less good riding lesson

[quietann]

I didn't get Bearito today :( He was ridden by K1, the woman with a fear of cantering, because he's absolutely easy at the canter, doesn't buck or anything like that. He's just a little hard to slow down.

I think they overestimated my riding ability, because they put me on Judge, a Haflinger who is somewhat new to Windrush and still fairly green. And I just didn't do well on him at all, to the point of nearly crying a couple of times as he once again wouldn't do something. In some cases, he didn't understand, but he's also lazy and we already know I don't do terribly well on lazy horses. His gaits are bouncy, as one would expect from a breed designed for driving, not riding. At the same time I got some good leg yielding out of him, and maybe it was only for a few steps, but he did it. And he knows how to bend around corners.

And trying to canter on him.... ugh. Over and over again, and I got success (for about four strides) *once*. Tina, who has ridden him more than anyone, got on him and cantered him; she of course makes it look so easy, and he was more collected and happy. She was nice to me and let me get on Bearito at the end of the lesson and canter him a little bit, and except for being a bit too fast, he was very good to me.

I shouldn't bash Judge too much; apparently he's great for hippotherapy and therapeutic riding, because he likes kids and he's pretty bombproof. While I was having my lesson, there was a little boy just outside the ring who was having a screaming fit over being put on a horse (the boy is mentally disabled and can't communicate except by screaming) and Judge didn't even notice. And he's very pretty.

K1 appreciated the opportunity to ride Bearito, but she says he's a little too hard for her to control. It's odd how I love his responsiveness and "go" and she does not. She did look like she was having a harder time steering him than I do; he's very well trained, but he's inclined to test his rider.

The upshot of all this is that I am *sore* all up and down my left side, and am going to take some ibuprofen and have a nap. The fact that I have PMS and my in-laws dropped off the Very Large Dog on their way to Boston this afternoon does not help. She's better than she was, but still jumps on people and is over-excitable. She did "Sit!" very nicely for me in return for a small cube of cheese.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i think you would do well to adjust your ideas of performance to your horse as well as yourself. i mean i can jump a 2' course on oliver, but not on stjarni, and this in no way reflects poorly on stjarni or our partnership, just on his previous training.


glad the vbd is getting better at sit! :)

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I wasn't really expecting a lot from Judge, and in some ways he's very good; he responds well to leg aids for direction control if not gaits, and when he actually moves out at the walk it's very comfy. His trot is highly variable and bouncy. Cantering... well, maybe it's been too many years, but I just do not remember ever having so much trouble getting a horse to canter when I was riding as a teen. I carried a crop if I was riding a slow horse, and used it. I have to say that even back then I preferred horses with more "go" though.

It was just very frustrating having the same problem over and over and over again. For example, circles at the trot... 90% of the time he'd go into a circle bending and collected but still moving out, and then about 75% of the way through he'd just shift downward and walk. And it was not anything I was doing.

I feel bad for him, because as I got tense I'd be hanging on his mouth too much. I *know* I was hurting him, and that isn't OK in my book. We did a lot of work without stirrups, which just *hurt*. Hips, thighs, knees, even ankles. I am used to the ankle and foot pain at this point and can pretty much ignore it, but the rest was tough.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

sounds like he needs schooling as well as you, which is about reasonable for real live horses. if he breaks 75% of the way through a circle, that's a reasonable cue for you, the rider, to bug him 70% of the way to ask for the rest, yes?

stjarni has also got a bouncy trot, though his is usually just fast, i think mostly b/c his last two owners made a point of preferring tolt. *sigh*

and yes, you need to learn to relax all your leg joints, which is indeed a tough order. keep a diary on it, see how it goes over time -- good luck!

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Yep. Green horse/green rider was a bad combination here. The aggravating thing about the circles is that he did the first few *perfectly* so I wasn't expecting him to break. And by the time I figured out that yes, he did need more of a push partway through, we were pretty much done with circles. Sigh.

Actually I find Stjarni's trot not so bad, you know! Of course he's better than Minnie (almost any horse is!) and well, Bearito is just the smoothest little guy. Sometimes I am amazed that he's a schoolie, because it's clear that someone put a lot of time and effort into training him, and he's very talented. But he's not really attractive enough to be a show pony, and too hot to be a good first pony. I can't wait until spring to see him jump; I am probably too heavy to ride him over anything but tiny jumps, but apparently he loves jumping. The one time Susan set out a little tiny jump for us, most of the horses just trotted over it, but Bearito took it like a proper jump!

The leg stuff comes and goes; part of the problem today was the saddle, which was a rather hard, battered jump saddle with huge kneerolls. But -- I know I am getting better; I no longer wear a brace on my left ankle, and have no problems with it breaking over to the outside anymore. I switched the brace to the right ankle, which has been painful on and off for a couple of months. Today's adventures did not help it!

[unclebooboo.livejournal.com]

Actually, this doesn't sound to me like a bad situation at all. You weren't scared by the horse and you weren't in any apparent danger. It was mostly that you couldn't (yet) get the horse to do everything you wanted. Dealing with horses at this level is a good way to improve your riding. In particular, working to keep a horse in the desired gait is a skill that you need to work on. You weren't getting much practice at this while riding Bearito. I think you should look at riding this new horse as a challenge and a learning experience. Think of how accomplished you'll feel when you can consistently keep this horse cantering.

Beyond that you found that you didn't like this horses particular way of going. Learning what you like and dislike about different horses is also an important thing- it will help you if you ever have to make a decision about leasing or purchasing a horse.

On the saddle front my only short term advice is to try to find one good saddle at the barn and get it every week. Find the right adjustments for the saddle and remember them from week to week.

You might even consider buying a good used saddle- having your own saddle all setup to ride makes getting tacked up that much faster and you can be sure that the saddle will be comfortable. A good saddle will last a long time, and for a variety of reasons people end up selling them while they're still in good condition. For example, I've recently lost enough weight that I no longer fit the 16" western saddle that I bought ten years ago. If I were riding a lot, I'd be looking to trade it in for a 15".

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

*grin* i am going to teach stjarni to rate the trot a bit, but right now we're working on rating his tolt, which means his trot tends to be enormous and excited (or, if one is a dressage queen, "extended"). i can't sit it to save my life. something to practice :)

bearito reminds me of bella in some ways. remember, i jumped her two feet, and she's only 12.3! it really depends more on the horse's bone than its height.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

speaking of saddles, i have two for sale that might work -- my wintec (which has the advantage of multiple gullets to fit multiple horses) and my old leather all-purpose. neither will ever fit stjarni, so....

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I might be interested in the wintec if my budget will allow, and it's big enough for my ass (which is hella bigger than yours.) I am not sure how Windrush would be about me using my own saddle, but I could ask. In any case, I'm looking into other places for lessons over the summer, and do need to start thinking about a half-lease or something for when Minnie is no longer available (which could be in a few months or a few years, who knows?)

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I have really mixed feelings. For one, I am riding for *fun* and *enjoyment* and I really don't enjoy riding when I have to fight with the horse. I'm still working on confidence. And I know that goddessfarmer would disagree about me not getting much from riding Bearito; she's commented on the huge improvement she's seen since I started riding him, that I am more confident and less of a passenger. Though his upward momentum through the gaits is pushbutton, slowing him down is *not* and I'm learning to use my seat much more.

I'm going to see about getting my own saddle, though it has to actually fit the variety of horses I end up riding. Something that fits Bearito well probably wouldn't fit Judge; they are both wide, but Judge is wider and also longer, and doesn't have Bearito's swayback. The saddle I normally use on Bearito is OK; it's not his but it works for me. The one I use on Minnie fits her and me really well, although it's not great for balanced riding. I do think Windrush could use some saddle upgrades, though!

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not sure I could sit Stjarni's trot either :) But he's better than Minnie, where sitting trot is just about impossible.

Bearito is actually barely taller than Bella, though he's built quite a bit heavier. But so am I (compared to you) so it's a good thing.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

okeydoke, let me know how the answers to these assorted questions turn out ;)