I am in the stagnant phase

[Mivs]

Hi everyone,
In my riding lessons, I was progressing extremely well until a couple of weeks ago when suddenly, I seem to be doing everything incorrectly!! Heels up all the time (try to keep them down but that makes me bbounce more!!), position, unable to make the horse move, unable to keep the horse on the outside of school, horse going into centre of ring in trot . . . . . the list is endless!!! I guess I am in that time when you seem not to be progressing; It is making me feel discouraged and makes the lessons seem useless. Oh well, better go now;

[Wally]

Glad to hear you recognise this for what it is, just a phase. There will be an improvement and conquering phase next, you just have to work through the bad bits. Don't be discouraged.

[Charlotte]

I think we've all been there!!

You'll probably find that that particular lesson you were feeling a bit tense or something, so not able to get into the right position. Your heels automatically rise up if you're tense, along with your shoulders etc. Your back tenses up and you are unable to sit in the correct position or move with the horse! Iget this from time to time (due to a back problem anyway) but my back tenses up after riding for a while and I'm quite uncomfortable. I then remove my stirrups and let my legs hang nice and loose for a while. When I replace my stirrups, they feel very short, but my leg hangs much better and I'm back in the right position again - it also helps loosen my back!!

Speak to your instructor - he/she could probably recommend some loosening up excercises when all seems to be going wrong!

[minx]

i think i am going through the same thing as you right now!

i was quite depressed last month, but i read an article in Horse & Rider mag (Mar'2K) which gave me some comfort, and the great deal of support i received here helped me a lot.

now here's the article...

-------------------------------
The four stages of learning:

When learning any new skill, the student passes through four very distinct stages. Think back to when u learnt how to drive...

Unconcious incompetence - or 'u don't know what u don't know'. This can be a blissful state, before u realise how much there is to learn about your chosen skill and just how far there is to go.

Concious incompetence - now u know u don't know what you're doing! This is a far better state than stage one, so don't get depressed or be too hard on yourself at this stage. You're on your way to real learning now. you realise you need help and input. (PS: we're both going through this now!)

Concious competence - you now know you're getting there. you can do the job well enough, but u need to conciously concentrate all the time.

Unconcious competence - this is the stage often attained by top level competitors. Unless they have worked themselves to reach this stage they may not make the best teachers because very often they don't know what it is they're doing that produces results. If they don't know what they're doing, it's hard for them to tell you! The thinking student may be able to avoid stage one just by reading up on the chosen subject or being around the relevant experienced people. However, it is as well to go through stages two and three before you believe you are at stage four.

What's important in learning, and indeed in life, is not whether u can reach a point quicker than everybody else, but whether u have the staying power to continue to learn and improve and be the best you can be.
--------------------------

that's all, there's more actually but i have typed the most important points. the others are not very essential. hope it helps!

all the best...
minx

[Mivs]

Thank you all very much for the much needed comfort. I know it is a phase but it makes me feel better to hear someone else confirm that. I shall thus look forward to the time when I start improving. Minx, I hope you move out of that phase. Its not a pleasant one to be in.

[Kimbo]

Mivs

I can sympathise entirely with your tricky lesson. I had one yesterday which went totally pear-shaped. Looking back, the criteria were all in place for me to have a disastrous lesson.

1 - I had a head-cold, sneezy and bunged up.
2 - I hadn't had time for lunch and the lesson was 2-3pm
3 - It was hot, bright, muggy weather.
4 - I was riding a horse I hadn't ridden before who is known to be sweet tempered but lazy and I was lead file in the group.

So I was ill, hungry and uncomfortable and on a totally different paced horse from my usual, trying to get her going willingly when I could barely get myself going.

When I go into my lesson laughing, on a cool breezy day, riding a horse I know reasonably well - is it any wonder that things go better?

You'll slip back into 'can do' mode when it's right, then you continue your improvement. Meantime, don't be harsh on yourself, that's too easy to do and will only upset you. 2 steps forward, 1 step back, ultimately onwards and upwards!

Good luck - we're all in the same boat, us learners.

Kim

[Jay Kay]

Had you thought of having a break from lessons for a week or two.
Sometimes a rest period can refresh what you have already learnt ( I think its called latent learning ). You would certainly not be going backwards, if you can't bear to be away from your weekly 'fix' may be a quiet hack.
I find that trying too hard can sometimes lead to frustration and a low ebb in confidence when things do not go right.
Either way as has already been said, you will come through it, if you love what you are doing. One of the best things about this site is that most of us have been there or are going through it as well.

View this phase as part of the cycle we must all go through .
Let us know how you get on next time.

[Wally]

When everything goes wrong try to go out for a long ride. It puts a lot of things right.

[Sarah Jane]

I am also in the stagnant phase and I seem to have been there longer than most of my group. What really helped me was this last week I booked into a different lesson, at the weekend instead of a weekday evening.

I think this made some difference because I rode better than I have done for a while.

[Gilly]

Yes, This has happened to me and I have felt on the verge of giving up - but something always pushes me on. I have a group lesson, weekly with about 4-5 people, but every now and again, I will have a private lesson and I find the intensity of the 1-1 instruction, really does help and boosts both my ability and then of course my confidence. You may already do this, but if not, give it a try.

[minx]

Mivs, i did take a break and it helped (missed 1 lesson). i was more emotionally stable after the break. if you feel yourself getting very discouraged it'll be good to miss 1 or 2 lessons and take that time to resolve your emotions, relax and perhaps do some research. constant discouragement can be very testing and u might need some time to rest.

[jillaroo]

Oh I love this site! I have been feeling thoroughly crappy for the last few weeks for exactly the same reason, and wondering if maybe I just really suck and will never be competent and so should just cut my losses, admit that I suck at this and go do something else. Except that when things are going well I'm in seventh heaven and even though I only have one lesson a week the feeling of achievement and bonding that I feel with the horse when I ride well keeps me fizzing all week (which makes the effects of a sucky lesson even suckier because the fall is from a greater height!). Anyway, after my last lesson I got to the point where I figured that my biggest problems are confidence and fear, both of which can be fixed with time and by not condemning myself everytime I feel I 'failed' the lesson. I think that mostly once I've grasped something I do it well and eventually I will be able to ride well, it's just that some things take longer to get a hang of than other things (like cantering and steering at the same time...) so I just have to stick at it and eventually I'll be able to do it fine. Having said that I'm also trying to book a couple of private lessons to get this bloody cantering thing out of my system, and I'm also going away for 3 weeks so I reckon that'll give me a bit of a break to get my anxieties back onto a more even keel.
So Mivs don't despair! As you can see you are by no means alone!

[Mivs]

I am really glad that Mike thoguht of this website. Without the support from you guys, I don't know where I would be.

I will try the non-lesson thing and perhaps a break (I am going on Holiday anyway) and hopefully that should help; It's good to know that I am not the only one in the same position and will one day improve;

[jillaroo]

Hang in there Mivs! Enjoy your holiday, and maybe take the time out to think about what it is about riding that you love, and then when you get back you can you can launch back into it with renewed passion and energy. Things will improve - with time and continued effort of course they will!

[Anne]

Hello Mivs :)

I have an old Teddy Bear with a message on his vest which says "If All Else Fails ... Lower Your Standards".

I know this sounds like a contradiction in terms as far as riding and improving is concerned, but I do think that as learners we are all guilty of being too hard on ourselves sometimes, and this list is after all supposed to be for newbies ... so Mivs, have a good holiday, come back refreshed and you'll feel much better ...

Anne