Help please?

[Jrtgem]

I am 16, and just had my second lesson not to long ago, plus MANY trail rides. I dont seem to be getting the "Steering" or the balance. I am ok at steering, and balancing at walk, but at trot I lose my head, and can't do anything. Then my instructor gets all frustrated. I feel like what I cant do is something simple that I should be able to do...any tips on balancing, posting, and steering for a little ol' me?

[Harry Hobbes]

Then my instructor gets all frustrated.

Get an instructor that has the professionalism, experience and maturity to not get frustrated at the normal learning curve of a student.

You are experiencing a normal learning curve.

The purpose of an instructor is to help you through this; rather than to get frustrated by it.

Best regards,
Harry

[westley_jacobs]

yes i agree
my instructor was like that, andshe always used to talk on her cellphone which irratated the hell out of the group, well were paying customers!!
so i left there, iv been in touch with all the riding schools in my area (upto 10 miles away)
and guess what!
where i used to be it was £10.oo/an hour and a half PRIVATE
now i rang this other school and it was £30.00/an HOUR SEMI PRIVATE!!
i cant go back to the old place because mum says iv burned my bridges with the yo which i agree i have
so shes buying me a horse now, thats soo much better for me but anyway (listen to me!!rattling on- sorry)
bak to yer prob----
see if you can switch riding schools, and if you can then do it- youll probably be a lot happier in the long run and learn alot quicker!
good luck and keep us poted, no problem is too big or small for the members of this board

[galadriel]

When you're sitting on the horse, your calves should be lightly touching his sides. That doesn't mean that he thinks you're kicking him all the time; in fact, it makes him a little less jumpy about your legs touching him, and you can just squeeze your calves/ankles to use your leg.

With your leg lightly resting against the horse, your balance will greatly improve. Be sure that you have a good head-hip-heel line, and that you're NOT gripping tightly with your knees. There is more discussion here in my article on leg position:
http://lorienstable.com/articles/riding/300-toes/

Balance during trotting may be different depending on what kind of riding you're doing. If you're riding in a saddle with a horn, then you're riding Western, and this doesn't apply. However, if your teacher is trying to get you to post, then here are a few suggestions:
http://lorienstable.com/articles/riding/400-trotting/

In addition, if you're having trouble coordinating at trot while you learn to keep your balance, you may benefit from a lunge lesson. On the lunge, the instructor controls the speed and direction of the horse; all you have to concentrate on is yourself. This gives you plenty of time to get YOUR balance under control, before you have to balance AND steer AND control the horse's speed.

[galadriel]

Originally posted by westley_jacobs
where i used to be it was £10.oo/an hour and a half PRIVATE
now i rang this other school and it was £30.00/an HOUR SEMI PRIVATE!!

Sometimes you get what you pay for--you weren't happy with the quality of your previous lessons, but it sounds like they weren't expensive, either.

Lesson fees can vary drastically, but if you are getting good value, soemtimes it's worth paying more.

[hel88]

Originally posted by westley_jacobs
yes i agree
my instructor was like that, andshe always used to talk on her cellphone which irratated the hell out of the group, well were paying customers!!
so i left there, iv been in touch with all the riding schools in my area (upto 10 miles away)
and guess what!
where i used to be it was £10.oo/an hour and a half PRIVATE
now i rang this other school and it was £30.00/an HOUR SEMI PRIVATE!!
i cant go back to the old place because mum says iv burned my bridges with the yo which i agree i have
so shes buying me a horse now, thats soo much better for me but anyway (listen to me!!rattling on- sorry)

That doesn't seem like the best reason to buy a horse to me, but good luck anyway.

I think it's a practise thing.

When I learnt to ride, I felt so unco-ordinated at the trot and I could hardly concentrate on steering because I was trying to stay balanced! I thought I was never going to get it, but it soon came.

Grace

[kedwards]

Welcome to the board, Jrtgem.

If you've ridden trails quite a bit in the past, you may have come into the lesson with excpectations of how it will go and how will you progress. It can be very frustrating, when you've ridden happily in a trail group many times at varying speeds, to get in the ring and find that you can't get the horse to do what you ask. On a trail, the horse has other cues... there may be horses in front of him he can follow, he may know the routes, and at the very least there are often only so many places to go. In the ring, a good school horse won't do much of anything that you haven't specifically told him to do.

Additionally, going from casual riding to instruction, you now have someone focusing on correcting your body position. At first, as you adjust to a new seat, you can feel a little stiff because it may not feel natural and you are trying so hard to do what is asked that you aren't relaxed in places where you need to be relaxed.

Your instructor most certainly shouldn't be getting frustrated with you. She should be very familiar with the difficulties you are having and it should come as no surprise to her. If she finds it frustrating, perhaps she is in the wrong profession. That said, are you certain it is her that's frustrated and not you? I know when I get frustrated at myself, I sometimes project that onto my instructor. Perhaps because I (wrongly) feel she ought to be frustrated.

If you are really anxious to improve your seat, perhaps you could ask your instructor if she would be willing to give you a lesson on the longe line. If you haven't heard of it before, this is where the instructor circles the horse in various gaits on a long line, allowing the student to just focus on seat and balance exercises. It's probably the quickest and most effective way to improve your seat. It's useful for beginners, as well as more advanced riders who want to work on a particular seat issue.

[Jrtgem]

Well, I guess she really doesnt get frustrated, I think it maybe is just me, as Kedwards so helpfully suggested. I think the main part is I always thought you sat on the horse, and well...rode xD. I

It can be very frustrating, when you've ridden happily in a trail group many times at varying speeds, to get in the ring and find that you can't get the horse to do what you ask. On a trail, the horse has other cues... there may be horses in front of him he can follow, he may know the routes, and at the very least there are often only so many places to go. In the ring, a good school horse won't do much of anything that you haven't specifically told him to do.

This is so true, I could not put it in better words. She also gives me lessons for free, as riding lessons down here are like... Wowsers xD. Cheapest was like...I think 25 for an half an hour. She is my mom's friend, friend lol. I have only gone there twice, and they have been so spaced apart, its hard to remember. I have been looking on websites upon websites to improve my site, and I guess it is time to get back on the horse, and try these things out. The hardest thing I think is posting, and steering at a trot. I am slowly getting the 'steering' at walk, but I am so used to one rein, its unatural. Thanks for everyone's help!

[kedwards]

Try to be patient with yourself. I know it's easier said than done, but even the slow, difficult work can be interesting if you put aside expectations about what you "should be able to do" and just take each challenge for what it is.

I was in a similar situation as you when I first started lessons, in that I'd ridden casually quite a bit in the past. At first, I felt frustrated and a little defeated by how slow my progress seemed. Once I changed my mindset and put aside my expectations, I had a great time. In fact, I realized it was almost comical and I laughed a lot, which made my instructor lighten up too.

Best of luck!

[laura jeanne]

I know what you mean when you say it is hard to post and steer at the same time. It took me a long time to get used to this.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you are posting, you should keep your hands still- make sure your elbows bend as you post so that your hands remain in the same place all the time and the pressure on the horse's mouth is always the same. I realize that this just adds one more thing to think about but it's important because otherwise, you will be pulling at the horse's mouth each time you rise.

It takes a while to get used to everything and to be able to think about more than one thing at a time! It helped me to count or repeat outloud a rhyme to the rhythm, to breathe to the rhythm and to "rise in between your hands".

[horsecrazy101]

When i first started out riding i never really took lessons i kinda taught myself.One thing i did for balance and coordination is have sumone take you into a round pen with ** horse.Have the lead rope and halter on the horse and hop on bareback.Blindfold yourself and have sumone lead you around and you just get the feel for the horse and what to do with your body when the horse turns.

[ladora Flood]

Hi 16 year old,

If I were you and my instructor would allow it I would let my reins go real loose, take a hold of the pommel if you have to and just cue the horse to trot. Let him trot anywhere in a fenced area that he wants. This is called a passenger lesson. You don't do anything except, "squeeze, cluck then spank" IF he breaks to a walk. You go through the stages..first squeeze...if he trots you just have enough "life" in your body so he doesn't think you mean walk. Let him take you whereever he wants. Don't quess which direction he might go.

If he doesn't immediately trot then you cluck to him. If that doesn't work you start slapping yourself with the reins. If that doesn't work you let the reins slowly slip through your hands until they are slapping his flanks.

Do this for 10 to 15 minutes everytime you ride. Pretty soon you and the horse will move together. LaDora

Plus, it's a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The idea is that you will learn to relax and mirror his movement.