Learning to ride - having a wobble.

[outofofficeagain]

I have recently had some horse riding lessons. I have loved it. I rode a little bit as a child/early teen but have never been an experienced rider.

I have had 3 lessons so far. The first 2 were fine and the last one was a bit more difficult.

The riding school got in touch to say they recommend a shorter, private lesson as I need to work on my balance on my trot. Apparently, I naturally lean to my right even though I feel balanced.

I'm feeling a bit demoralised, and that I'm old (in my 50s) and this is another thing that I would love to be able to do but am just shit at. I'm a bit embarrassed too as I'm going with a group of friends who are all progressing to canter.

Would you mind saying nice, encouraging things to me, like this is something I can get the hang of really quickly.

I think it's great of the school to explain this to you and offer a way forward. Riding isn't easy despite what the arm chair critical say.
Might be worth doing some pilates to work on the imbalance and core which will help

Oh you know you can get this! Calm down your ego, pull on your jods and get back on that horse 🙂

It's upsetting in the moment but with a little work you'll be out cantering with your friends and loving it. You'll be so glad you persevered

I think rising trot is just something that clicks so you’re sort of getting it sometimes, sometimes not for however long and then one day you’ll hit it perfectly once and that’s it, you’ve cracked it and it feels completely natural.

Also, in comparison canter is much easier and more comfortable so you have that to look forward to!

Riding is highly physical despite what many think. Decent riders are usually very fit.
Balance is key and most people are unbalanced in some way but think they aren't. You will 100% be unbalanced and weak despite what you think.

Would highly recommend yoga/pilates or specifically equi pirates to help build strength, core stability and flexibility as these will all help with your riding.

You are only 3 lessons in for God's sake, I'm stil having lessons after 40 years of riding because there is always something to improve on, that's the joy of horse riding, you can always improve.

Lots of work on the lunge and without stirrups will also work wonders but ultimately you need to learn patience and let go of your ego! Thankfully horses are great at teaching this.

Rising trot is the hardest gait to learn. I took over a year of weekly lessons to have it completely down. Then when the horse who taught me retired, I started with a different horse, I couldn't do it properly.

My previous partner was an ex showjumper with a huge bouncy trot. New one was a dressage horse. Very smooth paces and I found it really hard to get the rhythm without that big upwards assist. I was used to a huge push up and only having to control the down. New horse was so smooth that he doesn't really throw you up like that. So I had to relearn it.

You will absolutely get it. It just clicks one day, it's all muscle memory. Relax more in the saddle and let the horse set the rhythm. Follow him. Rise only when you feel the impact against the saddle. Sit a few strides to feel the beat first. The idea is to lift your bum so you don't slam down in the saddle. It's not so much standing up, more lifting your bum out of the way.

Wear tall boots and knee patch leggings as they will give you more grip on the saddle.

Really focus on putting more weight in your left stirrup and sinking your heels down. Get someone to film you if you can, so that you can watch it back and see where you're leaning.

Please don't be disheartened, it's very very normal to have a mixture of private lessons and groups no matter how experienced you are - I still take private lessons regularly despite riding for 50+ years at this stage! As others have said getting rising trot going is a really common hurdle stage for beginners and it's quite hard to learn in a group setting where you only get one short trot to the back of the ride at a time, often on a steady horse that needs a bit of time to get going and is keen to grind to a stop as soon as possible which isn't easy. That or you're trotting round as a group but again then you've got to worry about keeping your distance in the horse in front right and got getting left behind and steering and so forth which if you then go slightly off balance can be hard to recover the rhythm. I also think riding a different horse every time can make it harder as some have a short choppy stride and some are smoother and longer, once you have the knack you can adapt easily to each horse but it's tricky when you're just learning.

Having the instructors sole focus on you and your technique will really help, they may well be able to pop you on the lunge or have a helper to run beside so you don't have to worry about controlling direction or pace and can just trot and trot in big circles until you catch the rhythm and motion of it, before long you'll wonder what was ever so difficult, I promise! As others have said improving your general fitness and strength will really help but also just time in the saddle, it's frustrating as we get older that things which seem to click naturally and quickly when we were younger sometimes seem to take ages...

It's possible you learned a bad habit as a teenager and just need this little remedial tweak to re-learn it. Sounds very responsible of the school! And it will be so much easier and more enjoyable when you nail it...

The joy of anything to do with horses is that it's a lifelong learning process - there are no short cuts, no faking it - and that's good for our mental strength as well as our bodies! 🙂

Well done you, I've got it on my to do list for ages. I'd love to go back but I've been baulking until I lose some weight as I am so inflexible and heavy.

I would definitely have a couple of private lessons if funds allow. Completely different experience and will really build your confidence. As a poster said, riding to the back of the line especially in a small menage really doesn't give you the practice. It's not like you have to say a word to your friends and let's face it, riding is far more fun than some of the alternatives. Especially this time of year in the Autumn sunshine.

Thank you all, that’s reassuring.

I shall have my small tantrum and get back on.

I shall report back after the lesson.

Try and encourage the horse to pick up some speed too. Speed requires impulsion and impulsion gives you a bit of an assist. It's easier to rise to a faster trot.

She’s huge and not the most enthusiastic, so this could almost certainly help!

She’s huge and not the most enthusiastic, so this could almost certainly help!

She’s huge and not the most enthusiastic, so this could almost certainly help!

She’s huge and not the most enthusiastic, so this could almost certainly help!

I rode badly as a child and then had a gap of decades before starting to ride again in my mid-fifties. It took me aaages to get the hang of rising trot - it will suddenly click and then you’ll wonder why you found it so hard…. I think private lessons are an excellent idea and if you can have some lunge lessons that would be extremely helpful as then you can just concentrate on what your body’s doing rather than having to get the horse going too.

You learn so much more in a private lesson so it’s definitely worthwhile . It also might be an idea to find out if anyone nearby does simulator lessons as that can be really beneficial .

I think it’s fantastic that you’ve found a school which has noticed the issue, can be bothered to fix it for you, and also recognises that it’s worth spending some time on you :)

If necessary, get your instructor to chase her with a lunge whip. It's very very difficult to work on your rising trot when you're constantly nag nag nag with the leg

Honestly I think the riding school are bang on here. You will get so much out of private lessons, even if it’s just one tbh. It’s really good they noticed and have contacted you to try and help rectify the issue. I have recently gone back to it and I’m almost 50 and have found it much harder than I expected. I started with private lessons and work my way to group when I’m more confident.

Reporting back. Half hour lesson was actually much better, it flew by.

I lost my confidence a bit but was better by the end. I’ve booked another private lesson next week, then fingers crossed I can return to the group. I don’t really want to tell my friends I’m not good enough 😭

Can you afford to do the group lesson as well as the private ?

As a one off yes, but not regularly

If you want to get better quickly I’d really recommend going on a riding holiday where you can ride at least twice a day for a few days - you’ll improve much faster than just riding for 30 minutes once a week. There are holidays which are suitable for beginners/novice riders. Failing that ask for some lunge lessons or if anywhere near you offers lessons on a simulator that can be very helpful. Unfortunately there isn’t a cheap shortcut to learning how to ride, the amount of time you spend in the saddle has a huge effect on how quickly you’ll improve. If you’re only able to have a 30 minute group lesson each week then it is going to take longer. Progress is also not linear - I spent ages getting terribly frustrated that I wasn’t getting the hang of rising trot and then suddenly it clicked and I couldn’t understand how I’d ever found it difficult. I would also say don’t compare your progress with your friends as if you feel frustrated that won’t help either.