and I feel like I can't physically turn them to point forward. Consequence of this is my lower leg is constantly niggling the horse so I either end up going to fast or the horse becomes dead to my leg depending on which one i'm riding.

@Allthegoodnamestakken pointing out toes is classic tight hip flexor muscles. Would definitely recommend equipilates. My instructor also uses Franklin method once mounted which again is perfect for tension areas.

My lesson was amazing! Really feels like I'm remembering everything now. Need to work on canter transitions now.

This is such a lovely and inspiring thread!
I rode at least weekly from age 13-17 and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately as I was getting more advanced and doing more jumping it coincided with my A levels and after a couple of painful falls I lost confidence and decided to concentrate on my exams instead. I had the occasional lesson/ hack at university but afterward gradually gave up due to work commitments. I haven’t been on a horse for 18 years now.
I now have the time and money and would love to take it up again but also need to lose some weight first. I’m also a bit worried about my confidence now though as I seem to get scared by everything!
I’m reasonably tall (5’7) and when I was having regular lessons as a teenager the smallest I rode was 14.2 and the largest 17hh (!!!) I definitely preferred the larger horses and strangely felt more secure on them- not sure I would now as it’s a long way off the ground.
This thread has given me the impetus to lose some more weight so I can try it again!

@Starcatty Hi!

Most of us are or were in similar situations.

Interestingly a few of us have found we feel a lot more relaxed and confident riding as an adult so you might find it's easier getting back into it than you think!

I just did my first jump!! Ok so it was only a cross pole but that counts right 😉

Can I join too please! I'm in the same position as lots of you - loads of riding and helping at riding school as a teen and now want to take it up again when I am quite a lot less fit and flexible!

I'm still at the stage of trying to find a good school. The first one I tried was 70% children's lessons and the ponies felt very unresponsive. The second was much better with lovely horses but a slightly scary instructor who only takes a few pupils. I will probably stick with that but am trying one last school before settling. Do you think group or individual lessons are best? Ideally I'd like to have a bit of a community of people around the same stage.

Hi all! I started lessons again in September after a 22 year break. I had my own horse from age 14-18 and had riding lessons before that. At 18 I gave up (when my horse sadly died) and went back to it aged 40 last year!

I have a lesson every week alternate private and groups. Had a bad fall a couple of weeks ago from a 16.2 Irish draught mare who is a big baby and spooked at something while we were cantering. Fell directly on my back and got concussion and whiplash. All fine though had my body protector on luckily!

Had a lesson yesterday on an absolute sweetie (actually my instructors horse) to get my confidence back and even did a few XC jumps in the field. Cantering up that field made me feel 14 again! Bliss!

This is the big baby I fell off. She's so gorgeous though I couldn't blame her for spooking.

@Mia85 I've had similar issues, first school I tried the horses didn't look in great condition and it was just chaos in lessons. Second one was better but mainly children's lessons so the horses weren't used to being ridden properly and the instructors didn't take set lessons so I had a different one each week and felt like I was starting over everytime.
Settled on a 3rd one which was more than I'd originally wanted to spend but it has amazing facilities and well schooled horses. They only do private lessons though which is a sane as like you I'd like to get to know other people a bit. However hoping when I'm more confident I can join some of the shows they hold.
@FizzyStream she is beautiful I love grey horses, many happy memories of scrubbing mud and stable stains of my big grey Irish hunter as a teenager

Allthegoodnamestakken not feeling the love for greys atm 🙄

All these greys are gorgeous (if hard work to keep clean!).

Coincidently my instructors big horse I rode was a handsome flea-bitten grey too!

@FizzyStream good for you getting back on and feeling confident after a fall. I suspect falling as an adult is quite different to falling off as a teen!

Had my 3rd lesson at the school I settled on today. Think my jumping ambitions may be a bit premature. Trying not to be to negative with myself that I haven't just hopped back on and picked it all up immediately where I left off.
Found the canter transitions much better today in terms of getting the correct lead and not letting her run into the canter. Still really struggling with lower leg position, as soon as I get into the canter my heels come up, my feet go out and it all falls apart.
Apparently we are going to work on this by taking away my stirrups next lesson. So I'm preparing for some aching

@Allthegoodnamestakken Don’t be hard on yourself! Learning or relearning as an adult is tricky. I didn’t think I’d ever get my lower leg to behave when I started again - this time last year my instructor was constantly reminding me that it was creeping forward. And then I gradually realised she was saying it less and less and then she stopped saying it at all - because gradually the muscles started doing what they needed to!

I sometimes get frustrated that something’s not clicking immediately, especially when you see little kids whizzing around on their ponies at shows. But then I make myself focus on what’s gone right in a lesson rather than what’s not been so good. I find it really helpful looking back 3/6/9 months and remembering what I was doing then and how much better I am now.

Have fun with your no stirrups lesson - it’ll be tough but worth it!

I’ve got my adult pony camp this week - I’ll report back on musical ride chaos 😂

@Hereforthedramaz I’ve fallen off twice in the last year - in some ways it was good to get it over with as you know it’s going to happen at some point. Both were those ‘slow motion’ type of falls completely caused by my own crapness 😬. I don’t really bounce any more so I was a bit bruised but got back on and ride much better afterwards on both occasions 🤷‍♀️

@Pleasedontdothat trying to do that, the win for this week was only picking up the wrong leg in canter once instead of basically every time.
The horse I'm riding is very well schooled which is great but also means she picks up on the slightest misplacement of legs or hands.