# Your most horrible riding lesson/time.



## TaMMa89 (Apr 12, 2008)

Okay guys! I stole an idea of this topic from other forum.

So tell about your most horrible riding lesson or if you have a horse of your own, the most horrible riding time. What happened?


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

My worst lesson was when my old instructor sat us all down and said we were going to work on show practice because she wanted to bring us to the local fair to show the horses. Well she said we are going to be working on neck-reining, keeping the head low, stopping quick, slow gaits, etc.
So we went into the arena...I was riding Sonny and we were going fairly well, but the head low concept he didn't really get because I was originally teaching him to keep his neck up high because I wanted to do dressage with him (never worked out lol)
Anyways, the instructor kept yelling at me to get his head down, but try as I might, he would not. 
Then we started working on slow gaits....well since Sonny had some grain before I rode, he waws crazzzy and did not want to go slow. I circled him, I halt halted, I stopped him and backed him up....but he still wanted to go. The instructor started yelling at me for going too fast.
So the day ended with the instructor yelling at me because my horse did nothing correct besides stopping quickly. At the end she brought all the girls again and explained how to get the horse's head down low, and to get a slow trot/canter.
In all, she said the only way to get the horse's head down was to force it down with a really tight training fork....and the only way to get a slow trot was to see-saw their mouth until they do :shock:

Yeah I ended up just saying I'm going to the pasture to ride and I left lol.




The worst ride I had with Sonny was probably the one day that he spooked at everything. He spooked at his shadow...the horse, Star, behind me snorting. A horse cantering passed him. The evil blood sucking bird that was dying. Everything lol
Yeah he was a spooker


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

i rode this horse one time for a customer at a show...

well he was a 5 gaited saddlebred (walk, trot, slow-gait, rack, canter)

he didn't steer going the first way of the ring (to the left). I ended up making little doughnut loops around the juding booth in the middle of the arena the entire first way at the rack and slow-gait.

i was mortified.


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## Kiara (Aug 27, 2008)

Worst riding lesson, huh? There are two that pop into my mind.

One was really bad. It was at a stable where they would only let the lesson horses out for lessons -no pasture, nothing! Box or lesson, that was it... Needless to say i wasn't there for very long. Anyway, so we had a lesson with a group (as always). One of the horses was somewhat on the high strung side that day (can you blame him?). We all went around in a line and the high strung horse (large horse too with a small girl on it) spooked at something in the corner. It ran down full speed to the middle of the arena and did a full-stop. The little girl flipped over the head, did a salto and landed on her back-FLAT! Needless to say that lesson was no good.

On a better note, this was a bad lesson too, given , but somehow I still find some humor in it. It was at a different stable and they had a decent trainer. I had a 10-lesson trial thing going and for my last lesson she wasn't there (pregnancy. They didn't let her come back, even though she really wanted to :wink. So for the last lesson there we got a new trainer. The trainers always sit behind a glass window there. So up until then all the classes had gone fine. Then that class with the new trainer EVERY horse (like 10 or so) went nuts and ran across the arena at least twice. Nobody was hurt, the horses just kept running around and weren't controllable. Mark: same horses as in all the other lessons... Guess the trainer really matters, even if behind a window :wink:


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## english_rider144 (Sep 12, 2008)

I have 2 stories of bad lessons.

1. It was me, and the 2 other girls I used to ride with. My horse at the time was a 22 YO appy who acted like he was 3. So I'm stopped at the corner of the areana waiting so I can canter. Well I got him going and all of a sudden two 13 year old girls carrying pitch forks, knowing lessons were going on but didnt know how to approach the barn, spooked him and I started a side step canter oh god that wasnt fun at all!

2. We were doing a pasture lesson. Well my old instructor kept telling me to slow my breathing so I would calm down and I started crying, I dislike yelling at it made me upset. Sooooooo then I started to trot, well my horse didnt like that and started to canter up the hill and into the barn!!!!


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## Equuestriaan (Nov 5, 2008)

So I was having my lesson, and I was jumping horribly... I kept getting left behind or just generally messing up. Then I tried a line and Ricky refused and I fell off in front of all these people who were watching me for some reason. Then they all just stood there and watched me try to get him to jump it... it took us like 10 tries and it was embarrassing. I was near tears. I finally got him to jump it and I got wayy popped out of the saddle. It was awful.


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## Miss Katie (Dec 30, 2007)

Jumping a STBD and being whacked in the face by his huge boof head, and passing out as we landed from the jump, and having a killer concussion!!!!


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## ridingismylife2 (Nov 4, 2008)

*well i was riding a really slow schoolhorse that hated jumping (20yo) named Rölli, and we were jumping a small coarse and he would refuse every single jump! i was soooo annoyed! lol

and another one was when i was riding a pony named Masi and there was jump that he just would not jump because it was in a weird angle ! He was being such a pig and my teacher got on him and rode the rest of the lesson xD haha*


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## ScarlettPompey (Oct 14, 2008)

This happened just last year:

After about 3 years out of riding, i decided to take some refresher courses. My search for a riding school was a long and arduous one!

Generally, i couldn't get over the horses. I appreciate that riding school horses need to be quiet and bomb-proof, but - I swear - these animals had no life in them at all. You could literally see them switch off.

The worst case was my assessment lesson. The horse I got put on had just had three back-to-back half our lessons for novices... the guy before me couldn't even maintain a trot or keep the horse in one direction. By the time I got on him, I couldn't even get the horse to trot (we did stay straight)...
I've been riding for over 20 years, and have definitely mastered the walk/trot transition!! :wink:

Moreover, i felt so sorry for the horses, they looked like life just wasn't up to much.


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## Sissimut-icehestar (Jan 20, 2008)

bleh , mine started out great, and my trainer sent me alone to go for a short trail ride.
That's when it all went wrong. The horse was suddenly stubborn and barnsour. I was basically stuck there, and she would go all over the place, into these little forests, almost into the lake...
And the worst thing about it was that it did not get better for such a long time. 
It was really my fault, I was all stressed out at the time because of these huuuuuge tests coming up. I couldn't quite focus enough and all that jazz


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## horseyloon (Nov 10, 2008)

Hey im hollie,

i dont own my own horse and im not an experienced rider but i did go on this cruise thing in spain ewhere you ride the horses around the mountain and back with leader.

its bad cos the horses do the same thing hour after hour, day after day, year after year.

even though they are well care for and VERY fit you dont control them at all they know where they are going.

but i went on as agitated horse and it kept giving a bit of a kick and ran me into a treee D: eek lol


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## TaMMa89 (Apr 12, 2008)

Ohh, maybe I would also tell something about my worst riding lesson(s).

I remember three horrible lessons. I can't say which was the worst.

1) I was something around 15yrs old and riding a young mare which tended to turn wild. And when she turned wild she ran away, bucked and took reins out of the rider's hand. You can guess that most of those who tried to gallop with her dropped off. I was (and I'm still) pretty sensitive rider and when this happened I was also suffering a moderate fear of riding.

Well, I was afraid and told the teacher that I simply wouldn't dare to gallop. And what did the teacher do? She told me that I shouldn't whine but gallop. "Yea you're a big girl so don't whine but go". You can believe that it made a teenage girl feel bad. I was the verge of tears.

2) It was a winter and whole the arena (there isn't an indoor arena at the riding school where I ride) was frozen solid. My mount tried to run away. The speed wasn't very high, I was abreast of it what he was doing and managed to slow him but despite that he almost slided. It was pretty scary.

3) It was winter, whole the arena frozen solid and my mount ran away (not so fast) again. Because of the previous time I didn't dare to interfere in the situation enough (I thought that if I try to check her too much / take a volte I'll upset her balance and it's dangerous. Especially because I had seen how this mare almost ran afoul of her own legs once when the arena was absolutely unfrozen and sleek).

I managed to ride and stop the mare towards the fence of the arena. She ran away three times and I stopped her towards the fence everytime. This is the only time when riding has made me shaking.


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## bedouin (Oct 12, 2008)

My worst time was a year after a terrible leg accident and 3 weeks after a second operation to remove the metal pin that had been inside my bone. 
But I was determined and didn't wanted to waste this chance. It was my first real visit to Tunisia.
We went in August for a ride, it was hot and the moment we left town I was dying for water. We stopped at a little boutique and he bought me a 1,5 liter bottle of water, for wich I was very gratefull. Then he said to me to follow him and 5 minutes later we were in a gallop with the desert stretched out before us. I felt uncomfortable in my back and the same moment I really had to stop because all my muscles were in stress.
I saw him gallopping into the sahara, his horse so natural and with such a speed, I was jalous but in much pain.
He returned to me, where I had been able to come at a place -where tourists riding their dromedares, were having a break and he let me ride his horse, because he thought maybe I felt more comfortable riding his horse. I was so tired of myself having pain, but I managed to climb up. I felt a little uncomfortable with all those tourists nearby and I held the reins too short, the horse - Tornado- he reared inmediately, my knees where not inplace at the sadle, my back hurted - I felt - I left my right foot in the stirrup, while I was laying on the ground.
"I am allright! " I shooted inmediately. But I didn't dare to say my ankle hurted as well as my back!
Later that day my ankle was swollen up and I couldn't get out of my bed because of my stressed muscles in my back I stayed there for three days as an old lady.
This was my first romantic ride into the Sahara!


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## mom3x (Sep 16, 2008)

I don't have any amazing stories, as I'm a very new rider, but I have had a couple of frustrating lessons! Especially the ones during which Hank and I spend the entire lesson doing 360's, mostly because he decides to go one way, I say he should go another, and he does a full circle. Fun. 

Or just plain stopping in the middle of the arena. Going along fine, then...nothing. 

Ahhh, my Hanky. Half Paint, half Thoroughbred, all attitude.


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## mom3x (Sep 16, 2008)

*I posted this on my blog yesterday*:

I had a make-up riding lesson today, because Hank was being a butt head yesterday and ignoring me--and Krystin. Not a good boy! But, oh so handsome.

Today Hank was totally filthy when we went to get him from the pasture...he had rolled in mud. Lovely. Krystin rode Francis with us, and that seemed to help Hank be more confident and relaxed. He responded quickly and calmly. We had a great ride! Until...

Hank saw some poles lying outside the arena, poles which we had already passed about six times, but they were on the other side (we had switched directions) so now they were _scary_ poles. I was riding along, _not paying attention_, grooving on the fact that _*I*_ was riding a horse and having a good time, when *WHOOSH!* Hank sidestepped, tried to turn, and tried to back up all at once. I lost my balance a little, hunched forward which is a big no-no, and squealed like a little girl. Also not a good idea. It took me a couple of seconds to get myself together and tell him "whoa" and sit deeply in the saddle. When I did, he responded quickly and calmed down. So, partially my fault for not responding quickly enough in the right way, and partly Hank's fault for being a big _sissy_. Of course I felt like a complete _moron_. Sometimes I get frustrated with taking only one lesson a week--seems like it will take forever to get any skills at all. Family budget be damned!  

Then I went to Whole Foods for groceries and got myself a big candy bar. All is well.


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## myboydoc (May 12, 2008)

My worst riding day was the second day of jumping Sampson and he was doing great and all the sudden ran out on every stinkin jump! this went on for another hal an hour and I was in tears and finally I booted him over them but he was soooo bad! and now he is fine, just had a bad day.


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## Jehanzeb (Nov 2, 2008)

I had mine a week before last week, when we all had laziest horses. It wasn't because I had a lazy horse but it was because of the tension (complaining and windging) between instructor and one of the rider.

He was kept on complaining that the horse does not keep his head high and slows down and does not run and whole lot stuff which made the whole lesson boring, dull and really annoying.

I like riding but I like to ride when others are happy too, I am not a person who is like "if I am good I don't care about rest". I cannot operate if there is tension around, and that is the main thing which puts me off from any work/activity. After that lesson I really started to consider thinking about carrying on or not. However that changed in last and yesterday lesson.

Strangely enough since then our instructor didn't come for past two lessons, I wonder what happened there. Though our covering instructor said she'll return next week. I don't know the inside story nor I want to know, though I would rate that lesson as the worst so far.

Regards


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## mom3x (Sep 16, 2008)

Yeah, it's not always horses that ruin things!  Riding is supposed to be fun, people!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Well, lets see, I don't know which one was worse so I will just share both.

1) I was nine and riding a horse for a doctor friend of my dad's. He was thinking about buying it for his daughters who were younger than me. My brother and I were loping down a dirt road when my horse saw the boogeyman in a vacant lot to our right. He went left and I didn't. It took 3 surgeries, 4 steel screws, 1 steel pin, an external fixator, and 3 1/2 months of a useless arm to get me back to kinda normal.

2) I was training this huge red roan mare when I was 15. I got into too big of a hurry and tried to push her into riding in the pasture before she was ready. She spun and bucked (and she could really buck) and I ended up landing on the side of my head and my shoulder. I layed in the pasture for about 3 hours thinking that I had broken my neck. Anyway, eventually my body started tingling and I could finally move, kinda. I crawled back to the house (about a quarter mile away) and called my mom. I spent nearly a month going to the chiropractor every other day. I still have back and neck problems.


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## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

i would have to say that my worst lesson was when me and my gelding where at the trainers and he had us working buffalo. If no one has ever worked with buffalo DONT! they are super fast adn sneaky and can be mean and i have had them charge me when im tryin to work them. But anyways...this gelding isnt the fastest but he can sit on his *** and turn on a dime. We where mad galloping (as the trainer was barking things for me to do) across the long side of the indoor when the buffalo totally duked us adn did a dead stop adn turned in teh oposite directions. I went to put the gelding in a sliding stop because i knew the that buffalo was gone... well my gelding sparky reared up and came over backwards on me...wearing a cutting saddle...cutting sadles all have huge horns so that horn busted 3 ribs. so i layed on the ground and was crying and the trainer just yelled at me to get up...that was the worst lesson i think i have ever had!!!!


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## mom3x (Sep 16, 2008)

Buffalo?! :0


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## Jakkii (May 18, 2008)

After i had gotten my horse, who was very recently broken. I had started to lean foward alot as he spooked very easly. So i went to get some lessons at my local equestrian centre on one of there horses as my tralior had broken. They then put me in a group with a group of 12 year olds who had just started learning. I think all we did that lesson was halt and walk, alot of waiting. I seriously nearly cracked it, the other group was jumping and doing my level while i was stuck here haltingg. didnt learn one thing that lesson,, mabey a little pacience haha.


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## horseyloon (Nov 10, 2008)

since my last reply ive had loads of riding lessons so ill tell you my worst,

one was i did an around the world and my horse bucked
i went on a hack and the horse fell over with me on,
i was doing a canter and the horse stopped dead in its tracks, i flew off, the horse look at me like,....what the hell and stood there having a pee lol


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## rosie9r (Dec 1, 2008)

Going out on a trail ride with a huge group of people (almost our whole barn). Crossing a cow pasture, one of the riders next to me made a crinkly sound with her water bottle. And off we went! Zero to sixty in 2 seconds! Then back to zero and a sharp cut to the right. Needless to say, the horse went right, I went left, and the ground broke my fall. I just laid there forever making sure nothing was broken and everyone just looked at me! Had to take 3 weeks off riding to rest a sprained hip ouch! P


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## magicfirepatti (Jan 1, 2009)

I'm pretty new, and I'm in my 40's, so I'm kinda scared of getting hurt, which doesn't help! I had a few lessons when I was a kid and rode now and then in my 20's, but I feel like I'm starting over.

I've had a couple of lessons on the horse my daughter used to lease, an Arabian named Dude. I forgot that he used to be spooky until she worked with him for a few months. He was fine the first couple of times I rode him, but then he started getting spooky again. We would be riding along and he would suddenly jump out of his skin! I always managed to get him under control again until a few weeks ago...

We were just riding around in an arena. He had already freaked out on me twice but I got him stopped and stayed on. The 3rd time he totally lost it and galloped across the whole length of the arena. At the very last second he made a sharp left turn and I went flying into the fence, bounced off of that and landed on my knees. Can you say ouch?? I should have rolled....

I had deep bruises that matched the rails on the fence, and my knees were a mess. It was several weeks ago and my right knee still hurts. 

So I'm thinking maybe riding Dude isn't such a good idea. He's just too sensitive and I don't know what I'm doing yet. I might ride one of my daughter's horses, Little Brother (a paint) who is very calm. I need a bomb-proof horse to learn on, but there aren't many choices at the ranch where we ride.

I'm sad because I think Dude is awesome, and I was really enjoying riding. I haven't been back on due to the weather and Little Brother hurting his hoof, so I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I do...

-Patti


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## jemulchia (Sep 20, 2009)

When I first rode the horse that I bought, I realized he was a kind of slow horse.. & I was VERY tired that day from being up all night the night before.. So all was going well for my friend who has a very energetic horse, but for me our canter was NOT going well. My instructor ended up yelling at me for so long I was crying .. Probably not my worst but its the one I remember the most.


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## Tasia (Aug 17, 2009)

Well I have three worst to best
1.) first ride on Champ I start trotting he spooked I screamed he ran I flew off under the fence to the next arena and every one was watching!
2.) I got on my horse me mom did not move when he swung his hip over she smacked he is the buttand again went flying this time it was at my first show! Thanks mother
3.) yesterday my horse wasnt going well I think my new instructor got the impression that I have no skill.


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## Clementine (Sep 24, 2009)

At my last show (a combined test) I was riding my instructor's horse, Simon. He's a National Show Horse (Arab/Saddlebred cross), who's spooky & speedy. I've been riding him for a long time for my lessons (and I've shown him before), so I know how to ride him, but I got on him to warm up for my dressage test, and he was HORRIBLE!!! He actually seemed angry to me. First, he wouldn't hold still, and when he walked, he was taking short, fast, jigging steps - I tried halt-rein back, but that just made him even more annoyed. So when we went to trot, I asked him very softly with just my seat, and he spurted off into a fast trot, he surprised me and I caught him in the mouth, and he threw his head up and hollowed out his back. Then I couldn't get him to do down transitions. When I went into that dressage arena, I knew things could only get worse. I'm not sure how we got through that entire dressage test - I felt like I had NO control at all - it's a freaking miracle. I came out of that ring a complete piece of nerves...I was supposed to JUMP on this horse? What's more, we were entered in a level that was at the top of my jumping range, and I would have just barely felt comfortable with it if he had been completely normal. Seriously, when I went for my jumping round, I was 99% certain that I was going to die, but was determined to do it anyway. Unfortunately, I was apparently not determined enough - we had a three refusals on the third jump and were eliminated. Which makes that the second time I've been eliminated on a jumping round on that horse - it was even at the same time both times, and, ironically, the plank part of the fence was the same both times - what's even more ironic is that the terrifying jump had a happy little sun painted on it. 

The thing that made both of those eliminations suck the most is that my instructor completely blamed me, and didn't even give me any credit for giving it the best I had on a horse that wasn't listening at all. She kept saying that it was "pilot error".


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## Sootie (Oct 25, 2009)

I have had heaps of horrible lessons but they all seem to happen on one pony.

One was when I was about 10 and I was jumping about 60cm, any way Sasha bucked on landing of the jump and I fell of and CRIED!! To make matters worse this girl who went to my school was riding her pony at the other end of the arena. The next day everyone at school new; I was sooo embaressed!!

At this holiday camp I had the worst behaved pony and everyone was really good, I was still 10 and the youngest by 3 years. We were ment to be jumping about 1m and I hadn't jumped that high before and the instructer for that day was a new one and she made me jump it. I was really nervous even though I knew Sasha can jump that high and I fell off and everyone was laughing at me! 0.o


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## Nutty Saddler (May 26, 2009)

Aside from the usual falling off I suppose I would have two experiences that come to mind

One day on Sunny whilst I was riding out I somehow got on the wrong side of an overgrown shallow ditch between two fields. I knew I had to get to the other side so I turned Sunny to cross it. I fully expected Sunny to make a small jump to cross as she would normally , however the ditch was overgrown and she didn't realise it was there so she just walked straight into it . I went straight over her neck and ended up on the floor.
As we were only walking I wasn't injured but Sunny pulled up lame and I had to walk her home in hand - just my luck that we were about 10 miles from home, a really long walk that took about half a day.

The other was while I was learning how to Jump. 
I was riding a schoolmaster called Dusty - He never refused a jump so a perfect horse to learn on. 
My mistake as I made an awful approach from the wrong angle and we almost came to a stop in front of the fence, I sat up and prepared to turn Dusty away and have another go when he cat leaped the fence . As we had very little forward momentum I went straight over his head on landing .
I landed on my head ( fortunately was wearing a hat ) and got a bit dazed.
What made this stand out is that it was 1pm in the afternoon and I suffered temporary amnesia and all I had done that day dissapeared from my memory for several years. I have to say that it is the wierdest and scariest experiance to have - to not know what you have done, where you have been or who you have seen for 7 hours - not something that I would want to repeat.


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## ridingismylife2 (Nov 4, 2008)

When we had a substitute and she chose me to pick on. She was horrible!
I was soooo ready to just shout at her! Ughh! We had her a few weeks ago again, and at the beginning of the lesson she was being a complete b**ch again, so I tried really hard, and she finally said good job to me. 
I really hope we never get her again. 
We had a different substitute yesterday, and the lesson was the best I've ever had. 
I really hope that we will get her again.


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