Adult new or returning riders part 2

[theferry]

I thought I’d start a new thread seeing as the existing one is full.

I’m due to ride tomorrow. Maybe I’ll jump. I’ll see.

@AuntyPants can you have some lunge lessons? It’s much easier to concentrate on what you’re doing when you’re not having to steer or worry about keeping the horse going

I'm really surprised by people saying about hacking being difficult to find. It's almost impossible to get a lesson at my stables, I've only hacked with them for 4 months. First with instructor then group hacks.

I returned to riding 4 months ago after maybe 10 years but haven't ridden regularly for more like 25 years!

I've recently met someone who needs help with her horses so I'm helping bring on and school a couple of cobs and skip out etc as she has an injury.

Not risked jumping yet!

Can I join.

I rode a lot as a kid. Largely moorland hacks or jumping on my friends horse. Stopped as a teen and went back properly in thirties. Rode for years then stopped for years in my forties due to becoming very overwhelmed by caring for my severely disabled son and retraining etc.

i returned to riding a year ago (now in my 50’s). Very lucky with my yard. The owner is amazing. I do a mix of really high quality lessons and moorland 2 or 3 hour hacks. All forward going horses.

I used to get scared riding but very rarely do now (in fact my last hack having to jump a bog:/stream with a refusing horse was the first time I felt any fear since returning). I think that’s because I spent years being slung around by my disabled teen/adult child & now have a much higher tolerance of physical threat :lol: I have also done a lot of stress tolerance training - it clearly works! Anyway wish I had had this level of calmness throughout my riding years as it means my brain stays online.

I’d like to improve my schooling - will work on that over the winter. Riding is my switch off. Keeps me sane. Am on holiday at the moment but I try to go every week. May start trying to go twice - can be hard to fit in with work.

Try having a pole placed across a corner of the school and sit to ask as horse is about to go over. Just a thought.

Well I completely failed to capture her carthorse side but did ok on the half-camel which is her other parent I think.

We did do good cantering, she is very comfortable and it was nice and sunny. Am a bit knackered though, need to regain some fitness after the school hols.

@NormalAuntFanny ha!! What a face!!

The lessons sounds good and a bit more at the level you were hoping?

I had a nice quick hack out this morning, it was freezing first thing so I had my riding gloves etc ready but it was a beautiful day by the time Mr Hairy and I got out.

Jealous as ever of your country lanes@Hereforthedramaz looks lovely out, I packed my gloves too but ended up too hot in a t-shirt and old cord jacket. I've got a box of those heating pads you stick in your boots so hopefully this year no dead toes.

I love how your horse looks suspiciously at something in every photo.

We did have a better lesson, just working on direction, but only five in the grand ménage so better all round though.

Hello All, I am feeling very please with myself because yesterday I put my big girl pants on and did some proper jumping and I loved it. It was so much fun I was grinning like a cheshire cat for hours afterwards. Nothing major but a little 5 jump course of 60 and 70cm straight across jumps, which I know in reality are tiny but compared to the 10cm cross poles I have been doing they felt huge.

60-70 seems like a lot to me @Allthegoodnamestakken no wonder you are pleased. How was your horse?

@NormalAuntFanny it felt huge while I was doing it and then the 13 year old who rides after me pops round on her pony making them look tiny 😂
I was on my loan mare, she was wonderful, luckily she knew exactly what she was doing. Got a bit excited and was speeding but I don’t mind that, I’d always rather have to hold a horse back then encourage them while jumping.

Not really a returning rider but I feel like one. I have ridden in a club for ten years now ( in France). Roughly 60 euro a month. I am bored though and feel that I have barely progressed. The instructors burn out quickly and the lessons have become repetitive. Also the quality of horse care is dubious. I absolutely love riding - it forces me to do barre and Pilates as well so I am fit for an old bird. But I am not enjoying the prospect of another year in a schooling ring. ( And I changed club - same gig).

Hi @pinkhousesarebest

Coincidently I'm in France the moment and on walks with the dogs I keep daydreaming about doing it all on a horse!

Are there opportunities to loan instead of going to a riding school where you are?

That’s huge to me! I do cross poles so tiny the mare I ride sometimes just trots over them. Not sure they even qualify as a jump. I also only do them from a trot. I can do more (at least I tell myself), But it keeps me happy 😃

@theferry Tiny cross poles in the trot are my usual, I actually found it easier to get the stride and go forward at the correct time in the canter weirdly. We started with the usual tiny cross pole and my instructor then put it up to maybe 30cm straight across and once I had got past the mental shift of it being straight not a cross I loved it. I was very into jumping as a teenager so just kept telling myself I could do it and after a couple I realised I really could.
My horse was a complete saint though I think she would jump a wall if you asked her to.
@pinkhousesarebest That sounds frustrating, not in france but it took me a long time to find a good school here (also not UK) are there any others you could look at? perhaps one that does private lessons so you can focus on exactly what you want to rather than having to go with the flow of the group.

@Allthegoodnamestakken DD also says it’s easier at the canter. It’s mostly my own mental block that stops me. I used to jump reasonably high and at the canter. I’ve just got less and less confident over the years, even though the mare I ride is wonderful and will jump off any stride.

Hi @pinkhousesarebest I'm in France too, in the Nord, I think I got lucky with my, or rather Dd's school, there's good classes for adults and they do look after the horses, they even get a summer holiday.

I think the emphasis on doing your galops and everything going towards the concours/open de France every year is not so good for people like me but since I don't have a horse and live in a town I can't complain too much.

We got the old school coach this week and spent 15 mins trotting, taking stirrups off, crossing them over the front of the saddle and putting them back on without stopping and whilst keeping our distance and doing some figure de manège all at the same time, then 45 mins en équilibre which was not so good for my old joints but kind of fun too. Think it must be jumping next week.

I had a new-to-me horse who chucked everyone in my class last year off so was a bit nervous but he was ok, only got a bit of head tossing in the last five minutes but no actual bucks.

That sounds great! I ride with adults too but it’s mostly dressage and lots of “ what did we do last week” winging it. No clear progression. I bought an air bag last year so I should feel safe but when I’m not bored I’m terrified.

Hello I’m here as I need advice . I’ve been having lessons for a while now and fully understand that circles/ serpentines etc are part of learning but would I be wrong to ask the instructor if I can practice the trotting a bit more . For example do the circles in trot or instead of walking round the school do it in trot ? I just feel like im not really progressing but I’m being told I need to work on the trotting and build it up so I go all the way round the school . We did move onto doing circles whilst trotting and sitting trot but it seems to have stopped . Should I look for another school

@Lovelycupofcoffee that does sound a bit crap. Every lesson we do, after the first few weeks anyway, starts with walking, then trotting, tighten the girths then a canter on both hands then whatever the lesson will be. Gets the horses and us woken up!

At least that way if we're doing something boring than you get a little bit of excitement along the way.

@NormalAuntFanny I agree it is getting a bit boring . Not sure how to word a message to my instructor though . It just feels like we do the same thing every week it would be good if I was given exercises that challenge me a bit .

Well we did jumping this week and I had this rather splendid boy, Utrillo, reluctant canterer but fast trotter and very nice on the ground, lovely chocolate brown coat, nice eyes and non-knackered tack. Yay.

New coach has really upped her game these last two weeks and is determined to give us all new horses which is both good and scary. Am feeling tomorrow's aches already.

Hope you all getting lots of shedding horses ready this week too.

I just had a wonderful lesson.

First half on my share owner's pony, he's incredible in the school but very spooky on a hack so I very infrequently ride him. We did a lunge lesson to focus solely on canter seat. He has the most amazing armchair canter.

Then straight out to the "dressage school" in the field on Mr Hairy to put it in action on a very different horse!

Both halves were brilliant and it felt like really good progress.

Also a public service announcement from Mr Hairy to all your horses

Keep a careful eye on all those fields of corn, he did and thank god he did as we made it back without any monster attacks!

@Hereforthedramaz 😁 glad you avoided the corn-monster.

I was so wound up about my lesson yesterday that I decided it would be my last. And then went and had a fab time and loved it (including jumping)! It’s the second time I’ve done that. Maybe that’s the answer! Just keep telling myself I don’t need to do it anymore and my nerves go. 🙄

@theferry I do that a lot as I get so nervous before riding. But then it normally turns out ok so I think well one more week then I’ll give up.