Confidence Knocked - Fell off

AliciaA

Active Member
Sep 18, 2015
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for the first time since I started riding again..

… Then I fell a second time!


I had my 13th lesson yesterday.

We began the lesson working without stirrups (the entire lesson became working without stirrups). It was pretty good, I love LOVE riding without stirrups as it feels so much more comfortable and my seat and position is much better. I was riding the same horse as last week - Tyzer.

I think I was a bit nervous because of the previous week where I didn't feel like I was in control as much when Tyzer kept going off into canter. I was really trying not to grip too much and stay a bit quieter in the saddle which seemed to be working.

All was going well until I was asked to canter.
Every time I tried to go in to canter I felt myself slipping to one side. My balance just didn't feel right and I would half halt and ask Tyzer to slow down. My RI kept telling me to just go for it and my body would respond and just go with the motion. So after a couple of failed attempts to get in to canter (nerves!) I finally cantered.

The canter lasted one length of the school until I felt myself slipping again - I totally panicked and realise now that I must've gripped which only made the unbalanced feeling worse :/ I pulled on the reins (I know I'm not meant to but it was a reflex) - Tyzer slowed down but I was already falling. I know I screamed as I fell and hit the ground. Luckily it was quite soft and wet (not sure if it being wet was a good thing!) I didn't hurt myself except for a slight ache in my neck.

My RI said that I had fallen off in walk - I tried to explain my balance feeling off and she told me where I was going wrong. i.e. gripping, reins should be longer and she told me to lengthen and hold on to the front of the saddle if I need to.
Well, I wasn't going to be defeated. So I got back on Tyzer, totally ruining her coat because of my now filthy clothes. I tried again. And again. And again. But now, every time I tried to go in to canter, I felt my self slipping and stopped. Now I know I was winding the horse up with my starting and stopping but I was trying to keep my legs still and lengthen reins and go in to canter.

I forgot to mention that there were jumps in the middle of the school again so that made me even more nervous! I told my RI that it just added to the nerves but she told me that Tyzer would NOT jump. I do think the jumps added to the nerves because every time I was going past them I felt myself slipping which tells me that I must've been tensing.

Anyway. So I tried going in to canter several times and failing. I finally did it right for several strides but I wanted to go again to give me that confidence back. So I went again.

I tried a couple of times, but Tyzer was beginning to respond less and less and getting her in to an active trot was becoming a challenge.
As I was going past 'E' in a very half arsed trot, my RI told me to canter at 'C'. Tyzer wasn't having it so the RI came closer (round about 'H') going, 'Come on Tyzer! Come on!!!'. Tyzer sped up a slight amount but not enough and the RI picked up a bit of the school and chucked it - I think behind Tyzer.
And off Tyzer went! I don't have that much experience but it was the fastest I had ever gone and as we neared the jump which was just after 'B', she bucked and I went flying. I fell towards the outside and just missed the fence landed a little bit before the jump - I was dragged a couple of strides but I'm not too sure how that happened. I hit my head quite hard this time and I was shaky all over and frustrated with myself.
I do know I wound up Tyzer with the starting and stopping but I just couldn't get to grips (and balance!) cantering without stirrups :(

The time for my lesson was over but my RI wanted me to get back on Tyzer. I wanted to as well because I know I've got that hack planned in Dubai and I don't want to be nervous. So I got back on Tyzer. We walked round the school at which point my RI asked me to get off near the gate. I asked if I could go round another time or two in trot and try a couple transitions just so I could feel that I was in control. I did this and got off at the gate.

I was very shook up at the time but it all feels quite surreal now. I remember falling off and being thrown off almost as if it wasn't me. I don't think I'm nervous of riding at all, but I am nervous about cantering. That's two not so good weeks once with stirrups and once without. I also wish I could get back on soon and try cantering again because my next proper lesson will be in 3 weeks time and I know I will panic just before that lesson.

I'm not sure why I've gone through to type this all up but I felt like I needed to get it off my chest because I don't know anyone else who rides and/or who would get it. My RI was very encouraging telling me I was brave for getting back on etc, but I didn't feel brave. I felt so - stupid? I knew hardest thing was supposedly getting back on, but tbh the hardest thing seemed to be doing the same thing I did when I fell off (cantering).

Anyway, if you've got this far, thanks for reading! Any advice would be great :)
 
I have no advice but sending lots of encouragement vibes for next lesson and sympathy in case you are sore. I won't do anything outside my comfort zone and that includes cantering without stirrups - so I have much respect for you for trying. Hope your next lessons is easier! I am sure you'll get lots of replies which will help too.
 
I have no advice but sending lots of encouragement vibes for next lesson and sympathy in case you are sore. I won't do anything outside my comfort zone and that includes cantering without stirrups - so I have much respect for you for trying. Hope your next lessons is easier! I am sure you'll get lots of replies which will help too.
Thanks for reading and the vibes! I am a little bit sore on my left side (fell on my left both times) and I have a big bruise on my cheek but that's about it. Nothing major :)
I really enjoy riding without stirrups but I'm not sure about cantering without them :p
 
Oh goodness, a little too much 'excitement' for one lesson! I think your RI has pretty high hopes expecting you to canter without pedals ;) on only your 13th lesson back to riding, it takes some pretty tough core muscles to maintain a balanced seat without gripping on and those can take some time to build, I once spent a winter riding bareback (to lazy to lug huge western saddle to the yard daily) and I would say it took me about 2-3 months of daily riding before I could happily/confidently canter for any length of time and on a 20m circle. Once you get it, cantering without stirrups is super comfy, but its quite a skill to master :)
My top tip for fall survival is a nice hot bath with Epsom salts in it, those really help take the aches out of muscles :D
 
Oh dear - glad you're not too badly hurt. Your RI sounds a bit gung-ho - that works for some people, but not everyone. Do you think you could have a talk with her, explain what's going on (you seem to have a very clear understanding of the situation, impressive for someone who's been riding for such a short time), and say that you need to go a bit more slowly to get more confidence and balance? I had a RI like this, and he was very good at giving you confidence by saying "Go on, you'll be fine .." but sometimes I had to be quite assertive and say "No - I'm not ready to do that". I agree with Jessey - cantering without stirrups is a pretty advanced skill. And you are very brave! Are these group or individual lessons, by the way?
 
Oh goodness, a little too much 'excitement' for one lesson! I think your RI has pretty high hopes expecting you to canter without pedals ;) on only your 13th lesson back to riding, it takes some pretty tough core muscles to maintain a balanced seat without gripping on and those can take some time to build, I once spent a winter riding bareback (to lazy to lug huge western saddle to the yard daily) and I would say it took me about 2-3 months of daily riding before I could happily/confidently canter for any length of time and on a 20m circle. Once you get it, cantering without stirrups is super comfy, but its quite a skill to master :)
My top tip for fall survival is a nice hot bath with Epsom salts in it, those really help take the aches out of muscles :D

She didn't seem to imply it was advanced in any way. And to be fair I don't think she was expecting it to be that controlled, but I think she was expecting me to at least go half way round.
I feel so much better knowing it isn't all That easy so it's not like I just wasn't getting it..
Thank you for the salts suggestion! I was going to try that last night but I was so tired and had an early start - I settled on a shower. I may have a bath tonight if i'm still achey though :)

Oh dear - glad you're not too badly hurt. Your RI sounds a bit gung-ho - that works for some people, but not everyone. Do you think you could have a talk with her, explain what's going on (you seem to have a very clear understanding of the situation, impressive for someone who's been riding for such a short time), and say that you need to go a bit more slowly to get more confidence and balance? I had a RI like this, and he was very good at giving you confidence by saying "Go on, you'll be fine .." but sometimes I had to be quite assertive and say "No - I'm not ready to do that". I agree with Jessey - cantering without stirrups is a pretty advanced skill. And you are very brave! Are these group or individual lessons, by the way?
I totally get you, I am all for someone who is encouraging, but I do think I know my limits sometimes - having said that, I also feel I need someone who can push me and who knows what I need to work on to get to where I want to be.

I have told her when something bothers me or I feel like I need work in a certain area - she does listen and talk to me about it, but she's a bit of a 'stronger' personality when I'm actually in the school. I have asked for a session or two of lunging because I really want to get comfy in my seat. I'm hoping that will get my confidence up too.

These are individual lessons - I prefer the one on one time when learning new things.
 
I like cantering bareback, but only in a straight line! Plus I have a pony like a sofa.

I think you were very brave and really did well by asking to do some transitions before you finished up. I am sure you will be fine with your confidence once your bruises have settled, you sound so sensible and on top of things (even if not always the horse! ;)).

I second Jessey's suggestion of Epsom salts in your bath, or Radox if you have them. Hope you are OK tomorrow.
 
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Within a few months of riding, I was on a pony also named Tizer(!) and was cantering a 20m circle and I literally just slid off. No idea how, I just went! :rolleyes:

If you fancy a giggle, I'll happily post a video of me having one to many falls, one weekend a couple of years ago I fell off five times in one weekend. Twice on the Friday and three times on the Monday. I have a brilliant little mare, but when she says no, she means it!
 
Cantering without stirrups needs core strength and balance, most falls tend to be on turns or when returning to trot. Your instructor sounds a bit 'gungho' for me, I like to be slightly scared of my instructor so I really push myself but to trust them and making a horse go by throwing something or using a stick is to me a big no no as I am a control freak!!
 
Agree with eml. This is not the way to teach people to ride. Nor how to teach canter round corners. The safety of the rider should be top priority.
Jumps left up in the school caused one of my rare falls in a lesson. Plus teacher flapping her arms liķe yours. These two falls of yours were quite unnecessary . You need to think seriiusly about finding a better school and a safer more knowledgeable teacher.
Canter without stirrups is in any case debateable. I myself dont do it because of the downward transition which sounds to be where you fell off. As with riding bareback, the balance is easier cantering on a circle. And a good teacher would have taken you through the process bit by bit, making sure you were balanced and stopping the horse if you slipped from the centre.
 
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Before I got my own horse I had years and years of riding school lessons. Even when I got to the more advanced groups, we very rarely were asked to canter without stirrups. It's really, really hard to balance correctly, especially when doing the downwards transition back to trot and I think that it is completely inappropriate to ask someone who has had just 13 lessons to do this. I have my own horse now and have developed more core strength, but I still find cantering with no stirrups difficult. Don't beat yourself up about your first fall, you really should be 100% confident cantering at all speeds on a variety of horses with stirrups before you even think about taking them away. Your riding instructor is moving too fast.

With the second fall, this was your riding instructors fault. I really hate it when instructors try to interfere with the rider and chase the horse round. This doesn't help anyone and shows that she is an ineffective teacher. She made the horse go faster than you had asked and was comfortable with, and the horse probably bucked because you were unbalanced for the speed you were going.

Learning to ride should be fun, and you should only progress to the next level when you are completely comfortable with what you are currently doing. You should have that buzzy high feeling that last for days. Are there any alternative riding schools near you? I would be looking for another teacher if I were you. x
 
I like cantering bareback, but only in a straight line! Plus I have a pony like a sofa.

I think you were very brave and really did well by asking to do some transitions before you finished up. I am sure you will be fine with your confidence once your bruises have settled, you sound so sensible and on top of things (even if not always the horse! ;)).

I second Jessey's suggestion of Epsom salts in your bath, or Radox if you have them. Hope you are OK tomorrow.

Haha thank you.. I'd like to always be on the horse :p in a bizarre way, I'm kind of glad about getting my first (and second) fall out the way! :p
I already feel much better today. I think a gym session tomorrow should warm me up just right. . Oh how I need this weekend!

Within a few months of riding, I was on a pony also named Tizer(!) and was cantering a 20m circle and I literally just slid off. No idea how, I just went! :rolleyes:

If you fancy a giggle, I'll happily post a video of me having one to many falls, one weekend a couple of years ago I fell off five times in one weekend. Twice on the Friday and three times on the Monday. I have a brilliant little mare, but when she says no, she means it!

Lol must be in the name :p
It's funny though, I'm an overthinker and try to analyse where I went wrong - this doesn't always work in my favour because I sometimes over think in the moment too which doesn't tend to go so well :/
Brilliant video BTW, music was perfect lol. Did those falls hurt badly? They looked quite painful. My RI told me that there is apparently a saying that to be a good rider you have to fall off 7 times :D :p

Cantering without stirrups needs core strength and balance, most falls tend to be on turns or when returning to trot. Your instructor sounds a bit 'gungho' for me, I like to be slightly scared of my instructor so I really push myself but to trust them and making a horse go by throwing something or using a stick is to me a big no no as I am a control freak!!
I think it was the canter on the corner that threw me the first time (pardon the pun). Because I didn't feel in balance to begin with I tensed up at the corner..
I have to be honest, I feel like ive nm lost a bit of trust in the RI, she is nice as a person but I think that the fall could have been avoided especially considering everyone seems to be of the opinion it was a bit much too soon..
I have had a bad experience about 10 years ago with a RI running after the horse with a stick which led to my first fall ever (I stopped riding after that and I regretted it :( that's why I wanted to really get back in to recently)

Agree with eml. This is not the way to teach people to ride. Nor how to teach canter round corners. The safety of the rider should be top priority.
Jumps left up in the school caused one of my rare falls in a lesson. Plus teacher flapping her arms liķe yours. These two falls of yours were quite unnecessary . You need to think seriiusly about finding a better school and a safer more knowledgeable teacher.
Canter without stirrups is in any case debateable. I myself dont do it because of the downward transition which sounds to be where you fell off. As with riding bareback, the balance is easier cantering on a circle. And a good teacher would have taken you through the process bit by bit, making sure you were balanced and stopping the horse if you slipped from the centre.

Yes, this is what makes me lose a bit of trust in the RI because she should have listened when I said I felt my balance going and showed me or gone through what I needed to do to rectify it. I'm all for pushing boundaries, but only when I feel comfortable with 'the basics'..
I've finished my set of lessons now, so I may look to travelling further afield for another RI.. it's a shame because the current school is so convenient.. :(

Before I got my own horse I had years and years of riding school lessons. Even when I got to the more advanced groups, we very rarely were asked to canter without stirrups. It's really, really hard to balance correctly, especially when doing the downwards transition back to trot and I think that it is completely inappropriate to ask someone who has had just 13 lessons to do this. I have my own horse now and have developed more core strength, but I still find cantering with no stirrups difficult. Don't beat yourself up about your first fall, you really should be 100% confident cantering at all speeds on a variety of horses with stirrups before you even think about taking them away. Your riding instructor is moving too fast.

With the second fall, this was your riding instructors fault. I really hate it when instructors try to interfere with the rider and chase the horse round. This doesn't help anyone and shows that she is an ineffective teacher. She made the horse go faster than you had asked and was comfortable with, and the horse probably bucked because you were unbalanced for the speed you were going.

Learning to ride should be fun, and you should only progress to the next level when you are completely comfortable with what you are currently doing. You should have that buzzy high feeling that last for days. Are there any alternative riding schools near you? I would be looking for another teacher if I were you. x
This! I felt like this up until two weeks ago.. I couldn't wait to get back on and thinking about my lesson made me smile especially because I felt like I had improved. There are a couple, one of which I went to but didn't feel comfortable, and a couple that are qui r e expensive and at least 30-40 mins away - with work during the day, I need to find somewhere that is about 20mins away approx.


I don't know you know.. a part of me feels like the RI should've known better but then perhaps she knew I was comfy riding without stirrups as opposed to with and thought it may help improve my technique .. I do know I have a much better seat and tend to keep my legs a lot more 'quiet' without stirrups..
 
My RI told me that there is apparently a saying that to be a good rider you have to fall off 7 times :D [emoji14]
I was told this as a kid but my ri's version was I had to come off a hundred times!, I was so eager to be a good rider I didnt care about falling off at all, I went to one place for a 2 week holiday and fell off at least once a day if not more, I still have the 'grass inspector' trophy they gave me at the end of the holiday :D
ETA pretty sure it wasnt the falls that made me better but it gave me a reason not to dwell on it and get back on.
 
Firstly I hope you are not too battered and bruised. Secondly, well to be honest I'm shocked, I can't imagine having an instructor who firstly isn't listening to you and secondly did something that to my mind could have been downright dangerous!
I am amazed that she was asking you to canter without stirrups after 13 lessons, like Jessey I spent some time riding bareback and it took me weeks to get to canter, trot was bad enough and that's on an armchair ride. Blimey you did really well but if it were me I would definitely be looking for a different riding school or instructor.
 
I do 5-10 minutes work without stirrups once a week! I have older, more experienced rider friends who refuse to do any! Expecting a newbie to do a whole HOUR without stirrups is far too much! And throwing a bit of school at a pony with a stirrup-less novice rider on board - WTF?! Hope you're OK Alicia but I am not at all impressed by your RI!
 
Jees @ponylover88 that one where you fell flat on your back on the other side of the jump looked HORRENDOUS! Did you really walk away?

I bet you are young.... *totters away grumbling*
Hurt like a b!tch I'm afraid. How I didn't break my wrist I have no idea as I actually landed on that outstretched before I rolled. I laid there for a while before I got back up. After then was the video of me jumping the small cross, we ended on that to get us back up and going again. I'm just stubborn, having been taught that you always get back on after a fall, I will do my best to do so, regardless of pain.
 
I remember your last post.... Firstly I hope you are ok and secondly well done you!!! The fact you are analysing what went wrong shows you are trying to understand how you can improve!!! I would be very unimpressed with your RI and would maybe talk to her about it. After only 13 lessons, and a situation last week where you weren't feeling confident or comfortable with canter..... to then take away your pedals is ludicrous!! To be honest to get really comfortable with the movement of the canter I would ask for some lunge lessons with an experienced RI. That way they are in control of direction and pace and you can hold the saddle and just get your body used to the movement in canter. The first time I ever cantered I slid straight off.... I've no idea how.... but the downward transition back to trot can seriously unbalance you.
Honestly though, well done for getting back on and continuing to do some transitions. But I would consider looking at other RI'S because to me that would have been unacceptable. X
 
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