What should I do in future ? (Warning - very long)

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Sara C

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Sep 4, 2001
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Last night I had my first lesson in the novice group after going to the beginners classes for months and having a private lesson last week. I knew there would be a big step up in the standard but my teacher thinks I am ready for it and I have been getting quite bored in beginners. To put this in context, I have been doing a lot of rising/sitting trot, but never cantered and am a bit nervous of it.

My problem is that my usual very comfortable, secure horse that I have been riding every week is ridden by someone else so I had to start on another horse. My instructor warned me that he was quite forward but when I was paying for my lesson, the other people in the group who seemed a lot more experienced than me were talking about the horse I was about to ride and were saying that he took off on someone last week when she was trying to get him to trot and cantered over a jump, she fell off and hurt her back. Apparently he has a reputation for doing things like this and no one wants to ride him. There were no other horses for me to ride so I thought I would give him a go but I was obviously a bit apprehensive.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, my instructor wouldn't even let me trot on my own on him, she lead him round which I have never needed so I didn't learn anything and the longer the lesson went on, the more I got nervous and the more the horse misbehaved. The worst bit was when we were in lead file, I could sense that he wanted to take off or when we were standing in a line waiting for the other horses to ride over polls, I just couldn't control him and was very tempted to dismount.

I'm not on him again next week but on another horse which apparently can be quite forward going too - the other people in the class said he was bad but my instructor said he isn't too bad and I should be okay on him. I'm just wondering what I should do in future if a horse is behaving in this way - should I just let him do what he wants or should I try and control him. The more I tried to pull back on the reigns, the more he seemed to struggle against me but I was so scared of him taking off. I feel as if my confidence has been shattered after last night and instead of progressing in this class, I feel like just going back to the beginners class and staying there !

Thanks for any advice and sorry the message is so long :(

Sara
 
I sympathise, Sara: you are paying money to have fun, and that lesson definitely wasn't! Firstly, I think you should explain to your instructor that you are a little apprehensive moving up a group, and you need a horse that you can rely on so that you can concentrate on all the new things you are learning rather than spending the whole lesson fighting the horse.
Secondly, if you do get that horse or a similar one again, gather up your courage and loosen the reins! I realise that this sounds mad, but you say that the more you held him back the more he tried to fight you. I've ridden a number of horses that get very wound up and try to bolt if you hoold them tight, and the instinct if that is happening is to hold them tighter. If, however, you loosen the reins, all that pent up energy suddenly flows out of the horse and they relax. Don't forget that horses pick up on your mood very easily - if you are tense and holding them back, there must be something to be frightened of, so relax your body, smile, take a deep breath, and relax the reins. Do be ready to grab them back just in case it doesn't work, though!

Hope that's some help, and good luck in your next lesson.
 
I sympathise with you. It seems very unfair that you were put on a horse that even your instructor didn't think you should be on as she demonstrated by leading you round. If the horse was really that bad then you shouldn't have been put on him - perhaps sh e should have made you swap horses with one of the more experienced riders. I ride a number of horses at my novice lesson who are quite forward going and sometimes get too speedy but my teacher tries to teach me how to deal with them, whereas in your situation the fact that your instructor seemed wary, took away the little confidence you may have had at the start.

When you ride a horse with a tendency to tank off in the school, things you can do are:

1. In trot, slow your rising down if he is speeding round. Try to stay relaxed and talk soothingly and keep rising in as slow a rhythm as possible.

2. If he tanks off, turn him in sharp circles and keep circling until he comes back to walk

3. If all else fails, steer him into the back of another horse that you know won't kick.

4. Try to remember that, although it can be scary when a horse tanks off, if you stay relaxed you are unlikely to come to much harm in the enclosed environment of a school. The main thing is to try to stay as relaxed as possible. Difficult I know when you are just learning to canter and don't have much experience!

Hope this helps, but perhaps you could try asking for a nice steady horse for your first lessons in the novice class - I know our riding school tries to cater as much as possible for requests for safe horses by nervous riders.
 
Thanks for your replies. My instructor was telling me to relax and that it would help but I could sense that he was just dying to take off on me and if I didn't pull back on the reigns (don't get me wrong, I wasn't hauling back on them or anything) and just didn't know where I was going to end up.

There seems to be a big problem with horses in this class. The class is pretty full and the people who are on the less forward going horses either own them themselves or wouldn't swap with me as they are scared of the other horses.

Part of my problem is that I have gone from the safest, most comfortable horse in the school although it would be forward going when you wanted it to so any other horse will seem more unpredictable and I think it is a good thing that I should learn on a more lively horse, but last night was too much of an extreme. It also didn't help that one of the other riders had a bad fall last night too, by the way - that completely ruined my confidence after seeing that.

Anyway, I'll give it a go next week again. I think I can trust my instructor and I don't think she would want me to have another lesson last night so hopefully when she said this one isn't a problem, it won't be. I will try and be braver though and relax - I suppose it can't go too far in an arena and I have fallen off a horse before and was surprised by how little it hurt as I fell on my bottom which has plenty of cushioning !

Sara
 
Sara, would they let you ride one of the more forward-going horses in the beginners' class? Then you could get used to the horse without having to deal with the new class at the same time? From what you say, you can't ride the steady horse in the novice class - otherwise that would have been another option.
 
That would be an idea . I think what I'll do is I'll give this other horse another go and if I am still nervous, I'll have a private lesson on it to try and get my confidence up - then we could go back to stuff I did in beginners until I'm confident.

In fact, if I could book a half day off work, I might try and do this before the next lesson. Ummmm, maybe I'll give the riding school a ring and see.

Thanks for all your encouragement - I'm determined not to let this put me off and I am also determined to be brave and learn to ride a more forward going horse than the one I was used to in beginners.

Sara
 
My goodness. I don't think I'd want to pay for lessons on a horse that the instructor wouldn't allow off a lead line! A lunge lesson is one thing... but. If that were your only option it seems you'd be better off in the lower level group (or with private lessons). If your going to try the other horse, try not to get yourself too worked up about what people say, they may be exagerating a little. Also, some horses can be quite difficult in somewhat higher level work, but just fine when fewer demands are made on them. If it doesn't work out and you can't ride a horse that your comfortable with in this lesson, I agree that trying one of the more forward horses in the beginner lesson may be a good idea (a private lesson may be even better).

For what it's worth, Madwoman has a point about loosening the reins. It seems counterintuitive, but many forward horses really do get more fast and anxious when you collect the reins. Riding my instructor's big jumper with contact is like riding a loaded spring, but even a rank beginner could ride him "on the buckle" (i.e., really loose rein) in walk and trot.

Good luck and let us know how the next lesson goes.
 
Oy! I had the same problem. I was at a lesson at the local police mounting force with two other more experienced students on a sweet 5 year old Thoroughbred called Toby, whom I rode every time. We were just trotting on and one of the students wanted to give it a try on him. I agreed, because I had rode on his horse before and didn't have any problems.

I knew there was a problem the moment I tried to mount Rebecca (the other student's horse). She wouldn't let me mount her at all, but after a few strong words she let me. We were trotting along and she suddenly broke into a canter. I was freaked out because I had never canter before. After about six or seven strides, I pulled her back to a very fast trot. The instructors in the ring were approaching to help me when Rebecca broke into an even faster canter (Yep, I let out a yell).
After that certain lesson, I started to notice that Rebecca wasn't behaving very well with anyone, and only the more experience riders there rode her. But I did have some bad experiences on her :eek:.

So...the bottom line is, ride only horses that make you feel comfortable :) and safe on.
 
Ask yourself, are you learning or just clinging on waiting for the lesson to end?

Novice riders should not be expected to cope with strong, bad mannered horses until they are happy to.

I can't understand how the horse managed to clear off with someone over a fence, unless it was a jumping lesson. There should NEVER be jumps built up in an arena where novices are being taught.
 
I stopped getting group lessons after a while and started getting 1/2 hours private lesson instead. You learn so much more as the instructors time is dedicated to you only, half the lesson can be on the lunge, half off etc. I never went back to group lessons after that. You also feel more confident because you don't have other people that you are convinced are better than/laughing at you watching everything you do. It may be more expensive, but well worth the extra cost. I would think about it - perhaps you could have one or twp private lessons a month if you can't afford them all the time? It also means the instructor gets to know you better too and you will find you progress much quicker.
 
Unfortunately the school I go to only do private lessons on weekdays during the day so I have to take time off work any time I book one. I did book one for this afternoon but then something came up at work and I had to cancel it so unfortunately more private lessons isn't really an option.

Sara
 
What a shame you had to cancel your private lesson - isn't it awful when work gets in the way of the really important things in your life - like riding!

It sounds like everyone has their favourite horses in the novice lesson, which can be difficult if that means all the quiet ones are already 'taken'. I was in a similar situation a few years back, when I rode at a school where there were a lot of 'fizzy' horses. There were only 2 or 3 horses I felt happy riding - but of course any other nervous riders also wanted these horses, which did cause problems at times!

It really should be up to the instructor to match the riders to suitable horses, although I suppose this might be difficult to do if the other riders are used to demanding 'their' horses. You seem to have a good relationship with your instructor - could you maybe have a chat to her about your worries and see if she could get you on your favourite horse next time?

Don't give up - you'll get there in the end!
 
Where abouts in N Ireland are you from horsemad ?

I live in Belfast.

And yes, I hate it when work commitments stop me from getting to my riding lessons !

Sara
 
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