# How long did it take you to w/t/c on your own and jump



## tacocat (Aug 29, 2018)

TL;DR:
It took me over ten years to learn how to w/t/c and do small jumps.

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I assume you are asking because you feel like it is taking a long time....? If not, my apologies for misunderstanding.

I hear this a lot - both ways.
"How long will it take to for my horse to get good flying lead changes?"
"How long will it take before I learn how to do the sitting trot well?"

"It takes as long as it takes," as they say. It depends on a lot of factors. There is no one-set-schedule-time-frame for everyone.

To answer your question, it took me a couple of months to w/t/c on my own since I only took lessons bi-monthly. I never learned how to jump (#noob), to be honest, simply because I was never interested in that. However, I could, and probably will, learn how to jump in the future. So, if you want a very technical answer, it took over ten years to w/t/c and do small jumps.


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## Trinket12 (Oct 27, 2017)

I initially learnt how to trot, canter and do small jumps when I was a kid and I think that was around a year. I didn't ride properly again until about 18 months ago, my coach is Hunter/Jumper so very focused on my two point and control, we're still at trot and poles but that's more because the pony I ride isn't very good at canter and we don't know if she can jump. 

I would say that your trot and balance is the core basic work, you really need to nail that along with your control and balance before being able to move onto the more fun things (like canter and jumps). 

Have you spoken to your coach about how they think your progressing and what their goals are for you?

I should add that a strong two point is key for jumping, have you been working on that? My coach makes me do lots of it, and walk is good, in trot my balance needs more work. So if I can't hold it in trot, I am not going to be able to hold it in canter and going over jumps....


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Taking it slow is a very good thing! Putting in the time to learn how to do things right gives you a proper foundation for moving into the harder stuff.

I rode for seven years as a kid/teen, and I've been riding for three years now as an adult (after a 15 year break in between!). 

The first place I took "lessons" let me walk, trot, canter, and jump on the trails with no training whatsoever in doing any of those things. I didn't do them well and I know, in hindsight, I was hanging on by the reins and probably making the horse miserable. I only rode there for about 6 weeks. I should NOT have moved beyond walk/trot then. I'm kind of amazed I survived the place!! The next place I took lessons, we worked hard and fixed a lot of that stuff. I spent about a year just walking and trotting. I put the time in and learned to do things RIGHT!

Even nowadays, after all that experience, I still have lessons at times that are just working on walking and trotting. There's no hurry, and you never stop learning, no matter how much you're doing or what speed you're going. Just enjoy the process and listen to your instructor and try to do everything they ask you to.

You can also ask if there are any stretches or exercises you can do at home between lessons. That can do a lot to help you progress.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

It's meaningless to measure yourself by these standards, because there is "trotting on a school horse on autopilot", and there is "trotting on a sensitive show horse who'll get you off her back in a hurry if you aren't silky smooth." There is "cantering on what seems like a Western Pleasure horse", and there is "_right-lead_ canter on a fresh-off-the-track race horse". There is "jumping on a horse following the horse ahead", and there is "jumping on a horse that'll feel, and refuse, when your eye balls are out of balance." 

So, even once you are able to say, "I walked, trotted, cantered, and jumped!" - it means very little as soon as you switch from horse A to horse B, and you may not be able to do any of these things anymore.

Go with the flow, enjoy the - uhm - ride, and don't worry about checking off boxes.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

This is normal for the pace you are going at. My friend was only riding once a week and it took her about 8 months before cantering. Her husband started cantering around 3 months in as he is very competitive and essentially nagged the instructor. Guess who has the better canter? That's right, HER. She spent so much time in trot and sitting trot in particular that when it came to learning how to canter she was safer and less bouncy for the horse compared to her washing machine husband, who banged with all his weight on the horse's back and balanced himself by leaning back on the reins and poor horse's mouth. Sure, he could and was telling everyone that he could canter but what is the definition of being able to canter? Sitting there like a potato looking ugly or riding it in rhythm? 

What I'm trying to explain is that GOOD THINGS and real skill comes with time. You have had only around 8 hours of riding so far? I think horse riding is harder than playing piano as in results are harder to see immediately especially with such infrequent chances at practice. And yet no one would expect you to whip out the grande polonaise (chopin) with only 8 hours of practice  In my opinion a good instructor will not let a student canter until they can doing the sitting trot well without sitrrups but "where's the fun in that" as some will say. From riding regularly in riding schools alongside other weekly learners I've noticed it takes about a year to get the basics solid (w/t/c AND transitions "_clean_") and another year to be introduced to the basics of jumping etc. Obviously everyone learns at a different rate so just my experience. Don't rush - every ride is special. You are riding an animal with it's own brain and desires. A lot more to come and I hope you enjoy every minute of it.

Also if you are eager and have the funds see if you can up your training to 3x a week for a month only. I like to call it the "intensive kick start". Having practice sessions closer together will up the learning process by a TON. Good luck


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## Trinket12 (Oct 27, 2017)

Kalraii said:


> This is normal for the pace you are going at. My friend was only riding once a week and it took her about 8 months before cantering. Her husband started cantering around 3 months in as he is very competitive and essentially nagged the instructor. Guess who has the better canter? That's right, HER. She spent so much time in trot and sitting trot in particular that when it came to learning how to canter she was safer and less bouncy for the horse compared to her washing machine husband, who banged with all his weight on the horse's back and balanced himself by leaning back on the reins and poor horse's mouth. Sure, he could and was telling everyone that he could canter but what is the definition of being able to canter? Sitting there like a potato looking ugly or riding it in rhythm?
> 
> What I'm trying to explain is that GOOD THINGS and real skill comes with time. You have had only around 8 hours of riding so far? I think horse riding is harder than playing piano as in results are harder to see immediately especially with such infrequent chances at practice. And yet no one would expect you to whip out the grande polonaise (chopin) with only 8 hours of practice  In my opinion a good instructor will not let a student canter until they can doing the sitting trot well without sitrrups but "where's the fun in that" as some will say. From riding regularly in riding schools alongside other weekly learners I've noticed it takes about a year to get the basics solid (w/t/c AND transitions "_clean_") and another year to be introduced to the basics of jumping etc. Obviously everyone learns at a different rate so just my experience. Don't rush - every ride is special. You are riding an animal with it's own brain and desires. A lot more to come and I hope you enjoy every minute of it.
> 
> Also if you are eager and have the funds see if you can up your training to 3x a week for a month only. I like to call it the "intensive kick start". Having practice sessions closer together will up the learning process by a TON. Good luck


Your friends husband reminds me of me! When I started riding again, I remember feeling a bit huffy that I was just trotting, after all I knew how to ride! But I realised that what I had was a coach who focused on those basics and that while I am sure I would have been OK if we cantered earlier, I wouldn't be my best or the best for my pony. I have learnt so much more with my current coach, in balance, hands, leg aids while trotting (and the dreaded sitting trot, man I hate that one) that when we do get to the point of canter and jumping, I will be a better rider and I am sure Miss T will appreciate that so much more!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Some people start like me -- I was given a horse at age eleven and went out and rode him at all gaits, immediately, alone. I never had a lesson, never had a "school" horse, it was just seat of your pants (often bareback), 100% of the time. There was nothing safe about how I rode!

Some people start with a lesson a week on a horse not their own. They usually progress very slowly and safely. I also know people who started riding that way as adults and have never cantered after years of lessons and never intend to. 

There is no wrong way.


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## BzooZu (Jan 12, 2014)

I am a re-rider (rode about 15 years ago as a kid for a time and then stopped and forgot everything )and I have been taking weekly lessons for almost 3 years now (with a break in between). I am keeping a journal so I can tell you that I have had exactly 112 lessons by now. 
My first real canter was on the lunge line on my 43rd ride, which means I first cantered after 10 months of lessons. I have started cantering on my own (no lunge line) consistently in every lesson after my 50th lesson. 
My first jump (really only a raised cavaletti) was on my 84th ride (year and a half into my lessons) and my first actual jump was just recently on my 106th lesson.

On the other hand, most of my "lessons" during the warm months are trail rides (walk, trot, canter rarely if we find an even field) so I only do arena work during winter/when its raining. I am not in hurry. I like how my lessons are going. My instructor is usually the one who pushes me into trying new things and I am glad for it, because I know she thinks I am ready for them. We talk about it, we try it, we fix my mistakes. In any case I feel very safe and comfortable.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

When I first started riding, the instructor probably had me doing the walk, trot, and canter the first lesson. I was in group lessons, and the other riders had been riding for some time. I was young and adventurous and thought little of “how” I was doing things.

Several years later, when I was asked to instruct others, I realized I should know more about what I was going to be teaching. As I started reading books on horsemanship written by a variety of authors – and, then, books by other authors the first authors had mentioned – I began to realize how very little I really knew. These books opened up a whole new world of riding to me. 

I learned there was more to just sitting on a horse’s back, kicking him to move forward, and kicking him again to speed up. I learned that there was more to turning and stopping than simply pulling the reins one way or another. I learned the importance of feeling the horse’s movements and subtly influencing these movements at specific times in order to get the horse to move in different ways. 

I began taking lessons from other instructors, going to clinics, and traveling abroad to learn different methods of interacting with horses.

I am still learning as I ride and as I observe what happens as I try to pass on what I have already learned to others in order to help them improve their riding experiences.

There are some advantages in having riders experience aspects of riding even before they learn to perform these things better. The danger is that the rider may think that they have learned to ride before they learn how more detailed instruction can help them learn how to ride in ways that heighten the experience for both the rider and the horse.


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## FlyWithBlueJay (Aug 3, 2018)

This might be different for me than it was for other people, as my riding story is a little wonky. I started out Western and now I ride English. I trotted on my first lesson and finally got the hang of it after a month (I had weekly lessons). After two months, I started cantering (and did not want to stop). After a year or so of riding, my instructor told me I was ready to move onto jumping. However that was when I had to move. The next for years of my riding I rode English and jumped often and mostly trotted and walked. As I grew older and more experienced (one year later) I started training her green horses and tuning them up for the young lesson kids. My instructor then stopped giving me lessons and I went there and rode whenever I pleased. That’s when I started leasing. Blah Blah Blah a few years later I got my first horse (a green one) and have been doing hunter jumper with him. So that’s trot and canter mostly. I think the reason I started trotting and cantering so quickly is because riding comes naturally to me and I have good balance. That’s sounded really cocky, sorry. But anyway, my advice for you would be to just go with the horses rhythm, let HIM push you out of that saddle. Remember, it’s a back and forth motion, not up and down. You can start with larger posting (butt farther out of the saddle) and as you get the hang of it, move into smaller posting. The reason behind this is that this came naturally, how I went from large to small. I think that’s because the amount of control you need to keep your post minimal and quiet. Big posting doesn’t require a lot of thought, as you’re just thrusting yourself out of the saddle and exaggerating the motion. Once you have your posting down on the lunge line, then move on to posting in half of the arena, then the full arena. And also, your instructor might mean just to not pull on the reins as you’re trotting. You can hold on to them, just don’t tug on them. I would hold on to the pommel or a neck strap before holding the reins. Once you get the hang of trotting, you can start going over poles and cavaletti’s and raise the jumps as you become more experienced. You need to master the trot before you canter. When cantering, you just lean back and go with the flow, unless you’re in two point if you are a hunter. Once you’ve mastered the canter, you can move on to even higher jumps that a horse couldn’t go over at the trot (usually over 2 feet ish). So that’s all I have to say about that and happy riding!


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## CharlotteThePenguin (Apr 2, 2016)

It took me four and a half years before I was cantering by myself, but I moved barns about once a year during that time, so I kept getting set back each time. I started out English, then went to western for two different barns, then ended up at English again. So, I'm probably not a good example of time to look at. Once I settled on the English barn, I was jumping about six months after I had been able to canter by myself, which was probably four months or so after I first got there. Depending on how fast you learn, it could take you anywhere from a couple months to a couple years.

As long as you're enjoying yourself and being safe, don't worry about how fast you're progressing!


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## CanteringCalypso (Aug 13, 2017)

I learned in about 2 years. By then, I was able to jump around 2ft and w/t/c. It's been 3-4 years of taking lessons, I comfortably jump 3ft, and I have a stable position and strong leg. I jumped 3'6' once as well. It all depends on your trainer. I had one trainer for 2 years and I learned to w/t/c and jump 2', but then I was stuck. We did the exact same thing every lesson and I wasn't learning anything or building muscle. I changed barns and in just a year, my riding has changed DRASTICALLY.. Make sure you have a good trainer that is willing to push you to your limits!


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