Protect your Canter-Confidence!

[PurpleUnicorn]

Had an interesting lesson last night. I was put on a horse that I have only ridden once before, a good while ago, and to say he is forward going is a little of an understatement!

The last time I saw this horse in action was in a flatwork lesson a couple of weeks ago. We were working on shoulder-in and he didn't like it at all- two steps then bronc, buck, rear even! The girl riding him was very calm, stayed on and persevered til she got what she wanted. So I thought, I can do that, he'll behave with me....

All was good, worked in, dared to ask for canter, got it, controlled it, stopped it too! Then we formed a ride in the class and he changed completely. I had to continually ask him not to rush, he runs up the bottom of the horse in front if you're not careful. When asked to ride up the center line and halt at X, I had to start asking for halt as I turned the corner!

Then, when we were supposed to be cantering 20mt circles all together, I'm afraid I bottled out- I felt I had no control, so we did it in trot instead. I spent the whole lesson barely daring to breathe because it felt like I had a coiled spring underneath me and any wrong move would see me heading for the next county!

I enjoy a forward going horse as much as anyone, but I swear I hardly used my legs at all last night- all I had to do was think the gait I wanted and it happened- except downwards! I felt a bit of a drip for not attempting the canter circles, but it's only recently I've felt my canter improve. I went through a stage where I couldn't get it, if I did couldn't keep it, and the whole time I was in it was spent trying not to scrunch myself into a scared heap, so I was really trying to protect my hard-won canter-confidence.

Did I do the right thing by not cantering the circles and therefore possibly scaring myself silly again, or should I have pushed myself and risked it? I was worried I was teaching the horse that if he runs off like he does then he can get out of doing what you ask. I'd have done it on another horse, just not on Turbo-Nutter-Horse! :D

Just though I'd share that with you all- your opinions?

[carthorse]

I think you were right, it sounds as though your confidence is still a bit delicate at the moment & it would be a shame to mess things up at this stage.

I may be being unfair but why did your teacher put you on this horse? He doesn't sound as though he's what you need at the moment. If she is going to keep putting you on him then it may be worth trying to get one or two private lessons on him so you can learn how to ride him without the worry of other horses jazzing him up even more. I don't mean that to sound patronizing, it's just some of the things you say - hardly used my legs at all last night, continually ask him not to rush, had to start asking for halt as I turned the corner - suggest to me that you need to learn how to ride & him more off your leg & seat which is a lot harder than it sounds but often very effective with forward going types. I know using your leg is often the last thing you feel like doing but it's usually crucial to getting them acceptng the contact & listening to you.

I do think you were right in what you did, well done for having the confidence to say you felt out of your depth & dealing with it in a sensible fashion.

[NicP]

I think you did the right thing. If you aren't familiar with the horse and felt out of control then it isn't worth pushing it.

I am sure that in time you will happily do the circles on Turbo-Nutter-Horse!

[Skib]

You did right. And don't be negative.
I hardly used my legs at all last night- all I had to do was think the gait I wanted and it happened- except downwards!

This is what one aspires to on any good horse?
And yet, when going forward is easy, it is important to know how to downward transition too. It is not confidence or anything deep. It is a technique. Many RS pupils are not taught to downward transitions. We spend our time battling with the upward ones.
I had a lesson with eml and couldn't stop her horse in canter. I was sent back home to learn downward transitions. My RI taught me on the lunge, very easily. And after that I would show off on hacks by cantering exactly 20 steps, transitioning into trot for 20 and then back to canter. Ask your RI to teach you that. Riding a horse of this quality you need more than the simple pull on the reins stop one learns to start with. You'll need to use your back and your thighs.

When asked to ride up the centre line and halt at X, I had to start asking for halt as I turned the corner!

Yes, absolutely. And you are cleverer than me as you realised this for yourself. The faster you are going or the more energy a horse is offering the longer you need to prepare. Like my RI pointed out to me the position in the school where an eventer might start preparing for the next jump. If I want to go from canter to trot on step 20, I begin to prepare for that at step 16, i.e.4 steps previously.
You can do an experiment in walk. Michael Peace shows how to warm up on a long rein in walk, steering at random with just a finger on the rein. The horse doesn't know where it is going next, so pays great attention. The horse feels instantly responsive.
But if you take up contact and ride the walk like that, you cant get the instant response. There is so much movement there, you have to prepare. The horse needs that extra time to redirect the impulsion.
The faster you are driving the longer it takes to slow down the car.

I don't feel (from what you posted) that you were given the wrong horse. It sounds like a horse you are ready to learn to ride, on which you did well and which will give you more satisfaction yet.

You'd seen someone else have problems with the horse the previous week. Did you ask why you didn't have any bucking or rearing?
This is a horse that responds to very light aids.
Once when I lamented riding with such light aids and said to my RI, that I might be more certain of getting the transition at an exact letter, if I used conventional riding school aids. She said, on some horses you might, but a sensitive horse would refuse to do it at all.
One could suggest that you rode this horse just right? So much better than the other student?
He offered what he thought you wanted? Forward movement just at a thought. All you need now are the aids to tell him, no thank you, just slower here.
The more you tightened (forgot to breathe) the more he picked up your energy and the more he offered. So, yes, you did right not to canter the circle.
Don't rush yourself into riding him again. But give it some thought. For some of us (like me) a willing horse that responds to just a thought is heaven. Mark Rashid teaches that. Because by moving forward without being kicked, the horse lets you ride the upward transition sitting very easily and softly? Not moving your legs or stiffening at all. And that makes it easier for the horse to move well under you.
Be honest. You were thinking of canter? The horse didn't initiate canter. You did, by thinking.
It is all a way of how it looks inside your head.
Is it, this naughty horse canters without my giving aids.
Or is it, "O, the cleverness of me. This RS horse reads my thoughts."

[Luxie]

Then, when we were supposed to be cantering 20mt circles all together, I'm afraid I bottled out- I felt I had no control, so we did it in trot instead.


I was worried I was teaching the horse that if he runs off like he does then he can get out of doing what you ask.

But, if I've understood you correctly, he didn't get out of doing what you ask, because you decided to ask him to do the 20m circles in trot instead of canter, and that's what he did. He has no way of knowing why you decided that, after all! I would say Well done you!

[PurpleUnicorn]

Thanks for all your comments guys.
Skib- You're right, a forward-going horse is a dream to ride, particularly at a RS! And thanks for your essay there;), some useful comments. You were right to say the more I tensed, the more he did- I could feel that at the time and was consciously making myself relax. He's not a naughty horse, just gets very anxious in a class situation.
Carthorse- I know I said it felt like I hardly used my legs, I think I meant not like you have to do on some RS horses! He did ride up into a better contact with leg use too.
Luxie- I'd not thought of that, of course he didn't know we were supposed to be cantering and were trotting instead! :D

[wanabe]

You absolutely did right. I've gone forward in similar situations and things got out of hand and I came off. I don't think a horse that rears should even be used as a school horse.

[PurpleUnicorn]

I haven't seen him rear before or since that last time, and I've never seen a rearer at the school before. I hope he doesn't get sold on because of one dodgy lesson, it's nice to have some horses with a bit of oomph about them at a riding school. It's certainly not usual to have a known rearer in the school, and in the current "compensation culture" schools can't be too careful...:rolleyes:

[Nazdaq]

I went through a stage where I couldn't get it, if I did couldn't keep it, and the whole time I was in it was spent trying not to scrunch myself into a scared heap

I am totally the same at the moment, and I will only canter on one horse that I feel comfortable on. None of the others are nutters or forward going at all, its just psychological, but if the rider is nervous the horse will take the pee. I think you did the right thing, I would have done the same. :D