Too soon for progressive riding?

[Frosty]

Hello,
I have recently started riding again after a break of about 14 years. After such a long break (and because I wasn't a very advanced rider before) I have started at the beginning again. Since last July I have been having weekly lessons at a small riding school and it seems to have been going OK. I'm really enjoying it and seem to be remembering things and gaining in confidence, although I'm still very rusty! :)

I am the only 'mature rider' in the group I normally ride with which isn't a problem, as everyone is really friendly and my instructor is great. However, I do find it a bit awkward if I want to hang about and learn some stable management. Last week I noticed that there was a progressive riding and stable management course being run at another riding centre and decided to go along to that.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem that this was a wise decision :( I was so nervous about it and I think the horse must have realised this as I couldn't control her at all! I had to be swapped to another quieter horse and it was so obvious that I was the least experienced of all the riders. Now I am wondering if it was insane of me to even consider going along to the course?! I had thought it would be a good way to get some more experience and do some hands on stable management. Has anyone else been on this type of course and was it full of very experienced riders? I have had my confidence completely shaken and feel foolish for thinking I could handle such a course!

Sorry this is a bit long and rambling but everyone seems so friendly here and I could do with a friendly horse chat!

Frosty

[Tootsie4U]

In my opinion Frosty this course is where everyone should START in their riding "careers". I think you did the right thing and you probably learned more in that course than you do by just jumping on the back of a school horse and plodding around at the trot.

Too often I see mother's bring their daughters for lessons and just want their kid thrown up in the saddle and led around. I think more confidence can be established and more understanding by first keeping your feet on the ground and learning from the ground up.

I even notice posts in NR about people who claim they feel safer on a horses' back than on the ground beside them. That is a scary statement to me.

Next time, accept your limitations and dont be frightened by them. Speak up and let the instructor know that you are unfamiliar and would appreciate a calm horse for the first few times. Stop looking at the person beside you and comparing yourself. Thats not fair. This should be fun, not a competition. You obviously want to learn and thats what you are paying them for. I would rather teach a slightly intimidated SINCERE person than the show off know it all next to her. ;)

[judyl]

Maybe go up a bit earlier for the next one and have a word with the instructor. I'm sure she'll be able to help your fears and give you a bit of confidence and is there someone on the course who looks like they would be approachable. If you ask someone for help and explain you want to learn but know nothing - most people would be helpful.

Keep at it as riding isn't the be-all and end-all about horses. Being able to care for them too is so much more satisfying.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

:D

[Peace]

Hi, Frosty!

I'm guessing a stable management course must teach you how to handle a horse on the ground? I've never heard of such a course, but I think it's a great idea!

I think you did right signing up for it - after all, if you already knew how to do it, you wouldn't be paying for instruction, would you? I also think there's no shame in asking for a quiet horse at first, just as you would if you were first starting riding lessons.

As others have said, riding is really such a small part of one's relationship with a horse. Yet, at least around here, that's the only part of the relationship for which instruction is available.

In fact, I have a surprise for my instructor - she's going to give me a groundwork lesson this week. She doesn't know it yet, and I don't know if she's ever done one!:D ( not much call for it around here, I guess) But she is so very good at managing horses on the ground - even ones with really scary issues - that I think I'd be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

[Tootsie4U]

Hi Peace -

If you really are interested in learning alot about horses and groundwork I'd suggest volunteering at your stable. Some barns up here have horsemanship and stable management classes, but the best way to learn is hands on!!

[cvb]

Frosty

If there was any mistake it was the people running the course. They should either have explained any course requirements (must be able to.....) OR made you feel more comfortable (or both).

I have this vague thing at the back of my head that the progressive riding tests have different levels ? If so, then they should have told you what level the course was and what that meant.

Hope your confidence was not shaken too much...

[Peace]

Hi, Tootsie!

I agree! In fact, I used to do just that - unfortunately I don't have the time for it now that I'm in school. And the three-year interim has set me back sadly in the confidence department.:(

But I talked to my instructor, who, though a little surprised, said groundwork lessons would be fine with her. :)

[tarkia]

Have lots of riding and lunging lessons this will get you to remember some of the things you done and will get your position and control a whole lot better.

The same thing kind of happened to me, at my local riding school they were going to have a BHS(british horse society) exam and ive heard they only have them there once in a blue moon, my friends all booked for a place there but although I have been riding since I was very young, I had only been riding at them stables for about nine months and I usually rode most of the same horses every week. I thought I wasn't up to it but I proved myself wrong when I passed and got my award! :D

[Laetitia]

Stick at it, Frosty. Next time round will be a piece of cake, and you won't be nervous as you know the form. Good for you, any learning you can get under your belt the better. Ignore and enjoy. L

[chapsi]

Peace,

would you mind to ask your instructor how to deal with a biter?

[Peace]

chapsi - I will ask her.

As you know, Quanah is a nipper - wouldn't call him a biter, as he's not hurt anyone as yet, but I sure don't want to let the habit continue and have someone (eeek- maybe me :) ) get hurt.

However, what she has told me in the past is to smack Quanah in the mouth for doing this. I respect her opinion, and she is wonderful with problem horses, but I'm not taking her advice on this one. Mainly because I believe smacking him makes it worse- in his case, he thinks it's fun to get a rise out of mama!;)

But if you don't mind, I'll tell her Pegasus' story and see what she advises for him. Her advice may be very different - Quanah is just being cheeky, and hasn't had the issues Pegasus had to deal with before you got him.

For instance, we have what I'd call a *real* biter at the barn. He's a boarder, and actually bit a woman's ear off before he came to us. I've never seen my instructor hit him, or advocate that anyone else do so. And, although he still gives me the creeps, he hasn't bitten anyone since he arrived. Not even the tourist who wandered into his pasture and was washing her hands in his trough!:eek: When I noticed them, the ear-biter was resting his head on the tourist's shoulder :eek: :eek: , but the worst he did was look at me with a wicked gleam in his eye as I shepherded her (verrry quietly and calmly;) ) out of his pasture.

So, I'll ask my instructor and see what she recommends!

[Frosty]

Thanks for all your replies, you've really made me feel loads better:D

I'm going to go back to the class again next week and see how it goes. Hopefully I can get there a bit early, have a chat with the instructor and get to know the other riders. I don't think things were helped by the fact that I missed the first week so everyone else already knew each other and what the layout of the course was! Maybe this time I wont be so nervous and frighten the poor horse:) The course itself sounds pretty intensive as we seem to be aiming to cover all the things required for Progressive riding levels 1 to 6 at the same time! I guess this is because most of the others are probably up at the higher levels. I don't really mind if I manage to pass any levels at all as I am going along more to gain experience than to pass tests. Actually riding in a huge indoor school for the first time was quite an experience!

I agree with you all that riding isn't everything and I'm looking forward to getting more into the horse care side of things. We talked about feeding and watering last week! I think I better get myself a horse care book and read up on a few things;) In the meantime I'm off for my usual riding lesson at the weekend, hopefully that will give me some confidence back and be fun too :D

Peace, I hope your groundwork lesson goes well;)

Thanks again everyone!
Frosty

[vjwuk]

Hi and welcome to the site. I love this site there are so many people willing to share there experiences.

I started on fortnightly lessons, used to turn up have lesson and go.

After a while when I had got to know people I found that I could pick up plenty from staying on or going up to the stables when I had free time. There are stable girls there who range from total newcomer to old hands all willing to answer queries. Also adults who livery their horses or have part loans.

I have learned loads from just offering to muck out my usual ride. They do stable management courses but usually in the school holidays so I can't get there. Ask where you ride if you can stay on to help. I know it helps if you are at a school that has a good "atmostphere", hope you have.

By the way nice part of the county you live in

[eml]

Hi I dont think you are too soon at all. The problem is that these are ' progressive ' tests and you sound as if you should be doing the first levels whereas level 6 is the equivalent to the first BHS Stage exam and probably is too much at the moment.....try to ask around. At our school...no good for you as in Midlands!... everyone from about 6-7 years old or adult beginners get involved in these tests at he level they can cope with but not everyone goes all the way through them.

[Frosty]

Hello everyone,

I went back to the progressive riding course last night and it was so much better than last week:D . I got there nice and early and managed to get to know some of the other riders. They filled me in on what I'd missed in the first week (stable design) so I can go and read up on that! I was given the quiet(ish) horse I rode last week (George :p) and I managed to remove his rug and tack him up for the lesson. It's a very long time since I tacked up a horse so I was very glad of some helpful hints from the person next to me and for the fact that George was such a sweety ;) . He has a wicked sense of humour and kept untying my quick release knots and chewing everything in sight, including me!

The riding session was pretty good with everyone riding very far apart so we were riding almost independantly in the school. The horses all seemed a bit frisky, possibly because they aren't being used much at the moment? I managed to stay pretty calm even though George was storming along in walk and in trot. I spent a lot of the evening turning in across the school to move to a larger space as we kept catching up on everyone!

Does anyone have any tips on how to slow an overenthusiastic horse down? I tried half halts and turning small circles but they didn't seem to do much. When we were on the inside track or crossing the school George would slow down nicely but the minute we went back onto the outside track he speeded up again, especially on the corners. Could this be him trying to get close to another horse because he had no confidence in me as his 'leader'? What can I do to make him listen to me more and feel more confident in me? I'm not used to 'forward going' horses and need to figure out how to calm them down as I feel that I may be having the opposite effect at the moment ;) .

Overall the riding was much better than last week and I felt a whole lot better about it. I still have a long way to go before I'll be competent on different horses but I suppose riding different ones is the only way to learn:) . My usual Saturday lesson at the smaller riding school went very well, we were working on extended trot and my horse seemed to enjoy it immensely . He gave me all my confidence back:D

Thanks again for all your replies;)

Frosty