# Am I riding often enough to progress?



## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I wish I were in a position to be able to ride every day, but I'm not. I wish I were in a position to ride year round, but I'm not. I certainly would if I could.

I live in a very cold place with harsh winters, full of deep snow and poor footing. In the summer, I have a seasonal business that requires me to work seven days a week during the peak three months of the year. The spring and fall are still very heavy with business-related responsibilities. Eventually, my fiance and I want to hire someone to cover at least one day a week in the summers, but we're a year or two off from that.

I fight hard against my situation to ride as often as I can, but that's rarely more than twice per week, and often only once per week for my lesson. Even when I do make time, it's a 40 minute drive each way to get to my riding stable, so that does limit how often I can fit it into my week. There are no closer options here, either. 

From December to mid-April, I don't really get to ride at all unless I'm out of town and find a place with an indoor where I can sneak in some "guest" lessons.

I've been very lucky in that I currently have access to three different nice horses than I can go and ride for free any time I want, plus a couple of fantastic lesson horses that I can ride on my own outside of lesson times for just $20 a session. I'm rolling in free or cheap riding opportunities... but I can't take advantage of them enough. I can't even get out often enough to justify a part board. I've been wanting to get my own horse again eventually, but the fact that I can't even come see the free/affordable ones often enough makes it obvious that it isn't worth the investment right now.

I suppose that's all a long-winded way to get around to... I've seen a lot of people online disparaging riders who only do the "weekly lesson" and saying it's nowhere near enough to get to be any good, but I'd like to think that's a fiction. I've progressed a lot with just my lessons and the extra rides I've put in when I can -- though I do feel myself kind of backsliding during extended periods off, like this and last winter. I'm worried I'll plateau, because I end up fighting nagging little rider errors that could only be truly fixed by more saddle time. 

Are there many out there riding as little as I am but still feeling like "serious" riders? I get dismayed feeling like I can't take myself as seriously as I'd like to with the limited time/access I have now. It can be discouraging.

(Edit: I'd like to add, I realize the "more horses than I have time to ride" line sounds like a "problem" most would dream of having, and I wholeheartedly agree. I am VERY lucky on that score. The painfully limited time, not the opportunity, is the frustrating part!)


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

I think this is why the Denton County Texas area was invaded by Minnesotans who are keen on Reining. Same weather challenges, so they brought the industry to N. Texas. Look it up some time if interested, seriously, they are all from Minnesota and Iowa. 

So to your question it is a matter of what you do when you can ride. For example, if you were a student of mine (I am not an instructor, nor am I qualified) I'd have you warm up, do some riding fitness exercises and then work on whatever you need help with. 

You could ride every day for years and if all you do is what you are comfortable with, it will not amount to progress. To progress you need to attack the things you are not good at. 

I ride almost every day, but it isn't just dinking around. I warm up, do my strength building exercises (most are from English, look them up, pretty tough) and then spend my time on things I know I or my horse need to do better with. I've spent the hour just having the right amount of rein in my hands with split reins (my nemesis).

Don't be afraid to say you aren't great at something, or that something could be better. Hubris is a plague in the horse world, as soon as you "know" something you stop learning to be better at it.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

jgnmoose said:


> Don't be afraid to say you aren't great at something, or that something could be better. Hubris is a plague in the horse world, as soon as you "know" something you stop learning to be better at it.


I certainly hear you there! :lol: I was taking it for granted that I have "good hands" because historically I've always made the effort, so they have been/were in fact, good low and steady hands. I backburnered that for a while while I developed some other parts of my riding, and was fairly horrified to see, in a recent video, that my hands were higher than they should be and moving all over at the trot. Eeek. Soooo, back to addressing that again.

I do approach all my rides as a training session for myself and, to varying degrees, for the horse. (Some need more corrective input from me than others!) I'll drill different things I need to work on, and usually spend at least part of my sessions stirrupless. I did No Stirrups November and slid the leathers right off the saddle and handed them to my coach! "Let's DO this!" I'm definitely keen to make the most of the time I have. 

The main frustration for me is that I know I could be getting better faster at the things that I'm hung up on, if I just had the time for it. I want to be the rider that I know I'm perfectly capable of being, if I could just get that saddle time in!


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

I have two horses in my front yard and I'm lucky if I get one ride a week. The difference, for me, though is that I've had / been around horses for 50 years. I just don't have the energy sometimes to do all the work it takes to care for the horses and ride them, too.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I hear ya...sounds like my life in a nutshell as well. And I get super frustrated when I am not able to ride as much as I'd like. I do have my horses at my acreage, but in the winter it is near impossible to ride much (aside from the casual walk down the road when it isn't too cold). I don't have an arena to school them in....and trailering them to lesson every week usually doesn't work out. Summer is when we tackle all of our outside projects, so riding is just kind of stuffed in when I have some spare time. 

As long as you are aware of where your weaknesses are, and that is what you work on in your lessons, you will still progress. And by the time you will be able to commit more time to riding you will have a good foundation that you should progress pretty quickly (that is my hope for myself at least!)


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Like Change and cbar, I have horses at home, so I'm happy to just get to hang out with them every single day. But riding is another story. I haven't ridden my own horses in a month. Which actually, isn't so bad considering the climate I live in. I'm in Eastern Canada and this winter has been one of freeze/thaw. I have no indoor. So we rode even after a lot of snowfall (my husband is kind enough to clear all the snow out of the paddock for me with a snowblower, and sometimes I use my pasture drag to break up any chunks of snow and level things off). But then we got into rain/freezing rain, then freezing, which means a thick layer of ice over the snow. Then we got some significant thawing so the whole paddock was slush, and now it's -31 Celcius so it's like a skating rink. It's really depressing, but there's nothing I can do. I just go tend the horses, groom them, etc. It keeps me busy.

Because of this I started taking lessons at my daughter's lesson barn where they have an indoor. I can only manage it once a week, but I do feel my riding has progressed immensely just from doing that. So I don't think it's true that you can't improve with only a lesson a week.

That said, it all depends on your goals. I just want to do pleasure riding, so my goals are not terribly ambitious. But my daughter jumps and shows. That's why we kept up her lessons at the lesson barn all winter, but she is only doing them once a week. As spring allows it, we will move to one lesson a week at home on her own horse, and one lesson at the lesson barn, just to get her and her horse ready for show season. 

Obviously if you want to compete, one lesson a week will make it hard to be competitive when others are riding 3-5 times a week. But if you just want to maintain your skill level and gradually improve so that someday, when you have more time, maybe you can ride a lot more, then once a week is fine in my opinion.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

It really depends on what your goals are. If you want to be a pro, then no, once or twice a week isn't enough. If you are in the recreational camp, it's fine. I started off riding once a week. Now I have my own horse and no major issues. Also, I now ride five times a week and it's still not enough to keep me satisfied 

If you get over "it's not enough" you will enjoy your lessons more, I think.


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## Fimargue (Jun 19, 2015)

I have horses galore, including my own, to ride, but I rarely seem to. Today was the first time this week. Sometimes (often) I'm just too tired after all the physical activity what taking care of a yard full entails. Or the weather is bad, which here is often during winter months. I do get anxious about it if I haven't ridden in a while, but most days just being around horses is satisfactory enough.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I think as long as you are working on things each time you ride, you will progress. I don't think riding 1-2x a week is that bad, better than not riding at all. Some people don't ride for months/weeks. Lately I've only been riding a few times a week because of the weather. Probably won't ride again until Thursday, because we are supposed to get a lot of snow tomorrow-Wednesday. 
I think you are probably fine.  Don't worry too much! 
Even when I can't ride, I just hangout with the horse & it's just as rewarding.  
I used to ride once a week with lessons awhile back before I took a break for college. I'm still rusty now, I feel like I was 'better' then than I am now! LOL & I ride more often (with still a lesson once a week).

When I ride though, I do try to work on things and try to copy what I do in my lesson. I wouldn't worry too much though like I said- nothing wrong with riding 1-2x a week.  I think that's just fine, don't stress it.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Thanks folks! It's nice to have some reassurance. The winter has really been getting to me, mainly. I finally did do an outdoor ride -- first one since December -- and even though I could only safely go at a walk on the footing, with just a few trot steps in some of the less deep patches, it was still a good feeling to get up there and just move around.

I can't say that it's been so little that I can't progress, really. I think I was being hard on myself. When I started back riding again, it was after about 15 or so years off, and I was quite a mess. I went from being stuck back at walk-trot to being able to ride WTC, with and without stirrups, a bit of lateral work, and the ability to jump a small course on an easy horse. And my position has improved drastically. I showed at a local fair this past fall and placed 5th out of 8 in equitation, which doesn't sound stellar, but I was happy to pin at all, especially because 6 out of 8 of the riders in the class were highly experienced riders from a big expensive show barn nearby. I definitely felt like the underdog. XD

I'm only really goal-oriented in my riding in the sense that I want to do it very well, and I soak up knowledge like a sponge. I enjoy the process. If I had to spend twelve lessons at a slow walk to fix something wrong with my riding, I'd do it and not get bored, because I'm that focused on wanting to be good and effective -- not for ribbons, though I'll probably do more little local shows this season -- but because I love feeling increasingly knowledgeable and effective. There's no better feeling than feeling like you're riding *well*.

I also just got asked by my coach to work out a plan with her to help bring along a cute little greenie pony at her barn, so it's nice to be trusted enough with that task.  I guess I'm doing all right!


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

Without knowing how old you are, I'd say you should be fine. Up until I was 30 years old, I just rode rented mounts, three, maybe four times a year. Even now, I've never been able to ride more than six times in one month. Of course, that's going to be between 60-70 miles. But one thing I did which may have helped my riding was practice other sports. So during those winter months, practice some other sports. It'll help you become more athletic and that will help your riding. Good luck.


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## Kriva (Dec 11, 2015)

Riding well isn't just about having your butt in the saddle. A large part of it is self awareness and horse awareness. It's how every part of you "talks" the horse you're on. When you can't actually be on the back of a horse and have real reins in your hands, you could always work on other aspects. Getting in shape, sitting correctly, or even getting to know the horse from the ground. 

If you can, stop by to see one of the horses a time or two during the week. Even if it's just for 10 minutes, having that small connection and "reading" a horse helps with riding too. I find myself thinking about my seat during the day. When I'm sitting in the car in traffic (about three hours a day) I push my shoulders back, straighten my spine, etc... Bad posture in a chair can relate to bad posture in the saddle. 

You can ride every day and not improve, and you can ride occasionally and improve each time. It's all in how you look at it. If you only improved with seat time then no one in a cold climate with a full time job would ever be good at riding. And that's not the case! So just make the most of your saddle time, and the most of your non-saddle time and you will improve.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Frankly, I don't think much about the way I ride. I just get on and go for the most part.....

For me, if I take it to seriously, it steals the fun.....and that's the only reason I ride.....for the pure joy to be found in it.....and to take me into the remotest of places where few go....where there is no cell signal....no texts...and no emails....

A friend was looking east from Missionary Ridge....and asked me "what those mountains are to the east" among other questions.....

Granted, it's nothing like the west...but still, a very remote area for east of the Mississippi....

My life is frustrating enough....riding is how I detach and unwind.....not something I get spun up over...unless, of course....I'm on a green horse!


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## redbarron1010 (Mar 11, 2017)

SteadyOn said:


> I wish I were in a position to be able to ride every day, but I'm not. I wish I were in a position to ride year round, but I'm not. I certainly would if I could.


My sister and I only ride 1-2x a week, and then in the winter months, we only play and do ground work with our horses due to the weather. I get "out of shape" riding wise in the winter, but it doesn't take but a few rides to get back in shape. Luckily we have horses who are not competition type horses who need ridden all the time and a small indoor arena to walk/trot in. But IMO yes you can progress, although slowly, through riding 1-2x week.


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