Introductions here please!

Hello, everyone. I'm an older (in my 50s) returning rider...I lost my heart horse several years ago and haven't been in a position to own a horse since. I'm hoping that will change over the next year. Since then it's been very hard for me to be around horses, but I'm hoping that will change, too.

When I was a child I had a couple of horses and ponies over the years, but I grew up pretty much wild on their backs; I wasn't allowed to take riding lessons, though I would have loved to. I've had a few lessons as an adult, but haven't been able to stick with them yet, mostly for health reasons. But I'm going to try again! I am planning on trying to get set up for lessons next month.

I don't know how active I will be on the forums since it can still be pretty painful even to talk about horses, but I'm very happy to have found this site. I really hope I can bring myself to participate here a lot.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
 
Hi I have been around horses 48 years and has my own for the last 14 I lost my confidence and rarely ride now as the horses we have are all a bit quirky for me although I used to love jumping ( unfortunately I don’t bounce when I hit the floor now )
I have been on some awful yards and find trying to rent private yards for the amount of ponies I have a nightmare which takes the enjoyment away
I live in kent but London born have five daughters all grown up
Would love to get my confidence back and enjoy my horses again
Hopefully will be moving in kent soon and fingers crossed will find a private yard to rent or at least private grazing
Does anyone else find yards are no longer the helpful friendly places and more like political and overbearing you are doing it wrong and my horse is better than yours world
Looking forward to finding some like minded horse lovers in here and sharing and gaining knowledge and info
 
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Hi I have been around horses 48 years and has my own for the last 14 I lost my confidence and rarely ride now as the horses we have are all a bit quirky for me although I used to love jumping ( unfortunately I don’t bounce when I hit the floor now )
I have been on some awful yards and find trying to rent private yards for the amount of ponies I have a nightmare which takes the enjoyment away
I live in kent but London born have five daughters all grown up
Would love to get my confidence back and enjoy my horses again
Hopefully will be moving in kent soon and fingers crossed will find a private yard to rent or at least private grazing
Does anyone else find yards are no longer the helpful friendly places and more like political and overbearing you are doing it wrong and my horse is better than yours world
Looking forward to finding some like minded horse lovers in here and sharing and gaining knowledge and info

Hello and welcome. I am in the U.S. so no help finding a place to keep your horses:). From what I have read on another forum, boarding issues in the bigger barns seem to have the same issues here, as you describe.

I hope you can find a place to keep your horses that is better suited for you. I am a lifelong trail rider. I had to board for a few years, during divorce and recovery from that. I found a small barn whose owners were trail riders and very down—to-earth. They cared for my horses like their own and I did a lot of trail riding with the wife. Thsir boarding fees were a lot less than the big barns. She gave riding lessons to small children and often used my little (13.3H) and very gentle Arab for the really small children who couldn’t really grasp what a lesson meant, but wanted to sit on a horse and walk around the ring with their parent hanging into them:)

I found their barn thru word of mouth in my county, as they rarely advertised - they didn’t have to. Maybe you could do some driving around and stop to inquire where you see barns. Even if that farm doesn’t board, they may know someone who does.

Est wishes and best of luck finding your horses a great place to live:)
 
Hi I have been around horses 48 years and has my own for the last 14 I lost my confidence and rarely ride now as the horses we have are all a bit quirky for me although I used to love jumping ( unfortunately I don’t bounce when I hit the floor now )
I live in kent but London born have five daughters all grown up
Would love to get my confidence back and enjoy my horses again

Does anyone else find yards are no longer the helpful friendly places and more like political and overbearing you are doing it wrong and my horse is better than yours world
Looking forward to finding some like minded horse lovers in here and sharing and gaining knowledge and info
I am sorry you find yards unfriendly. My first RS was a horror but one of the benefits of being grown up is that one can choose ones yard and ones teachers. I now share on a lovely yard and everyone is very nice to me.

This may not be the answer you are looking for, but the best way to build ones confidence is to go for good private lessons either at a BHS RS or from a known private teacher. Wear a bp to ride in and possibly an air jacket too if you are scared but a lesson led round in walk is not going to be a massive challenge and that is probably a good way to start to build your confidence.

That is, if you want to do it. Riding is not compulsory. Those of us who do it at an older age, do it to benefit from it but also because we enjoy it. In my case, I didnt have the opportunity when I was younger and riding into the sunset is my dream come true. I will stop the moment I dont enjoy it. And my confidence is undented smply because I never ride a horse unless I feel it is safe. I dismount and say No.

One important thing that adult students need to remember is that the RI and their words whether harsh or kind, are not as important as the relation with the horse you are riding. So once the RS know you are safe off the lunge, it is worth asking the RI for a few minutes just to warm up and mess around on your own, riding transitions and turns to get the feel of the horse and have the horse listening to you. That includes making your own judgement about safety. Any horse can spook at any minute, even in walk and in the school. But if you are relaxed and balanced in the saddle (or have lessons to improve that) you are less likely to come off.

Once you are happy on a RS horse, then maybe find a trainer to come out and help you feel happy on one of your own. I have hacked either very old or hard worked RS horses so I cant advise you on how to feed and exercise your own to create a safe ride. But you use the word quirky and would need to be specific about the risks or behaviour of each horse in order for other owners here to give you advice.
 
Hello and welcome!

I hear a lot about yard politics but have hardly ever had to deal with them, which I'm grateful for. I live a way around the M25 in Surrey and had such a stroke of luck when I was able to rent part of the big field opposite my house. Over the years (nearly 12 years!) it has metamorphosed into a small yard, but with no facilities - no school, no stables, no storage, hardly any parking - so everyone who has their horse there is someone who values a quiet place with 24/7 turnout and great hacking over creature comforts.

I bet there are places like that in Kent, but my YO never advertises her spaces, she finds people by word of mouth. If you see a likely place, drop in and ask.

Fields for rent are like hen's teeth, but you could get lucky! Again, ask around if you see a field that looks unloved...
 
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Does anyone else find yards are no longer the helpful friendly places and more like political and overbearing you are doing it wrong and my horse is better than yours world
There are 8 horses on our yard. We are all good friends and help each other, and last night a group of us were out playing mini golf. This is my third yard and the other 2 were nice too. Maybe its a size thing - all of my yards have been small.
 
Hi, I'm new here

I used to go riding for years when I was young. Loved it! Loved horses, and all things equestrian. I dreamt of owning my own horse and stables, made drawings and everything.

I was told I wasn't allowed to go anymore by my parents as they watched one of my friends fall off and worried about me hurting myself. Wasn't long before I was an adult and I forgot about the life and dream, and put it aside as a pipe dream.

Now at thirty, my husband surprised me with a booked lesson last wednesday, I am no-where near as fit as I was before, and the instructor could see this and didn't ask me to canter or jump like the others.

I've booked in for next Saturday for a beginners class and am organising getting all the gear I need. I'm going to use this as a way to aid my newly discovered health kick,to lose weight. Very excited for my next lesson, except I'm still physically recovering from the last( pulled a groin muscle, anyone any tips on how to cure that would be appreciated 😅 )

The futures looking bright, you never know I might get that dream after all, part of anyway, owning my own stables Is far too much of a responsibility to take on, but I could afford to own my own horse and pay someone to keep. It's an adventure, got this feeling its a little to late tho, as I used to own alot more land before we downsized, pity. But yeah so that's me, the wanderer returned.

Hope to make friends here 😃

Mary
 
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Hello and welcome! Never feel it's too late - just like you I lost the bug for a few years, then got my first at 35. Here I am now 30 years later with my second boy and totally hooked - still! Enjoy your lessons and let us know how you get on.
 
Hello I am new to the site, and not really great with introductions so I apologize if its too much information.

Anyways, I have been riding since before I can remember, I do remember getting off the bus stop when I was 4 or 5 and hoping straight onto my moms friends horse and riding back to the barn. I am going to be 24 soon and I have found that I enjoy training horses with behavioral issues or really just any sort of training. Not only does it make me happy to see what a jumpy or scared horse looks like once it discovers trust, but also that I can assist the owners and that they can learn how to build up that bond with their horse.

I was a barn rat growing up and worked for every lesson I could manage, even worked to get the first 3 horses I owned, in doing so I learned how to ride and train cutting horses, barrel racing horses and endurance horses. I was able to get a hold of my first horse on my own, as an adult about 5 years ago now, she is a 16hh, slow, clumsy OTTB named Cash and will be 8 soon but I love her to pieces.

I do mostly horsemanship work, I love to do ground work and usually choose that instead of riding. I feel like I am able to create a much better partnership with the horse on the ground, where we can both read and learn each others body language. Currently Cash and I are working on leg commands so that we can begin a journey without using a bridle or saddle, which has always been a dream of mine.

I don't have anyone to ride with at the moment but hopefully when my family and I move I will find some other riders I can go out and have fun with.
 
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HI
Just saying hello as a new member.
The forum seems really nice and freindly and I look forward to contributing.
I'm 55 and have a 13 year old very opinionated madam.
 

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Hello everyone my names Missie im a 15 year old horse loving girl, i love horses andi love making friends please feel free to pm me or comment on my pics!😊
 
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Hi 👋🏽 I’m Twinkz,
I’ve been out of horses for over 10 years sadly due to things out of my control. I’ve had a rough few years (haven’t we all) so I decided I not getting any younger and if I don’t do it now I’ll never do it so I got a halter broken yearling colt that’s a half bred (Gypsy cob x Trotter) called Brian. I plane to drive him when he’s old enough, as I used to work with horses I want to do this one my way instead of how I was paid to do them so he will be very hairy and live out the majority of the time. Look forward to reading your posts.
 
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