# Riding lessons



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

This is kind of a journal/diary that I'm going to be keeping to document and share my riding lessons and what goes on during them  So, my first post is going to be a bit of a rant (unfortunately) since today's lesson really didn't go well for me. On a Saturday I usually ride a 16.3/17hh horse In a small group of friends with our instructor, who I'm going to name for privacy and stuff, jennie. Unfortunately we didn't have jennie today so instead we had another instructor fill in and take the lesson for her and, if I'm going to be honest this instructor kinda scares me 😰 Not only that, but I reallllly don't like the way she teaches. So, I mounted, walked around and it was all good and then we started to do some trotting. From this lesson I've got a strong feeling that she is really into dressage because she was constantly (like, seriously) telling me to shorten my reins, I never have them long and I keep contact but since this horse I ride has a soft mouth and is harder to move forward, shortening them constantly meant that he would just stop! I'm surprised that I wasn't holding the bit by the end of the lesson 😂 I would trot, she would tell me to shorten my reins too much, and the horse would stop (I hatee kicking on a horse whilst holding onto the mouth or pulling because they get confused) but she would tell me to just kick him on. I am sure that she was trying to get me, to get the horse on the bit but since he was a showjumping horse, with a soft mouth I couldn't get him on the bit and he would stop so when she wansnt looking I would loosen my reins a bit hehehe. Cantering and jumping was interesting, i have been jumping about 70-85cm at the minute with jennie on a Wednesday and that's been going really great but in this lesson you really would think I'd ever jumped at all! The instructor got us all to do a cross pole which went fine, a straigh which also went fine and then she put up a two jump course. My friend went, and then it was my turn so I get him trotting, cantering and we go over the first jump fine, but again she tells me to shorten my reins, I shorten them, horse slows to a trot so he jumps really odd and I nearly bounce off him and lose both my stirrups. I know that if I hadn't had such tight reins I would have gone fine, ive had lessons on this horse for ages and know he has a big jump and that he is super experienced in jumping, so this was odd and I done ever think we have had that happen before since I know not to collect him too much and just to follow his jump. We went over a straight and that was fine and then we ended the lesson. Something else I've just remembered is that my stirrups kept falling out from my feet and I'm not sure why? The instructor kept telling me "your gripping, stop gripping" so I think this just made me more nervous but I know, before i shortened stirrups I was not gripping, the stirrups were just too long. I am pretty independent when I ride and my usual instructor doesn't constantly criticise me or talk at me when I'm riding because I really can't concentrate when people do that so I guess that could also factor into why this lesson wasn't the best. Hopefully, this Wednesday will be a lot better since it's a private with the usual instructor, (yay) I just hope it doesn't rain!


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Riding went a lot better today! I had a private with my usual instructor which I am relieved about since we get on quite well + I don't want a private with that other woman, she'd ruin me ? Anyway, we did a bit of trotting and I think my sitting trot is improving since I've been practicing it a lot lately when riding and shorter strides really help when trying to improve it. There was this guy and his son watching and for the first time, I didn't feel nervous about it! He was talking a lot though, which was annoying since it was at my instructor but after a while, they left and we did some jumping (yay). So, I did a course of 3 which, isn't super big but I'm really trying to work on timing and planning so having a smaller, tighter course helps a lot. I jumped a cross pole first which went well and we did that 3 times, then a straight bar but since I was struggling to keep timing and pace, I went into a 2-point before the horse even jumped! My instructor just laughed and told me to try it again, but to try and keep the energy and it was fine. After doing warm up jumps we finally got into the course and there was a super tight corner which we kinda messed up (well I thought we weren't going to make it since I messed up the turn but we did ) and then, literally by surprise my instructor put up this 90cm jump, which is the highest I have ever jumped and I kinda just gawked, kicked him on and we went over fine  It took me by surprise so I am happy that we jumped it like we did. My instructor then told me to go over the cross pole and the straight again, just so that I could get the corner right and that went a lot better since I planned it the second time. As a warm down I just walked the horse off and took him to the stable which he seemed happy about  let's see how Saturday turns out!


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Today's lesson was kinda doomed from the start, it really was an off day today ? So, I lead the horse I usually ride upto the ménage and he was being pretty slow about it, lead him to the block but when I try to get on the saddle just slipped because the girth was loose! He kinda jumped to the side and I had to do some parkour jump of the stirrup but luckily, nothing serious happened. This has never happened before and the people at the stable always tack him up to go so I've never thought of checking the girth when I first get on (which I will now do) so that took me by surprise. I was in a lesson with three other girls, one was my friend and the other two were on pony camp and were really nice. We trotted round and we were all going very nicely but my friends horse spooked at the gate, span round and hit the dun pony that one of the pony club girls were on! We all stopped and asked her if she was okay and she said yes so we kept trotting. After, we all turned in to do some individual cantering and me and my friend like to talk whilst the others go around so we "park" next to each other and the horses seem to like this too, and I'm not sure if it's because the horse I ride likes my friends horse TOO much but he just wouldn't move when it was our time and actually ended up going backwards and squishing his bum into my friends horses side! I had to be super firm with him and circled him so that he would stop going backwards but I have absolutely no idea why he did that, so if any one knows why I would really appreciate the help  on the plus side, we did a really nice canter around and he seemed a bit more awake, which is great since we then moved onto jumping. The instructor put up a cross pole and my friend rode it great. Unfortunately, the girl on the dun pony took a long stride which was completely the horses fault and was odd so she flew forward, landing on his neck and I think that shocked him so he started to Buck and she came off ): she landed funny on her wrist but my instructor didn't see and it really scared her! Something that wound me up thought was her mother as she was being really harsh and telling her daughter she is "causing a scene" and literally forced this girl to get back on. My instructor was pretty unsure about the situation and I feel like she didn't feel like it was her place to correct the mother so she walked her over a cross pole but she was so terrified and hurt, I feel like taking her out was the best thing to do, we were all trying to reassure her that we all fall off but I think it really shook her, we were all a bit shook after that ? But I do hope her wrist is okay! We did a course after that and it went well, I've picked up how to pace and timing a lot better now but horsee was just so lazy today that he knocked a pole! To say he use to jump like 1m40 that's a bit odd lol but he is just generally quite lazy and calm which isn't always a bad thing  . Hopefully my Wednesday lesson will go well!


----------



## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

Good posts. 

Horses really teach us presence and to pay attention to what we are doing. In our modern world that is not something we get from our daily lives. Stick with it, you'll be amazed where you are in a year.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

jgnmoose said:


> Good posts.
> 
> Horses really teach us presence and to pay attention to what we are doing. In our modern world that is not something we get from our daily lives. Stick with it, you'll be amazed where you are in a year.


. 

Thanks for reading my journal  horses really do teach us to be more aware of ourselves, especially when your doing something wrong hehe. I'm wanting to keep this journal to share my riding lesson and as a memory/progress log so hopefully, I'll be a lot better next year.


----------



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Just break up your text a little by putting blank lines between paragraphs.

Like this.

It turns a "wall of text" into something that's easier on the eye. Good job with your lessons, though! The jump you mentioned in your first post I call a "bunny hop" - the horse launches into the air with all four feet, causing your to assume "zero-point position" momentarily. If you're lucky you come down straight and can ride without stirrups until the situation calms down. 

Have you ever spoken with your regular instructor about the "shorten your reins" issue? When I was told to shorten my reins, that usually meant to move my hands farther up the neck so I wouldn't have my elbows behind my waist already is neutral position. You can shorten your reins without increasing contact, but you have to be pretty loose in your shoulders and elbows to stay with the horse's motion.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

mmshiro said:


> Just break up your text a little by putting blank lines between paragraphs.
> 
> Like this.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the tip on spacing  I haven't done a journal before so I get a bit confused ?

And yes, I know exactly what you are describing when keeping contact or short reins. It isn't usually a problem with my usual instructor since I do keep contact but this fill in teacher really wanted them like super short and wanted to get him on the bit, which I didn't want to be doing in the lesson because we were jumping.

The bunny hop thing was awful! He usually has a huge jump so I anticipated it but it didn't happen so we kind of collided and I lost my stirrups eek.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Today's riding lesson went great! I have a private on Wednesdays on a different horse so I get to concentrate and learn a bit more, since I've been doing these (about 5 weeks?) my riding has improved so much. 

So, I started trotting him around and recently, I've been watching a lot of Dressage mastery on YouTube by a Chanel called "YourRidingSuccess" and I really reccomend you check it out, as it really helped me get him on the bit, which when I learned had worked I got really excited about  

We then worked the canter and it was really nice! I think now that I've got my position, hands, and balance In the canter I can try more technical things when in canter, and I did try to get him more on the bit in canter but it is a bit harder than trot. 

Just before we jumped a course this drone thing flew out of no-where and was hovering over the ménage! It was so loud and weird and my instructors reaction made me laugh a lot xD. Luckily, it stopped before I started jumping.

We jumped over a cross pole and he felt a bit slow/unenthusiastic today which did effect our jumping, sadly. So, the course consisted of 5 jumps, all 70/80cm in height (which I have never done before so keep that in mind lol) and I think I did okay? My stirrups were actually too long which effected my jumping, so in future I will shorten them before jumping a course. 

The first straight was at the bottom and we jumped that fine, then we jumped the straight at the top but I lost my stirrups, (welp) got them back but missed the jump in the middle because the turn was very tight so we came round again, and he was hard to speed up so he knocked the pole but it was jumped okay, I lost my stirrup AGAIN and my reins, got them back, circled around and went over the last jump (a spread) fine. 

He was getting very tired as I think this is more than he was used to, so we just went over the first three and it was a lot better the second time around  .

I get very frustrated with myself when something doesn't go perfect. Today, he was just more tired than usual and I feel like I'm still struggling with speed and timing.(ARG) But I just tell myself that this is the first time I've done this and even Grand Prix riders lose their stirrups and reins sometimes so it's okay  

Saturday's lesson is going to be interesting, instead of being on a 16.3 showjumper, I'm on a 14.3 cob that can't turn, and I mean like seriously, this horse cuts right through the school, so yeah XD


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I really got to see how I have improved in today's lesson, since I rode this horse a few months ago and struggled a lot. The horse I ride today was a 14.3 cob, quite cute but completely different than I'm used to! He had shorter strides, (obviously lol) a shorter, bouncier canter and, he didn't take big jumps but did rush at them, which I actually really like. 

As we were walking around, these two girls (one on the horse I usually ride) came behind me and at the side of me and started talking, though nothing of it but then they started talking to each other about my horse saying "oh I was on that horse the other day and he spooked at the top of the school and it really scared me!" And I was just thinking to myself, that is either on purpose to try and scare me or just them being stupid because you don't say that! 

I went for a canter round and he does struggle to get into the corners so I had to use my leg and reins a lot to help him and he actually has quite a nice canter. As the girl said, he did spook a little at the top but it wasn't much, I patted and reassured him and the next time we went round, he didn't spook at all ? 

We did a jump course and it was the same course as the private lessons but lowered, and we went over the three first jumps fine but, *sigh* when we got the the top he just stopped and wouldn't turn left, he wanted to follow someone else's horse! He is very strong and I had to circle him a few times but eventually, I managed to get him going the right way and we finished the course. On the last jump he just stepped over It and made me look like an idiot ?

We cooled them off with a trot and he does hold his head very strangely; I tried to get his hindquarters active and use half halts with my inside leg but it was really hard to get a good head carrige but I don't think he is trained in that way but I tried









On Wednesdays lesson I have booked in on the horse I usually ride on Saturday. I feel like the one I usually ride on Wednesday is struggling to jump over 85cm but he has really improved my riding so much, he is a really great horse, I just don't want to strain him or jump him over his capability so, well as how that goes


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

So, today's lesson did not go as planned :/ I got to the stables and it suddenly decided to start raining very heavily so the schools were quite damp and gross. 

I lead out the horse to the ménage and he really didn't like the rain! He was spinning away and trying to get away from it (unsuccessfully lol) but luckily, it stopped and he settled and I just patted him to reassure him and then I mounted. 

We had a lovely trot with a tiny spook (he gets a bit on edge when it's wet) but I patted him and he was completely fine after that, then we changed we changed rein and had an ever better trot. We did a few circles too which were good but, he has a tendency of slowing down so I think I managed that quite well 

We had an okay canter, I really struggle to sit to his trot because he is very bouncy and has a big stride, so it took a while to get him into canter (also wet school and rain) but we had a collected canter after that which was nice.

Onto the jumping! We did a nice cross pole which was around a pretty tight corner, jumped it fine. We then did a 60cm straight and the timing was a bit off so I jumped it again and used my leg more, came round again and was a bit firmer and we got a good stride in! 

Now, this is where things went bad ? My instructor heightened the jump to a small spread and put up two smaller cross poles for a course, I was meant to jump the spread, cross pole, cross pole and finish. This horse that I'm riding is about 16.3/17hh and is an ex-grand prix show jumper so he has a pretty long jump that I'm used to now, but this was on another level, we Cantered upto the jump and counted his stride, slowed him down so we would get a good stride but about 6ft before the jump he took off and I was like "eh?!" And got completely de-seated and thrown into the air and literally dived into the sand! I seriously couldn't move for a few minutes, my whole lower half was numb and my instructor ran over and I kinda just joked around with her about how big the stride was and after, she and my mum helped me up and I was sooo soggy and sandy, the cold sand was dropping down my top, just eww. 

I'm very stubborn and although I was struggling to walk, I got back on and did some trotting, cantering and a cross pole; I've seen riders all off and refuse to get back on and completely lose confidence and I didn't want that to happen to me (plus I like ending on a good note lol). 

Plus a load of the instructors were watching! They never usually watch and it just had to be then didn't it XD. I lead him back to the stable and the pain was setting in then, it hurt all down my lower back, on my bum and down the side of my whole left thigh. As I got into the booking type room/cafe I started feeling a bit sick and my sight started to go a bit dark so I had to sit down, but then my hearing started to get muffled! If anyone can tell me what this is (I guessed shock) please feel free to reply. 

I struggled to get into the car as a shooting pain would go town my lower back and left thigh (near the bone) and now I'm using crutches to get around the house, but it is very painful ): I'm meant to be going to burleigh tommorow aswell! Baths reallly help so, if you fall off and are in pain, take a nice Bath!

On Saturday (if I can even ride) I'm booked in on the same horse and I think I'll take it easy for a couple weeks and then try a spread again.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

It turns out that I couldn't ride last Saturday, because of my fall which was super annoying since I go a bit mental if I can't ride lol. 

Today I finally got to ride and only ache a little bit now, since I'm still not 100% but I went on a hack with my friend instead, and as soon as we got there it started raining! The horse I rode (black horse that could possibly be a Welsh sec D?) was quite strong and usually, I can control him perfectly but because my hands were so numb, we ended up doing a slow canter which was actually quite nice. My friend enjoyed it too and was on the horse I usually ride, a skewbald cob type that is great to ride and also has beautiful blue eyes! 

We hack by the river and it is through a large park place with big open fields and it is very pretty on a warm, sunny day but today it meant no shelter from the rain ): but, even though it was raining it was still very enjoyable and the horses didn't seem to mind and we did some more trotting.

Typical of the weather, it stopped raining as soon as we got back and the sun came out /: 

I'm going to test out a potential loan horse tommorow (14.1 grey Appaloosa) and I'm really looking forward to it! Hopefully it goes well


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I went to try the Appaloosa pony out today and it went okay. On the way to the stables we got a bit lost though as it isn't a place we have been to before, and the yard was in quite a hidden spot but eventually we found the gates and met the owner, who was really nice and she walked us into the yard.

It was a very small, private yard with a grass ménage and a few stables, aswell as a lot of land since the ponies were turned out 24/7 so, I knew that I wouldn't get watched whilst riding  (I hate being watched by random people lol) like I do when I'm up at my riding school. 

The horse seemed really nice and friendly, I got to brush her and help the owner tack up which I thought was alot better than just getting on and riding; I got to ask some questions whilst grooming and familiarise myself with the horse and owner which was good  there were a couple of super cute shetlands out on the field and they looked so small and squishy! (I wanted to take them home hehehe) 

The owner got on to ride her first and they looked really good, she had a really lovely trot and held her head quite nicely, the owner was a really good rider and held her together nicely too. 

I learnt that a few years ago she sold her horse and instantly regretted it, tracked her down through Facebook and found out that she had been left in a field and wasted ): (which I feel happens too often and is such a shame) I'm glad she bought her back, her horse looks very happy now.

I mounted and we went for a little walk, we were relaxed and she had a good pace and was not slow or ploddy but you only needed a small amount of leg to get her to trot and she was off XD The owner did say to make sure you keep contact and yes, I learnt that quite quickly once we got into canter. Her trot was quite large for a smaller pony and fast so when I tried a bit of sitting trot, it didn't work lol. 

As I was saying, her canter was very forward and had a smaller stride, she also turned very sharp which I think was due to the bit, so I got left behind a bit lol. When I wanted to slow down to a trot, she didn't and even though the bit was stronger I was still struggling to slow her down and had to use my seat more and, like the owner said, have quite a lot more contact. 
We slowed down to a faster trot and I got her to walk and do a circle and then went back into trot, this time I stopped her from cantering and did a medium trot with her (a step lower than she wanted to offer) and it was a lot better, not rushed as much and more controlled. 

We walked back over to the owner and she said that I rode her well, which was very nice of her and I dismounted and walked back to the stables. 

I helped her take the tack off and took the saddle back to the tack shed and then I lead her with the owner upto the field. There was a very inquisitive little Shetland that followed us up the field and was so cute! I took off her head collar and she made the cutest little sound (I'm not sure if it was a whinny, it sounded like purring) and gen we walked back.

The owner and the horse were so nice but, it was a little too far to go and she was a bit too forward for my liking, (since I want to focus a bit more on dressage) and was more used to jumping even though the yard had no jumps ): so I guess I'll keep looking.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I went for a really nice hack today on a young, I think 4 year old cob. He was so beautiful and had the cutest dapple pattern on his hindquarters and he was also very mature! He responded so well to all the cues/aids, had a great pace on him and was so calm and cute! 

We did a lot of walking and a little trotting as I wanted to have a more relaxed ride out and it was so nice to just be relaxed but even so, I'll still sit up straight, keep my shoulders back, etc. It's like I've got a lil chip in my brain making me do it lol! 

Since the ride was so relaxed I really don't have much more to say XD but I am going back to my usual stables now, it feels like forever hehe so I can get back into my riding "routine" if that's a thing.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Yay, I'm back at my old riding school! Hopefully I'm back into routine now, but I have lost a little confidence sadly ):

So, I was meant to ride a pretty slow, black cob who I used to ride all the time, and loved (I don't know why, he hardly moves XD) but instead, I got put a beautiful 16.2 grey, ex-hunter, and even though he is pretty and all, we don't really have a good relationship /: last time I rode him, he spooked pretty bad and he was very grumpy.

Surprisingly, he was a lot better this time and was actually a pretty good dressage horse too  he held his head very nicely on the bit, and had a good extended trot, etc. I was able to keep his attention so he didn't spook which is great as I've seen him being very anxious. one time (story time!) before my friend was surposed to ride him, he was very agitated and hot so one of the "professional riders" (which I personally do not really like) had to get on him and cool him down. He was backing up onto a bushes and scaring himself at first but then he calmed down and was really good! I'm not sure why this is ? Could someone explain possibly why he was behaving like that?

Anyway, we started doing cantering and he would like tear up a bit before cantering? Like he would lift his two front legs up and throw his head up a bit, it super odd but my instructor said that It is one of his quirks. So I struggled a little bit with keeping him going, as I'm not used to him and it's basically the first time I've rode him properly + I was a bit tense since I had a bit of a confidence block; after a break we went on the other rein and it was a lot better, we got a longer canter and I sat back a bit more and was a lot less tense .

We then went onto a bit of jumping and because he was a hunter, he jumps big and charges a little but this time he cantered up and then did an extra stride before the jump. I'm not sure why this happened but it happened a few times, is it because I wasn't slowing him down enough/got him on a bad stride because when I I'd slow him down more we got a couple nice jumps in. 

After riding him I actually think he is quite a good horse but I don't think I'll ride him again, just because his canter is hard to sit and he is quite fast, I'm not sure XD he was a good jumper though I could feel it so hmm, I'll have to think about riding him again 

Next week I'm on a horse that I used to ride aaages ago! He has come on a lot now and I'm excited to see how much he has changed because he used to be my favourite horse to ride at the stables.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Ever seen Katy prices pony club? Today's lesson was a bit like that. So, The horse I was meant to be riding was swapped and I was placed on a smaller bay Welsh (I don't know this at the time but, he was a bit mental) who was pretty cute, and my friend was placed on the grey that I rode last week. 

It was super busy and basically every horse was being taken down to the bottom two Arenas, I thought this was a bit odd since we have 4 arenas so me and my friend were like "eh?". Our instructor was not happy about this and was getting annoyed so, as soon as we mounted she took us upto the top school (there were 6 people in her lesson including me and my friend) because there was literally no room.

We did the usual, trotting on both reins for a warm up and then cantering. We cantered in pairs today, me and a younger girl who is a regular in our group lessons (we have like a little specific group it's great ) went last and both our ponies were known to be fast but the welsh I was riding was having a particularly lively day XD maybe this is because his bit was changed from a gag to a loose ring snaffle, so erm yeah I didn't have a lot of control. 

You know when you can feel a horse is going to be very fast or is preparing? well, I felt that right before we walked out. We were jumping a TINY cross pole and this pony gets to the corner, turns and goes absolutely mental! I turned him out of the jump because he was basically galloping and I just thought "what the heck is going on?!" So I stopped him and my instructor was like "oh dear you must have tapped him in the bum by accident" so I thought that had to be the reason, nope! We went round again and he went even faster and I'm not going to let him jump at such a fast pace so we literally went round FOUR times with him going absolutely nuts and with my instructor and mum laughing their heads off XD. I did eventually jump him a couple times over the cross pole which was a lot better when he was under control.

My instructor wanted to swap me when doing a straight double after he ran at it and I turned him away but I refused, partly because I'm stubborn and partly because I don't like the horse i was going to be swapped with so I went again, controlled him a bit better and we went over quite well  

A couple other went over well but this poor girl on the horse that I was meant to be riding, came off due to a big stride, rolled over herself and got back up. The horse literally kept going and then parked itself right between mine and my friends lol. She did get back on but she said that she couldn't remember what had just happened (which I suspect was a concussion) so she dismounted and ended her lesson, I hope she recovers from it ):

We did a small course after, which went a lot better that the first few jumps. We trotted the first jump, trotted and then cantered into the second jump and for the last jump, he went a bit fast again but I felt a lot safer this time and we jumped it well  

Next week I'm riding a beautiful dappled Connemara who, strangely, seemed quite slow in a lesson I watched the other week.


----------



## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Love reading about your rides; you are surely getting a lot of experience riding so many different horses. That will help you become a really good rider. 

Do you think you could post some pictures of all these ponies? They sound so adorable.


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

AnitaAnne said:


> Love reading about your rides; you are surely getting a lot of experience riding so many different horses. That will help you become a really good rider.
> 
> Do you think you could post some pictures of all these ponies? They sound so adorable.


Thanks for reading! I honestly thought that no one read these XD and I've never thought about posting pictures so on my next update I'll 100% be adding some photos of these lovely ponies


----------



## Courageous (Aug 31, 2017)

Oh your journalling is just great!! I just started taking riding lessons and I can't wait to see what lay around the corner. I want to show jump. Keep up the good work! Oh yeah and if you can, could you tell the names of the horses when you describe them? I just like to know but if you can't no problem. Pictures (or a video?) would be awesome!!


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Courageous said:


> Oh your journalling is just great!! I just started taking riding lessons and I can't wait to see what lay around the corner. I want to show jump. Keep up the good work! Oh yeah and if you can, could you tell the names of the horses when you describe them? I just like to know but if you can't no problem. Pictures (or a video?) would be awesome!!


Thank you! I hope you enjoy lessons, trying out a lot of different horses is super fun and you'll learn a lot  and I will start adding photos and the horses names, thank for letting me know that you would like to see that, I've just never thought about doing that before XD


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I managed to get quite s few pictures and videos today, yay! But I'll have to add the videos as a separate post since I'm not sure how to actually add video, so they'll be up shortly . Anyway, today's lesson went quite well, it wasn't one of those "wow!" Lesson but it also wasn't a "omg how do I horse" lesson, so I guess it was kind of in the middle. 

Instead of riding that lovely little dapple grey Connemara I had to ride a horse called Mozart, since the little kid couldn't really ride Mo (yes, I am jealous of that child) XD. I've talked about him before, he is a big 16.3/17hh selle Francais and a few weeks ago I actually fell off him, so my confidence is not all there yet but, it is way better this week 

Anyway, as you'll see we always warm up first by trotting on both reins for a few minutes. Mo was not very enthusiastic today which was great, thanks horse /: so I struggled a bit to keep him going in the trot but once we swapped reins he was a lot more lively and more forward. His canter was quite nice today and I managed to keep him more collected, it is very bouncy though so my position was compromised a little XD

We then went out in pairs for a couple warm up jumps(I am the one with the dark blue top, no body protector, massive chestnut horse lol) and the girl wearing the body protector is riding my usual weekday horse, Domino, a chestnut x breed. He is a great confidence giver and is the one I have jumped my highest on, he is v cute but looks a little Mardy in the video and picture of him tied up lol.

We then did a straight and we came in on a bit of an off stride so he stopped and then jumped but the second time round was better, I look a bit bouncy thought coming off the jump, my position felt a bit dodgey when I was doing it though, I guess I overestimated the jump? 

The course we did after did not go very well, I wish I had video last weeks, it was a lot better. Coming upto the first jump I could feel that he was going to take a long jump (I don't want that happening again eek) so I slowed him to a trot. I figured that trotting it would be a lot better than having him do a jump that would have me off again. 

As I said before, he was exceptionally lazy today so for the second jump I just could not get him to canter! The last two jumps were a lot better. Sorry about the filming quality, and my face (I never get time to put makeup on before riding hehehe) I think I'll be putting the camera in the corner next time or bring a tripod XD any suggestions on how I could film without having to use another person?

I also got a picture of an adorable Shetland and if you want some more info on the place that I ride, feel free to check it out! It is called fairview farm equestrian centre, nottingham, england. If you live nearby i would really reccomend it, the yard is so nice 

Yay, here are the pictures and videos!


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

GrumpyPony16 said:


> I managed to get quite s few pictures and videos today, yay! But I'll have to add the videos as a separate post since I'm not sure how to actually add video, so they'll be up shortly . Anyway, today's lesson went quite well, it wasn't one of those "wow!" Lesson but it also wasn't a "omg how do I horse" lesson, so I guess it was kind of in the middle.
> 
> Instead of riding that lovely little dapple grey Connemara I had to ride a horse called Mozart, since the little kid couldn't really ride Mo (yes, I am jealous of that child) XD. I've talked about him before, he is a big 16.3/17hh selle Francais and a few weeks ago I actually fell off him, so my confidence is not all there yet but, it is way better this week
> 
> ...


Feel free to critique 

https://youtu.be/mBZWAvjkKF8

https://youtu.be/sWh9sY2dpDU

https://youtu.be/UrDKd_EjtV4

https://youtu.be/ZWMVrRlwXzg


----------



## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

Good job. You look relaxed, sitting up, looking where you are going with low soft hands. You can build some great riding skills from there, keep it up!


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I didn't manage to get any videos or photos today but, I did manage to find the earliest video of me riding, it's so cringe and awful, I look like a potato! Please don't judge my past riding self XD I'll put up a few throw back images of some of the horses on the yard too  

Anyway, we had a fun and different lesson today, I hope my instructor carries these on because it helped a lot! So firstly, we did our warm up trot and canter but because Mo was being super lazy today I found it hard to get him into canter on the first time out. I reallly hate a messy transition so I wasn't happy about him trotting super fast but, I was finding it hard to sit today to ask him to canter so I kinda just had to let him run a bit /: he was a lot better on the second canter out, it was on the other rein this time and was a lot easier and smoother. We had to cut across the school a bit since it is on a slope and gets a bit flooded (he really doesn't like water) it was pretty gross, we both got splashed by the mud.

We then did a sequence of 4 or 5 trotting poles down the middle of the arena as a group. Mo wasn't really lifting his legs up enough because I couldn't get an active trot so he hit a couple poles. We were off stride a few times which is super annoying /: we then came from the bottom of the arena and he was a lot better, we got a more active trot and got the perfect stride in, it was so nice! I felt like we were doing piaffe or something lol (I hope you get what I mean XD) 

I could immediately tell the difference from when he wasn't active and engaged to when he was. We got a good few more of those perfect, lifted trots over the poles and since I don't do this very often (especially on a huge horse lol) I think we did well 

My instructor then went on to add a jump at the end but it wasn't big so the horse my friend was riding, sonny, just stepped over it XD. She put the cross pole upto the top holder (I think that's what it's called) so they had to think more and actually jump so when it was my turn, I was a bit worried that Mo would jump at the last trotting pole since he has a habit of over jumping. 

I slowed/collected him a bit more and we didn't get a great stride but it was okay, we went around a few more times and it was going okay, not super good but ok, we got the striding well a few times but he did hit the jump the first time we went. 

It felt very odd, trotting over poles and then jumping because I felt more lifted/it was more bouncy and I kinda forgot when to lean forward, I'm not sure if anyone understands what I'm on about but it was just, weird XD

I'm not riding next Saturday but, I think I'll book a private in for a weekday instead, I hate missing lessons, it makes me feel sad lol. 

https://youtu.be/GCd3Hd7ZnrU


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

I finally got to ride Toby this week, he is so cute and he's 17 but he looks so young! I've got some videos and a picture of the lesson, i would have never guessed that he was that age, I actually thought he was about 11 or 12. He is around 14.3 and is owned by a girl currently doing her A-levels which must be very stressfull, thankfully I have a while until my exams so, phew!

The school was not in the best condition today because we had a huge amount of rain last night and throughout the morning. I was literally praying for it to stop XD despite the school being pretty gross we had a really fun lesson.

There was only three of us today which meant the lesson was a bit easier and more spaced out which was nice. We firstly did a few trotting poles (I think around 5) and the first two tries were a bit erm, messy and we basically moved all the poles XD but, all the other times I sped him up a bit more and we went over perfectly  I think I've got the hang of that now, it's also easier because he's not 16.3 like mo lol. 

After, we had about 4 laps of the school which is twice the amount we usually get and it was really fun! One thing that annoyed me though is my transition from trot to canter, I'm finding it really hard to sit and not rise /: I also find that my leg doesn't stay still, it slides around a bit so I need to work on that. His canter wasn't super smooth but it was still nice and he seemed enthusiastic about it which is good 

The next few exercises killed my legs, like, they felt as if they were on fire. Out instructor then made us go around the school about 3 times sitting in jumping position whilst trotting and then again on the other rein. It was so fun and one of the people I ride with, rides a super fast little pony and I think he just started cantering so we were all laughing ?. She also made us do sitting trot and I can't do it to save my life, it was so hard I just couldn't do it! My leg kept slipping back because I was trying to use my legs as shock absorbers if you know what I mean so I'm not sure how to stop that, it's been a problem for a while /: i was a lot better on domino in the private lesson but he is quite slow and very smooth.

I won't be riding next week but I'm going to "Your Horse live" to see Charlotte dujardin and Valegro! They inspired me a lot so I'm very excited  also, sorry about the fence in the way of the video, I wish I had good photoshop skills to edit it out XD

https://youtu.be/ukX_GB24tbQ

https://youtu.be/-tRXOTFCExU

https://youtu.be/Lsz6xHFmLq4


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Riding was very fun today, we've moved onto some bigger jumps now and are doing them more frequently. I rode Toby again and he was good as always! I found that when I use my leg more to turn, he'll turn super well but if I used my rein more, he'd turn a lot more lazily and like it was an effort so o tried to use a bit more leg to turn. 

At the start of the lesson I couldn't get him cantering, it was pretty embarrassing lol. I was desperately trying to use the canter aid but because I can't do sitting trot to save my life I found it really hard /: I was kind of just bouncing, so I'm really not sure how to sort out my sitting trot but I reallly need to; at one point I was able to do sitting trot pretty well but I stopped doing weekday lessons and now I don't do it much, I've probably lost the muscle build up ?.

Usually in our lesson something interesting will happen and today we had a new girl in the riding group. She was on a stubborn, 15.1 black Irish cob who I used to LOVE (for some weird reason) but really dislike now (you'll see why) but I don't think today's "incident" was really his fault. 
Anyway, whilst trotting around Tommy would literally stop and not move, he would literally protest and just stop for absolutely ages but because (from what I saw) this girl was not very experienced, Tommy learn that he could get away with stopping a lot and I have to say, I did have this problem a couple years back and it's SOOOO annoying XD I did feel sorry for her.

When we got to cantering I had my, err "canter fail" moment that I talked about earlier which thank god got alot better after that. Then the girl on tommy went out and I don't think she had ever cantered before? Tommy might be the most stubborn horse in the world but his canter is pretty smooth and the girl riding him was bouncing straight out the saddle, I thought she was going to fly out! I think she was a bit embarrassed bless her, she was having a very hard time sitting to canter. Tommy got a bit annoyed at her bouncing on his back and kinda just broncoed, eek. She kind of slid down his neck and then rolled over but she got back up and was fine  Tommy is 22 by the way and to be honest, I think he's immortal! Then the really weird bit is he went from stopping every half-second to literally cantering around the school with her trying to stop him XD at the end of the lesson she managed to keep him in trot and go over a couple cross poles so I could see a good improvement. our instructor did find his little episode quite funny though and so did the girl so that's good


----------



## GrumpyPony16 (Mar 3, 2017)

Me and my friend went hacking today which was such a nice break from schooling, we had so much fun and I've started thinking about doing that more often  

I couldn't get any photos of the hack today (but I do have a photo of the time that my friend was on a super slow pony, try to see if you can see her in the distance XD) because I forgot my gloves and the uk is super cold at the minute which, for my hands was not a good time, ESPECIALLY when the horse decides to go down for some grass and cheese grates your hands XD I think he did go down for some grass a couple times, but my hands were so cold and numb I didn't feel anything. I really need to buy some good riding gloves.

My friend was on a lovely little grey cob with blueish dapples on his bum, which I guess is where they got his name from (his name is blue of you hadn't guessed XD) and even though he is only 4.5yrs, is a very mature and super safe pony to ride. His saddle is a "little" bit uncomfortable though so I felt a bit bad for her lol.

We also did a canter with this really nice woman that was giving us a lesson using the trees to move in and out of, trotting, etc. We don't usually get a set group or "guideance", we basically go out with two of the owners and a group will go and canter and then another can go and trot or go back and canter along the other field with lower level riders so it's very free and nice  

Anyway, my friend did her first canter (woo!) and I honestly thought that the horses weren't going to canter because they are pretty lazy but they took off! I was trying to show her the 2-point position but my horse (Alfie) started going faster so I was like, "erm, sit like this" whilst cantering across a field, it was really funny! 

If anyone wants to go and check out the stables it is called "Gertrude road riding stables" they only have a Facebook page but they post pictures of some of the hacks they do


----------



## TaMMa89 (Apr 12, 2008)

*This journal has been closed due to prolonged lack of participation by the author. Journals that have no active participation by the author for a period of time greater than 18 months will be considered abandoned and will be closed until the author asks for them to be reopened.*


----------

