23 Years Ago

[kaz3762]

Hi,
I have booked my first riding lesson for this Thursday, after 23 years out of the saddle. I am so looking forward to it, and am hoping that some of it will come flooding back to me. My OH is absolutely petrified that I will hurt myself, but having survived breast cancer twice I have decided that I don't care, you only get one life and you need to live it. Any tips would be gratefully received.
Thanks:D

[raingodz]

Good luck, you have made the right decision. I returned to riding after about 15 years last September and it was the best thing I have ever done :)

As for tips, you will find that things like your balance and timing might be not as you remeber, but it will return. Also try to get to the RS early and meet the horse you will be riding, I did this on my first lesson and I found it helpped alot.

[kaz3762]

Thanks a lot, I will do that. Will let you know how it goes.:)

[Trewsers]

Good for you - I returned after 19 or so years, a couple of years back and its the best thing I've ever done!:D I realised what a lot I had to learn tho - and also that I'd become a bit more wary (old age ya know;) ) but on the upside, it was much much better than I remembered (thats a rarity in itself, things are not usually as we remember them). Good luck, keep us posted!:D

[kaz3762]

I am hoping that I will learn how to ride this time, and not just how to stay on. You are right about age and being more wary, not sure if its a good thing or a bad thing. Am just looking forward to an hour to myself and not having to think about mundane everyday things. :D

[raingodz]

I am hoping that I will learn how to ride this time, and not just how to stay on. :D
Most of the adult returning riders I know, my self included, have put much more effort in to learning rather than just riding, at first I felt that riding had got more complicated, but now I think it is that I realise how much I need to learn and know to ride well and this time I really want to ride well (as a kid mostly I just hacked out).

[kaz3762]

Thats very true. I remember as a kid, just wanting to hack out and jump logs. I remember wanting to work with horses when I left school, but unfortunately there wasn't anything going when I left school, and ended up in a shop, instead of sticking to my guns. Now I think it's too late, as I have mortgage, kids, bills etc and cannot afford to have a job I enjoy, let alone take on the necessary training.:(

[raingodz]

Now I think it's too late, as I have mortgage, kids, bills etc and cannot afford to have a job I enjoy, let alone take on the necessary training.:(
I too have been having similar career feelings, but that mortgage thing sure gets in the way :(

[Lucyad]

Enjoy! I came back after about 18 years off a few years ago, and havent lookd back! Am at least as obsessed as I was as a teenager now! It is the best thing I have ever done.

[crinks]

A few gentle stretching and warm up exercises before you go on your lesson may help! Enjoy itxxxxxxxxxxx

[RustyMary]

I'm sure you will love it :D I'm a late starter (at 44) and now am completely besotted!

[poohsmate]

yeh! go for it kaz, abit like riding a bike you never forget;)

[Skib]

You dont say how old you are now? Or whether you want to compete or are still happy to hack and do the odd jump. To recapture your teenage happiness?
Lots of people on this Board returned to riding after a long gap, and others of us started late in life. Unlike most teenage riders we dont have perfect bodies, nor high levels of energy. Some of us, like you, were spurred on by illness or death and were willing to ride any way that was possible, to have the experience of riding while it was still possible.

Some of us (inluding me) had a hard time - we were humiliated or bullied and made to feel what we had done in the past was rubbish. So my advice to you would be to use your adult mind as well as your body. It is not enough to say go for it. And think there is something wrong with you personally if the whole thing is a let down.

You need a teacher who can build on your teenage experience of horses. Who can relate the way you originally learned to ride to what is now the accepted practice, and who is able to explain to you the thinking behind the changes. Then you can make your own choices.

You need a teacher who understands the possibility of riding with a less than perfect body. Who facilitates riding to make it comfortable for YOU. Rather than trying to fit you into some idealised standard postion.

If you have already looked for and found a good riding teacher, have heard of a good teacher from friends or watched someone teach, that is good. This is what the BHS rtecommend. But if you are simply enrolled at a riding school you may find that you have no control over who teaches you nor over which horses you ride. You may be lucky, but it is luck.

Good teaching is really at the heart of learning anything, and even more so in your case where you already have a good basis from the past. You will learn quickly with a good teacher - and overall it will cost less.
As far as you OH goes, mine too was afraid of the danger and that was why I never rode till late in life. Like you, we reached a point where I accepted the risk and he did too.
A good teacher will take better care of the safety aspects. I have never fallen with my current teacher, and, because good teaching is aimed at making you safe in the saddle, after six months of her teaching I stopped falling out hacking too.

But the other angle on adult safety when riding is to take control and take the decisions yourself, regardless of what the teacher says. Never ride a horse which you feel is beyond your control. Never agree to any activity which presents an avoidable risk or for which you feel you are not ready. Dont try too soon to emulate your teenage jumping. Dont feel you have to "stretch" yourself or that there are medals awarded for bravery when riding.
Buy a good helmet, consider a body protector too, make sure the stirrups on your lesson pony are the right size for your boots.
And when you have taken care of all that you can - just ride and enjoy it. It is quite possible (I know) even for grownups to behave like girls in pony books and to have a really good time on a horse.

[Trewsers]

And when you have taken care of all that you can - just ride and enjoy it. It is quite possible (I know) even for grownups to behave like girls in pony books and to have a really good time on a horse.

Too true!! I was given a Ladybird Pony owner manual as a child (never had the pony to go with tho:( ) and I found it under the stairs 20 odd years later - I looked on the cover and it was a grey pony (much like my Storm) - I read a few of the pages and it brought all the familiar longing flooding back, and that night at the yard I was especially grateful to see Storm, I was finally the girl on the front cover - it had just taken rather a long time to get there, and yes, sometimes I do feel like a girl from a pony book and I enjoy every minute of it:D :D

[Alle]

Good luck and have fun! I also returned to riding almost 3 years ago now, after a long gap, and it's been fantastic. :) Let us know how you get on. :)

[samsaria]

My advice - enjoy yourself!!:D

I bet there will be no stopping you ;)

I'm back riding a year, after a gap of about 15! I am as fanatical about it now as only (i thought) a child can be about anything.

Tell us about the whole experience, the yard, the horses, the lesson.. dying to hear all!

Good luck!:)

[domane]

I had a half-hour lesson last summer at the age of 42, after a 21 year break.... and I haven't looked back. From there I went to sharing and now own a lovely mare. BUT.... be prepared to ache in places you had forgotten!!! I LOVED my lesson but when I got back in my car to drive home, I had wobbly-leg syndrome, wobbly-arm syndrome AND a huge grin on my face. I proceeded to seize up over the course of the next few hours and it took a good few days and lots of hot baths before I felt human again physically. But mentally.....??

I was more alive than I had been for many years.... :D

Enjoy.....

[ANN H]

Hope you enoy it Kaz. I returned to riding after having a 'break' of nearly 30 years. I was hooked straight away from my first lesson, and got my first horse at 43. Unfortunately she's now passed away and I have Misty (pictured). At 48 most of my friends think I'm mad but I've never been happier. Let's know how the lesson goes. Ann

[BeachRiding]

Good luck and good for you!

[Colonel]

A few gentle stretching and warm up exercises before you go on your lesson may help! Enjoy itxxxxxxxxxxx

and a nice warm soaky bath for after!:p

[Denbenj]

I second the achey legs syndrome! I went for a 1 hour beech ride few weeks ago after a 2 year break from riding...

I was crippled! and had to hobble round looking like a Consipated chicken X Penguin!

[VickiGG]

You don't realise it yet Kaz but you will soon be hooked like all of us. You'll soon be spending all your spare money on lessons and you won't be able to get enough 'knowledge'. That was the best thing for me learning as an adult after just jumping on and hanging on as a kid a few times, that it was nice to be able to actually learn and process, and understand, and also really appreciate the lessons. Of course I don't have the natural balance I may have had if I had of had lessons as a child - but hey!

You will love it. Let us know how you get on.

Oh - and you will be sore- very very sore the next day. You won't be able to walk up stairs very well. :) - My tip - take some carrots for your horse. Bribery works very well. :rolleyes:

[VickiGG]

I was crippled! and had to hobble round looking like a Consipated chicken X Penguin!

Thats funny - know EXACTLY what you mean - ROTFLOL :)

[kaz3762]

Thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragemnt. In answer to a previous question, I am now 38. Will post again after my first lesson. x x

[sidesaddlelady1]

Hi,
I have booked my first riding lesson for this Thursday, after 23 years out of the saddle. I am so looking forward to it, and am hoping that some of it will come flooding back to me. My OH is absolutely petrified that I will hurt myself, but having survived breast cancer twice I have decided that I don't care, you only get one life and you need to live it. Any tips would be gratefully received.
Thanks:D

Good for you, gel! You never really forget but the styles change a bit over the years so lessons are an excellent idea. My recommendation? A soak in a hot bath as soon as you get home.

[LizH]

I came back after 20 years and second all that's been said. You'll get hooked again and never look back... be warned , though , you won't have time /want to do anything else with your spare time, your standards of housework will plummet( mine from an already low point!!) , you'll bore non-horsey friends to death and you'll end up buying your own horse and be broke for the rest of your life - but you'll be sooooo happy:D :D :D

[domane]

Well?????

kaz3762 How did your lesson go??? :)

[kaz3762]

Well, I did it. I had my first lesson last night and loved every minute of it. I rode a horse called DJ and he was great, I felt really safe. Managed walk, trot and a little canter. Probably didn't look very good, but I managed to stay on and keep him going for a bit. The RI was great, and very encouraging. Cant wait for my next lesson. Saying all that I don't remember it being such hard work before, and my bum!! well, lets just say that I am spending a great deal of my time on my feet today. I only have 3 more lessons before I have to go back into hospital again, but it will give me the incentive to get back on my feet quick.
Thanks to everyone for their encouragement. x x x x x:) :) :) :) :D :D

[Skib]

I am so very glad it went well, and that you had a good teacher and were happy and even cantered in your first lesson back.

I am doubly pleased as I had an argument withis morning with my otherwise perfect young escort. Talking about BHS exams and teaching older beginners, I mentioned that another group deserved some special attention: people like you who return to riding after a long gap.
She said she taught them like complete beginners.
I said, No, she should encourage them to do stuff, just like she encourages me.
I argued that the body does not forget, that people who rode as children have capabilities to build on. WHICH YOU PROVED!! Have a great time in your next lessons too.

[Dummer&Drummer]

excellent well done, cant wait for the regular updates

(good luck re hospital) x will be a great incentive to have riding to look forward especiallly if you get bug bitten :) x

[amandal]

well done you - bet you came out of that lesson grinning, I know I did (13 year gap) although I couldn't walk properly for days despite lots of hot baths - thank god for wheely chairs in the office :D . Good luck with the hospital.

[kaz3762]

It is amazing how much you remember. My rising trot was ok, the canter was a bit arms and legs flying, but I didn't feel as if I was going to fall off any minute. I think the hardest thing was trying to correct everything in one go, I had forgotten how exhausting it was, and I am not really unfit as I try to go to the gym 3 times a week, but I was wacked out by the end. Anyway, heres to the next lesson. :) :) :) :D :D

[Trewsers]

Glad you had such a good lesson - you'll be raring to go for next time!!! Well done you!!

[Skib]

I think it is the mental energy and concentration needed in lessons which tires one. And especially your first lesson back.
A lovely RI said to me recently I took my lessons so seriously. I plead guilty. At a cost of so much a minute, who wouldnt?
Whereas kids are more laid back. And RIs give kids the fun things to do. Like racing through cones?

[icegirl]

OK let me join the queue of people who went back after a gap of 20 years plus, and yes, everyone else will think youre mad. Its good fun tho!!!