# Harder Than It Looks!



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Haha, don't worry. It gets better with practice. Shoot, I have been riding for 20+ years and I _still_ have those moments where I do something and immediately look around to see if anyone saw my goofy self do something stupid. You will build the necessary muscles and it will become easier and easier to do more complex things. It just takes time and if you are only on your 3rd lesson, you still have quite a while to go before you feel not quite so silly on a horse. Just keep that chin up, it gets much easier.  Also, welcome to the forum.


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## horsegirlmaddy (Dec 6, 2008)

Sorry, but learning new things doesn't get easier  Everything you're learning now, though, will definitely get easier, don't worry! You'll always have those dumb blonde moments, though. Just enjoy yourself and don't forget to smile! It relaxes your whole body, which does wonders. And when you get frustrated, stop!

But yeah, everyone has to work hard. Good luck, and keep trying! Don't forget to have fun


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

You'll get better. And at the end you'll be that instructor, and have to deal with a poor frustrated girl and her horse too.

Oh yes, it happens 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chella (May 23, 2009)

You are hysterical. You have a good sense of humor which should serve you and your horse well. My new instructor only tries to coach me on one or two things at a time. I am learning Parelli (please don't bash me) and I can't do everything she
wants me to so she has pared it down to 2 or 3 requests per lesson. I just sorta laugh to myself and I think my mount is laughing too(maybe at me) but at least we both are having fun.  A thought about horses laughing. I once fell from on top of the stack of hay bales and I know my mini was laughing at me.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Hun, I've been riding for about ten years, and it was only a few months ago when I got ready to mount my horse, swung my leg over, and almost fell off the other side. 

You'll get there. Even the best of horsemen look like buffoons sometimes. And hey, you've got the gas pedal and the brakes down. That's half the battle. =]


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I remember some of my 'more embarrassing' moments on horseback...some of them when I had only been riding for a short time, and others when I'd been a 'seasoned' rider for a long time!!! You will get better at riding, if you keep at it, but trust me...we all have had, and still have our moments!!!


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## haleylvsshammy (Jun 29, 2010)

"quit staring at his head-he ain't gonna change colors"
that is too good! haha
We all start out looking like crazies. You are in the stage of "God, I hope nobody is looking at me right now..." I've been riding for several years, and I still have those moments. And you know the best part about them? There are ALWAYS people watching you when you look bad or like an idiot... lol you just learn to deal with it.
It might get "easier" but it will always be challenging. But hey, it's worth it!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

It gets easier, or a lot of the people on this forum wouldn't be here! You'll learn your horsae, come to anticipate her quirks and fix them before she starts, and it always gets easier. Right not you're probably thinking "shoot, okay, let's see...heels down, eyes up, oh no i better get centered in the saddle, oh crap i missed the turn! let's turn quick! uh oh she saw me get my act together a bit too late and my leg was in a terrible position....leg, leg, leg, crop, crop, crop!" Lol we all had those times at the beginning. But as you progress and riding gets more familiar to you, you won't be thinking of those things anymore, just doing them naturally, and you'll have time to think of other things while riding like schooling horses and working on flying changes, half-passes, and jumping.


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## blink (Jul 14, 2010)

Haley, you're right, that line about "not changing color" is kind of funny. I think it's even funnier when she's saying it to someone else! I know this because the woman who has watched every one of my lessons while ostensibly grooming her horse actually snorted when she heard it said to me. Snorted. SNOR-TED.

She got another chuckle out of my audience by telling me not to "cut the horse in half right off the bat" when first adjusting the cinch strap. Not sure if that means it's okay to cut him in half after I walk him off a bit...

SorrelHorse - did my post sound like it was written by a poor frustrated girl? That does nothing for my already battered and bruised ego. I'm nothing if not a poor frustrated full-grown man!

I do appreciate the words of encouragement from everyone, though. I think the most valuable lesson I'm going to learn out of all this is one I've already learned: No ride - whether pleasure or performance - will ever be perfect. Expecting that is a certain recipe for disappointment and frustration. 

The really cool thing in all this is that I really believe my horse is trying. He's constantly listening to me and he slows down immediately when I get off my center instead capitalizing on the opportunity to dump me on my a--.

Of the three lessons we've had together, each one has been slightly less catastrophic.

And I am having a blast.

:lol:


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I remember asking my first instructor, who was teaching me a balanced seat for English Pleasure, when we were going to get to the 'pleasure' part of riding! 

She laughed. I was dead serious. :-x

Riding correctly is _hard work_, and don't let anyone tell you differently.

Does it get easier? Of course it does. But learning as an adult is much harder than learning as a child. Children are naturally supple and bounce well. The older you get, the more creaky and nonbouncy you are! 

Once you learn the proper form, your body will naturally fall into it when you mount a horse.

Good luck, and have fun!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

> Of the three lessons we've had together, each one has been slightly less catastrophic.
> 
> And I am having a blast.


And each one following will continue to do the same thing, just get better and better and easier and easier. Of course, there will be off days (for both you and your horse) and catastrophe will rear its ugly head occasionally but that is the nature of the sport . The most important thing is that you are having fun. Even hard work doesn't seem so hard when it's fun.


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## knickerb (Apr 22, 2010)

blink,

Riding will become easier. It is just like learning to ride a bike without training wheels, wreck, not so bad a wreck, wreck, back of ankle smacked with the pedal, get going wobbly, You got it and off you go. Go faster, look Ma no hands!!

"No ride - whether pleasure or performance - will ever be perfect." 

Wrong way to look at it. I was out riding one day and meet up with some folks who where looking to buy a couple of my neighbors horses. They asked me "Have you ever had a bad day of riding?" I pondered on that a bit and replied, "No, no matter what my ride entailed: horse won't go, horse won't slow, dumped, rained on or whatever: when I am on my horse there is always something good about my ride and my day of riding."

There is a saying that goes something like this: The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse.

Best of luck to you,

Ben




​


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

"Quit leaning into turns, your horse isn't a motocycle," comes out of my mouth all the time when I am teaching. 

Yes, it gets easier. But I've been riding as long as I can remember and I still eat dirt sometimes. 

Things will start to become muscle-memory. Your heels will stay down and you'll sit up straight automatically. It just takes time, like anything else.

Welcome to the world of horses.


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

I had one of "those days" yesterday. My leg was popping off and it just was... ugh! 

First of all, I would like to stand up and applaud you for coming into the world of horses at an older age. Seriously, major props.

It WILL get better. Soon everything will come naturally. My heels go down and I can do basic dressage and jump 2'3" without having to think about it at all. I can stop a horse with my seat and legs, and all that kind of stuff. It's all with keeping with it. You'll definatly get better when your muscles build up. 

And now I have to ask, what disapline are you riding?


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## lopez (Jul 9, 2010)

I've only recently gotten out of that stage. I've had my horse for under a year and I've been having such a hard time with him, always feeling like I'm not getting anywhere and always feeling worse after riding. Recently though, everything's turned around. I've started improving in everything, flatwork and jumping. Me and Lopez are working more as a team now.

It takes time to get where we are, it takes time and hard work. It takes the want to be better and the want to become a team and do the unthinkable. Just keep practicing! It all gets better.


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## TheRoughrider21 (Aug 25, 2009)

Speed Racer said:


> I remember asking my first instructor, who was teaching me a balanced seat for English Pleasure, when we were going to get to the 'pleasure' part of riding!
> 
> She laughed. I was dead serious. :-x


I've been riding most of my life and was on a western pleasure horse that was just a push-button horse. I was going around the ring with a smile on ym face and had just said to my instructor(as I was loping, "I could get used to this." Right then the horse slammed on the brakes and I almost flew over his head. So it gets easier but there's still a lot of excitment. =P

Good Luck!


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## blink (Jul 14, 2010)

StormyBlues said:


> First of all, I would like to stand up and applaud you for coming into the world of horses at an older age. Seriously, major props.


Ugh. Older age. I don't feel "older!" But I guess 42 is pretty ancient to just be getting started, so I forgive you!

As for discipline, I'm riding western right now. I don't know where I'll ultimately wind up, but given my advanced years, I don't foresee competing. I think it will be mostly about enjoying the great outdoors with a good horse under me. And that seems like a decidedly western pursuit.

I do have a curiosity about reining and cutting and may attend some clinics on those later I get the basics down.

The English disciplines...I don't know. They're amazing to watch and I'm encouraging my daughters to try them (we are learning together as a family). But I don't think they're for me. It's not that I fear the breeches - but it would be real injustice to subject anyone else to having to see that.

Ironically, I'm learning western riding from an English instructor! Not sure how long that can last. My wife and daughters may continue to learn from her, but there will come a time when I want more out of western than she can provide. 

Already she's got me doing this weird hybrid thing where I'm riding in a western saddle, but direct reigning (I try not to call it "plow" reigning around those decidedly English stables) with English reigns attached to a western bridle. It feels very awkward and formal. Not quite what I'm looking for.

I'm going to see how it progresses for awhile, and if I get the sense that I've exhausted her western tutelage skills, I'll find someone more suitable.

Long answer to a pretty simple question...sorry...


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I had 'one of those days' today too...

I went out to the barn with a couple of friends today (they wanted to meet my horse), and even though we've had awesome rides lately, today, of all days, Ms. Flicka gets all 'goosey' on me...Lol! She threw a couple of half hearted bucks in there even. But she did eventually relax and get to work...

I have to grin, Blink, when you say that you are riding in a western saddle, with english reins...I ride mostly in my western saddle right now, and haven't switched Flicka's French link bit onto our english bridle, yet, so I have an old broken in pair of english reins, her cavesson, and a western training bridle on her...hahaha


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## RowdyLover (Mar 10, 2010)

Blink, I think with your flair for writing and your fantastic sense of humor you would make a wonderful novelist. Keep the humor, you will need it on lots of days while learning to ride, if you can laugh at yourself you will have fun always.
Just the other day I was fooling around while getting on my horse and somehow ended up on the ground, on the other side of him, on my back, looking up at him and laughing so much I had trouble getting up. It was a good day because no one actually saw me making an a-- of myself!


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## Pinto (Mar 31, 2010)

Hahaha! What a fantastic thread 

Oh, trust me - it gets easier! Learning to ride is like… learning to drive a manual car (sorry for the shoddy metaphor, but it’s the first thing that came to mind!). At first you’re uncoordinated and sloppy. You stall, your gear changes are jerky and sometimes you drop into the wrong gear and totally confuse the car. But after a while you begin to hear and feel the small changes occurring within the car. You can feel that subtle bite that indicates you can release the clutch. You power through the gears with swift precision. It becomes second nature. It’s the same with horses except in a way horses are more complicated (_there’s _something to look forward to!). Only when a horse and rider develop a mutual line of communication and understanding can they work together as one.

When you first begin riding it isn’t very graceful. When I started I was bouncing around in the saddle like a sack of potatoes with arms flailing wildly and legs sticking so far out that could knock out any innocent bystander should they come too close. My first few lessons were a disaster. I’m surprised they haven’t ended up on Funniest Home Videos yet! The first time I mounted a horse I went straight over its back and ended up sprawled out on the ground on the other side with a face full of sand. Another time we had just come back from a trail ride and we were still on our horses and my horse saw its food in its stable and walked right in with me on its back. I even hit my head on the roof on the way in. Doh! But since then I have achieved so much and met so many wonderful new friends of both the human and equine variety.

So, I admire you for having the courage to pursue the equestrian sport. Although you have many faceplants and sore bums on the horizon, it is a truly satisfying sport and one that will guarantee you free access to your own personal furry, four-legged psychiatrist


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## blink (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks, Rowdy! I appreciate the kind words about my writing and humor.

And while I haven't tried my hand as a novelist, I've been working as a professional journalist and magazine editor for a little over a decade.

Perhaps someday I will sit down and pen my great literary work. No doubt it will be about a man and his horse!

B


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## RowdyLover (Mar 10, 2010)

I absolutely can't wait to read it. I do have to wonder though if it will be Dusty the wonder horse.

I knew you had to write for a living. your much to good at it. I was laughing so much I had tears rolling down my cheeks.


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## knickerb (Apr 22, 2010)

blink

Most neck reined horses in the Western world are started with the snaffle and direct reining. If you are riding your horse in a snaffle and learning direct reining techniques it will prove to be beneficial down the road.

Your participation in the horse world as a family is to be commended!!

Ben


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## blink (Jul 14, 2010)

Ben,
I know you're right. In one of my "huffier" moments during a recent lesson, I asked about reigning - why am I learning to direct reign when I'm interested going western?

My instructor said the same thing you did: This is where we begin; neck reigning will come later. And in a pinch, I'll know how to direct reign when I really need the horse's attention.

I believe I grumbled something in response and went on trying to look composed while cantering.


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

That's awesome that you're learning as a family! My mom used to ride and I'm the only one really serious about it in my family. I get so much crap from my brothers about how easy it is to sit on a horse, I'm tempted to throw them on my warmblood and have them go to a training level dressage test... that'll teach 'em *insert evil laugh here*

And I agree, you are a VERY good writer.


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