getting frustrated can anyone help please?

[angel01]

Hi everyone

Just signed up think this site is great

I need some advise if you can, for some weeks now I have been having problems with my legs, I have noticed now and again they move forward and my RI has to keep telling me to get my leg back. ALSO Just recently I seem to be tensing up as well, I feel like I am going backwards instead of forwards which is not good as my RI said a couple of months ago she did,nt think it would be long before i move up.

Now I have a son that rides on the same lessen 4.30 Jump he has autisim and i was secretly told that I have been kept down as to encourage him so he can progress and that we will both move up together.

i am trying SO hard to impress in order to get moved up and I think this is what is making me make stupid mistakes like tensing up.

can anyone help me give me some advise to what I can do to loosen up a bit,

I am 42 yrs old and blaming it on age LOL,,,,,,

can anyone suggest why this is happening and what i can do to correct it??

Thankyou

 

[ginger nut]

Just a thought maybe you could ride on a different day to your son so it clears any connection between your lessons so that you can relax and focus 100% on what you are doing.

Or save up and have some private or semi private lessons so that you can really tune into ((you)).

Spoil yourself ............. Its not all about moving up a lesson its improving ourselves at a rate that we can deal with.

Learning and concentrating on yourself is so hard when you are a mum and used to worrying about everyone else.

 

[Ninepins]

It can be a frustrating process but I am sure you will get there.

Could you try having lessons on the lunge? That way, you get to really concentrate on your position.

I have one leg (??) that moves as though it has a mind of its own... to fix this, my instructor got me to stand up in the stirrups and try and hold my position. It did help.

 

[lyneveanderson]

Similar to what is happening to me.

I rode loads as a kid-teenager and am just getting back to it after a 10-12 year break.

My instructor keeps telling me to relax, but I only have one lesson a week and get really frustrated, which makes matters worse! I get really annoyed when I know I can to better He finally was making me to sums in my head - that really works - maybe coz I'm rubbish at maths

For me, I'm pretty sure that when I can get more time in the saddle I'll relax more - hopefully!

 

[fjordlady]

This is a common problem for most of us. A lot of saddle designs don't help either with placing of bars.

Riding without stirrups will certainly help you get a feel of where your legs should be. Riding longer helps me. Try to ensure your lower back remains loose, sit up tall shoulders back and feel the weight through the back of your leg ensuring your heels are down. Gripping with your legs (the way I was taught all those years ago ) also makes your legs creep forwards!

Keep practising you will improve.

 

[Spiggly]

Cant say anything about 'moving up' as i always had private lessons! I would suggest concentrating on yourself and supporting your son in his own lessons, so you both move at your own pace.

Regarding the leg position, i had no idea i sat in an awful 'chair seat' (imagine yourself sitting in a chair with your legs out in front and your thighs almost parallel to the ground) until i had an equine simulator lesson. Within 2 minutes on the simulator, the instructor had identified 'my' riding: Slow horses plod along and fast horses are whizzy and make me lean forwards. I was told some interesting things that might be useful for you:

1. The twist in the tree is there for a reason - to shape to your pelvic bones. Try sitting forwards in the saddle, fitting the angle of your pelvis (erm... to put politely, your 'pelvic floor muscles' to the upward slope of the pommel, with your bony seatbones in the deepest part of the saddle. I was told to think of 'moving my seat forwards' instead of 'moving legs back'.

2. drop your shoulderblades as far as they will go, roll your shoulders backwards, and try and point your chest slightly downwards.

3. take hold of your jods behind your thigh, and pull back and out, imagining your feet are being turned to point towrds the horse. Stretch down.

4. pull your thighs up to jockey position (both thighs on top of the saddle, knees pointing forwards) stretch outwards as far as they go, and then drop down into position.

5. Ask your RI about correct stirrup length - my friend has gone up one hole and it has mde a huge difference to her riding. I am thinking of trying the same thing, but if you ride very short anyway this is probably not for you.

Hope these help, they are just what i was told. I can really rcommend the equine simulator wth a good instructor.

 

[Chestnutter]

I have this problem also. My RI has given me an excersize that is helping. Basically riding in trot standing up - takes a bit of getting used to but apparently helps you keep your leg in the right place. Is working for me (I think)

 

[WooHoo2]

It sounds as if you haven't found your middle seat. When sitting on a firm chair, put both your hands under your bottom, and feel for your seat bones. If you tilt too far forward, your lower back dips in forward, and you close the angle of thigh to tummy, now try and lift your leg up ... difficult isn't it.

If you roll back on your seat bones, your lower back bows out, your lower leg can go forward really easy, and you can lift your leg high.

Now, get in between those two, so you're actually sitting on your bones. your lower back is neutral. You're sitting up straighter, you can still move your legs freely, but it's more natural for you leg to fall straight down then forward or back.

Finally... most important... BREATHE!!!

If your riding, you're meant to be enjoying it. So smile, breathe, talk, sing (there's PLENTY of NR's who sing on here!) There isn't a hard fast rule about how quick someone learns to ride, so just do it at your own pace! good luck hun xxxx

 

[reynolds]

Can you have your lesson on a different day? and watch your son and support him that way?
Relax,relax,relax.Deep breath and sink into the saddle, sing a song and ENJOY. Wonderful feeling to be on the back of a living, warm beastie who is trolling along with you and is keeping in tune with you. Horses have an incredibly acute sense of 'tuning in' so tune in relax and Bingo you're having a ball. Stop worrying about going 'up a level' and stop trying so hard. Does it really matter? the horse doesn't even know about levels, he is concerned about how you're feeling and how you're feeling to him physically. Enjoy. R