i feel a failure!

[luckyhoof]

I have been riding for a year and a bit and i have just got used to cantering on a lovely pony that has really smooth gaits,unfortunatly she is lame at the moment so i was put on another horse.
:eek: There was me over the last week planning my own pony, now today im like a novice again!!!!!!!!!!!
please is there anyone else out there that has been through this?
As a woman in my 40,s i feel my dream of having the confidence to ride my own pony one day has slipped further away

[Crazyhorse]

Hi don't feel too down. I think everyone on this board will have had the same feelings as you at one time or the other. I go through it whenever I ride a new horse.I think people riding 20 years will tell you the same. It takes time to get use to each horse as their gaits will all feel different. After you have ridden this new horse a few more times you will wonder what you worried about, Try and think that every new horse you ride will equip you with the experience you need for having your own horse or pony. You will get there :D Good luck

[Est]

I got used to my cob mare who (regardless of her many other flaws :rolleyes: ) has a beautifully smooth trot and canter. Then I booked a rare lesson at a local riding school (I was hoping to work on collection and extension within the paces).
They put me on a big, narrow TB and informed me he was usually used for their exam students which made me a bit nervous anyway. I was awful! He was so bouncy! I spent the whole lesson tipping forwards and bumping around with my toes pointing down :o
I'm sure the instructor thought I was fibbing about having my own horse :p I felt like a total failure!
I really wouldn't get too hung up about it. When you ride a horse regularly, of course you get used to them. It's always going to take time adjusting to a new horse.
If you get your own (and I hope you do!), just book a few lessons with a good instructor to ease you through the period where you get used to each other and be prepared, like many of us, to view your initial efforts with a major chunk of humour :)
In the meantime, the more different horses you ride, the easier it will become...

[finski]

Don't feel like a failure!!!!! Riding different horses can be difficult at first but you will end up a far better rider than by just riding one!!! AND it will be another feather in your cap when you can get used to the new horse!

[Holly B]

You're only a failure when you give up. Keep trying, no matter how hard it is, and learn as much as you can, and you can never, ever be described as a failure. Good luck, most of us find it difficult riding a new horse after riding the same one for a while. Chin up and keep on smiling! :D

[Stella2]

I echo what everyone has already said. I have been riding 3 1/2 years. Over the past 14 months I have pretty much only ridden my big mare with her big movement and long strides. The other day I rode a friend's much smaller horse and it turmed out that I had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with a beginner!! :o

[NoviceNic]

Luckyhoof - I had weekly lessons for 2 yrs. Everytime they changed my horse my position and confidence went to pot. I bought my cob last year as I felt that I needed to ride more often than once a week to try and build my confidence more. I have never regretted buying him. It is a match made in heaven. I am 34 yrs old and struggle with my confidence. Change of riding school horses that always had 2 legs in the air didn't help.

[momofsix]

Don't feel bad. Everytime I change horses I feel unsettled. It takes me a while because I don't trust the new horse yet, so then I ride more nervously which means worse. I even feel that way with my new horses right now. I am taking one mare to lesson this week for the first time and I am so nervous about it. I think your feelings are perfectly normal.

[halllv]

I know exactly how you feel and felt that I could only canter on one steady neddy.

My instuctor said that she was going to get me cantering every horse they had :eek: and yes the first time on each was scary and I had good days and bad and still do, but it improved, so much that out hacking this week I cantered on a horse that I really do not like [ she's never done anything awfull to me I just don't trust her]

I'm sure next time you canter on the new horse it will not feel so strange. Let me know! :D