I've just started to canter & have serious confidence issues with it. I tend to scream the first time I canter in every lesson (!!), but by the 2nd/3rd attempt it all starts to feel okayish. My instructor suggested that I book an hours hack with some 'steady cantering' to help get more of a feel for it.
I booked a hack for today and was just so ridiculously excited. I remember hacking when I was younger (I'm an returner rider relearning again) and it was great to just 'go' and not have to worry about corners etc. I remember lots of trotting followed by several canters and originally I think it was how I learned to canter. I can remember loving it. Anyway, the hack I had this morning was massively disappointing and I'm wondering if I should say something to my instructor next time I see her, or if I'm just delusional and expecting too much from a riding school hack? What are other peoples experiences/expectations of hacking when you're learning?
I have to make clear it wasn't my instructor who came with me. She is brilliant but the stable I go to is staffed by very young girls. My instructor looks very young but is very serious and quite an exceptional teacher I think. However, I was annoyed today as the hack was led by another member of the staff and there was me and another girl, who I assumed was also learning. However it turned out she had been riding since she was 5 and was a friend of the girl leading the hack. They spent the whole time far ahead of me talking about boyfriends, dresses, make up etc and I felt totally ignored. On top of that we walked for virtually the whole hour and only cantered once for about 3 minutes. I hate to say it, but I was bored stiff!! Whilst it was lovely to be on horseback for a full hour I had imagined I would be trotting and cantering quite a bit and thought it was going to be a real watershed in my riding experience. It was anything but. Usually in a half an hour lesson I get to canter in short spurts but 3 or 4 times. The hack today just felt like a complete waste of time and money. As you all know, learning to ride is expensive and I only allow myself to go once a fortnight so this has really upset me. Is it worth saying anything or should I just expect less in future?
I booked a hack for today and was just so ridiculously excited. I remember hacking when I was younger (I'm an returner rider relearning again) and it was great to just 'go' and not have to worry about corners etc. I remember lots of trotting followed by several canters and originally I think it was how I learned to canter. I can remember loving it. Anyway, the hack I had this morning was massively disappointing and I'm wondering if I should say something to my instructor next time I see her, or if I'm just delusional and expecting too much from a riding school hack? What are other peoples experiences/expectations of hacking when you're learning?
I have to make clear it wasn't my instructor who came with me. She is brilliant but the stable I go to is staffed by very young girls. My instructor looks very young but is very serious and quite an exceptional teacher I think. However, I was annoyed today as the hack was led by another member of the staff and there was me and another girl, who I assumed was also learning. However it turned out she had been riding since she was 5 and was a friend of the girl leading the hack. They spent the whole time far ahead of me talking about boyfriends, dresses, make up etc and I felt totally ignored. On top of that we walked for virtually the whole hour and only cantered once for about 3 minutes. I hate to say it, but I was bored stiff!! Whilst it was lovely to be on horseback for a full hour I had imagined I would be trotting and cantering quite a bit and thought it was going to be a real watershed in my riding experience. It was anything but. Usually in a half an hour lesson I get to canter in short spurts but 3 or 4 times. The hack today just felt like a complete waste of time and money. As you all know, learning to ride is expensive and I only allow myself to go once a fortnight so this has really upset me. Is it worth saying anything or should I just expect less in future?