Stuck in a rut.

[denise42]

Has anyone else been stuck in a training rut ?
I have been doing the same thing wrong in the canter for a couple of yrs now.
It all started after I had a fall at the canter off my horse and broke my back..:eek: ..when I was cleared to ride again , I had to work long and hard to get up the nerve..and all is well except at the canter..( the gate I fell in ) ..I get so stiff , I nearly stand in the strups, & I hang onto the horn at the corners.. My instructor .. god bless her..has tried everything she can think of to help me relax....and we work on it at every lesson.. with some sucesses and some failures.
What I am thinking of doing is going to another barn.. and taking a few lessons on a school horse with a different trainer ..
My way of thinking is that every thing will be different..and I will have no " history " with the horse or trainer..and can start fresh..
I would do this in additon to my regular lessons with my horse and trainer..
Any suggestions would be helpful.

[KateWooten]

Hi Denise,

How often to you get to ride ? Is it always in a lesson ? Do you get the chance to loosen up, fool around have fun etc ?

If possible, I would like to see you riding far more, but at a far less formal level than a lesson. For example, in exchange for helping out somewhere, maybe you could ride out someone's ponies, just fool around, go for lots of long rides out in the countryside - keep it at a pace you are comfortable, fool around with smaller ponies - jump on and off - play pony-club games - ride them bareback ... basically do anything and everything around horses, big and little, seriously and non-seriously. Don't worry about cantering until your confidence and fun-level is back up there and it'll come naturally.

Kate

[holiday]

I would be tempted to go with Kates reply as well forget the canter for the time being!!!!!! Have some fun!!! Good luck and well done for getting back on board again!!!

[MI Horsey]

I broke an arm/shoulder in dec 2004 and I have not been able to ride well with that instructor on that horse since .I switched instructors then but still rode at the same place , then got a job at a different barn .The instructor (and my boss)there knew about my fall but somehow it seems further away ,like a fresh start .It has made a huge difference !!! I don't keep thinking "oh this is where it happened "and not everybody there knows about it , just my instructor and her assistant . I'm looking foward to my lessons again instead of trying to get out of them ,so I deffinatly recommend switching .Just do it and see what happens. Good Luck :)

[rabbit]

Definitely go for a ride on a nice bombproof horse or pony. Then you can escape the "falling off" anxieties and relax and actaully enjoy cantering.

I've been going through the same thing and only just managed to canter around the arena without stopping and without my bum leaving the saddle !!!!!

[CMR]

I think you just need to build up the trust with your horse again. There is nothing saying you have to canter, and focusing on it will make you even more nervous. Like others have said, just pick a gait that you feel comfortable with, and stick to it. Just putter around and have fun. Maybe play some gymakha(bad spelling:D ) games, and slowly try to increase your time. It might help to take some lessons ona different horse, it doesn't sound as though your horse has the slowest or easiest to ride of canters. I know if I had a trust issue with my horse, his canter would terrify me too.

[shirley]

Whynot give you idea a go and see if it works. You never know unless you try. Make sure that the riding horses are well schooled. Also perhaps some lessons on the lunge line may a good idea as well. That way you can just concentrate on your position etc and not about getting the horse into canter as lunger has that control. Once feel you can do this then just trail ride / hack out on your horse and see if he will break into a controlled canter for you. They are much more relaxed when they are out than in a school enviroment - ask for canter on the way home and even better chance of success.
But would also add not to get to het up about the whole thing either. It took me four years to even think about cantering and I do not have the excuse of a broken back - just wretched fear!!! What I feel helped me the most was trust in my horse - knowing that he would take care of me So if you need to just walk and trot for a while then do just that - enjoy seeing the world at a slower pace. Gain you joy of riding again
Good luck

[denise42]

Well I have left 2 messages at another local riding stable and haven't heard a thing yet .. I may have to look a little further out of my vicinity..or I may just pop in as it is on my way home.
I wanted to try this local stable as they have a dressage instructor that is at the Grand prix level .
Not that I would get her right away , but it would be great to see her ride and or listen to her lessons with more advanced students..I will keep trying..:p

[denise42]

Ok,,I have heard from the Stable owner/ instructor.
This sounds like an awesome barn..they are having a clinic mid March ,,a man from Germany comes in 2 x's per year to give these clinics and she invited me to come and watch..then we will discuss lessons.
As right now one of her school horses is at the hospital and the one she has left is over booked as it is..she is working on getting another of her horses ready to become a school horse however she said he is not to happy about letting others ride him just yet so she has a lot of work to do with him and then would only let the more advanced students use him until his atitude adjusted...So sounds to me like a good oppertunity to check out her barn in March during the clinic and talk with some of her students..this is a small town area I may even know some of them ..:p