adult novice - learning to ride on lazy horses

Can someone please explain the logic in teaching someone aids if they are still unbalanced & don't have an independent seat? Because it just doesn't make sense imo.
 
Make sure that you are swinging WITH the horse when you use your legs, not against the horse.

If you feel as if you are pushing backwards and forwards in the walk - as if you are using your pelvis to 'push' the horse along - you are going to be restricting his natural movement and most RS horses will almost always get behind the leg immediately. Swing your hips side to side with the movement of the horse by relaxing your back and drawing up your stomach to support yourself.

Once you are swinging side to side, use your legs as follows: ONE squeeze, ONE nudge, ONE kick then use the stick. Don't forget to keep swinging your hips side to side and keep the lower back soft as you use your legs.

If it doesn't work, don't tense up and start thrusting, just use your stick again and really try to believe the horse will go forwards underneath you.

Concentrate on the rhythm of the horse underneath you and 'feel' it through the swinging of your hips. The moment you feel any slowing down of the horse, use your legs. Don't wait for a good walk to turn into a crap walk before you react, use your legs the INSTANT the horse slows even the slightest. When the horse gives you the speed you want, sit still and relaxed in the saddle and move side to side with him. This is his reward for being forward. As long as you make going forward easier than being lazy (by making yourself a pleasure for him to carry when he is forward by being soft and relaxed) he will be more inclined to respond to you.

Hope this helps a bit, is easier to teach when I can see you but restricting the horse through the hips is a common problem in learners so I thought I would mention it.
x
 
calico said:
I am a bit discouraged as a new rider ... riding school has given me lots of different horses but apart from a few, most are lazy and stubborn (instructors agree) and most of lesson seems to be spent kicking like mad and not getting anywhere. Instructor says, you can't learn to drive a car by getting into a Ferrari first time! I agree - but you can't learn on an old banger that keeps stalling either, can you?! If riding school horses are only responsive to effective riders (and I know they are) - then yes, I need to become more effective, but the problem is, how do you become effective if you just can't get the horse moving enough to progress?
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I haven't read all of the replies, but from your question I know how you feel, because my husband recently learnt to ride, and I sent him to a very good local riding school. He has watched me ride and compete my horses for years and was surprised and disheartened at how 'difficult' it was at the riding school, and (in his words) how 'rubbish' the horses were. At first he struggled to maintain both impulsion and his own balance, but I made him persevere with weekly lessons. After several months he'd mastered rising trot and canter on the riding school horses and had reasonable balance and fairly light aids and had learnt to only use the minimum pressure needed. One time, my husband was unwell on the day of his lesson, so I decided it'd be fun to take his lesson because we'd lose the fee otherwise! The horse was very wooden feeling, but within 15 minutes I'd got the cob tracking up and trotting around the arena in a nice outline and we had a little audience admiring the cob by the end of the lesson. (My core muscles ached the day after!)

After 6 months, I started to let my OH ride my horse occasionally, and at first he was amazed at how light and easy and comfortable it was.

Unfortunately, my horses who I compete at Eli and Medium level dressage respond to seat aids more than the basic aids you are initially taught at a riding school, and we had one awful incident, when my horse got confused by my slightly unbalanced husband, and my horse panicked, took off and bronked until he'd ditched my husband, who landed on the fence :( That was the last time he rode.

I've never seen my horse buck, or take off before, but I think it proves that horses are not machines. The type of horse who is willing to let an unbalanced rider, who is sending muddled messages, learn on them, is not the fine tuned creature that is willing to perform immaculate school movements with minimum effort from the rider, and often what you think is a wooden, slow boring old cob, if ridden by someone who has more experience, is perfectly capable of doing all the school movements as well as the fancy sports horses.

My advice to you is don't give up - try a different RS if you like (the more different horses you ride, the better!), and if the RS offers hacks, do these as well every few weeks. You need to learn how to independently maintain your balance whilst applying your aids correctly to maintain impulsion, before being tempted to ride a horse you think is 'easier', because it probably won’t be easier and could result in an accident.
 
Agreed that more responsive horses often take offence to being socked in the mouth or dug in the ribs accidentally. As frustrating as plods are, they are the best ones to learn on as they don't respond so much to mistakes. We all make them, and as your balance improves it's not as much of an issue. Rather be going too slow than hitting the deck and not wanting to ride again!
 
Brilliant advice thank you both. It looks like balance is key. Instructor did say that we all needed to work on that as a priority. I thought, oh boring but now I see how important it is. I have poor posture habits anyway so probably need it even more than others .... am always being told to put my shoulders back. Next lesson she says will be without stirrups, that is meant to be good for balance?
 
calico said:
11271779 I have poor posture habits anyway so probably need it even more than others .... am always being told to put my shoulders back. Next lesson she says will be without stirrups, that is meant to be good for balance?
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Get the Radox muscle relaxing bubble bath ready lol, you're gonna ache ;) But your instructor is right, no stirrups is brilliant for posture, balance, lengthening through your leg and relaxing your lower back and seat. Not gonna lie though, it burns, still does now and I do it once a fortnight or so.
 
littlelegs said:
Can someone please explain the logic in teaching someone aids if they are still unbalanced & don't have an independent seat? Because it just doesn't make sense imo.
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I think it's easier for the RS that way. Plonk beginner on very dull patient horse walk a bit then start to learn riding trot within a few minutes. I cringe when I think of my first attempts with my weight bouncing up and down on the poor horse. Poor poor horse. :( then you learn to kick to keep it moving and trying to coordinate the kicks with the rise at virtually every stride. Lose balance and use reins to balance horse stops kick kick ..sigh :( worst was learning to canter. Sit bounce bounce lose balance try to give correct aid tilt forward bounce some more. Quite frankly it was dangerous especially if you are already unbalanced because you ask at the corners each time. Really don't know how I never fell off.
There must be a better way for both horse and rider. But especially for the horse.
 
calico said:
Brilliant advice thank you both. It looks like balance is key. Instructor did say that we all needed to work on that as a priority. I thought, oh boring but now I see how important it is. I have poor posture habits anyway so probably need it even more than others .... am always being told to put my shoulders back. Next lesson she says will be without stirrups, that is meant to be good for balance?
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You could also work on your riding muscles off the horse to help you improve. Things such as sitting on a gym ball or even standing in horse riding stance, with your knees slightlybent like a high squat and upper body balanced so you have a shoulder hip heel line works well - (this one was recommended to me by the British Vaulting Team coach) .

It's really not boring, its basics and will give you a firm foundation for the future.
 
As a kid on holiday in Switzerland, my parents booked 5 riding lessons for myself and my sister. First time I ever really sat on a horse. We were both on the lunge, no stirrups, no reins. The horse was (though I didn't appreciate / realise it at the time) incredible - I realise now they wouldn't want me anywhere near its mouth or generally ruining it with bad aids.

The instructor didn't speak English and I didn't speak German but I learnt more in those 5 hours than I did in 50 back in the UK. That's how they learn over there - they expect you to take it very seriously from the off and learn properly. Some riding schools here have different expectations i.e. to make as much money as possible using horses that should be elsewhere or retired. Bit of a shock when, at the local RS, I was put on an ancient, fat, lazy, bad mannered pony (and that's putting it politely) that wasn't, how strange!, as responsive shall we say. In retrospect I of course feel very sorry for it and understand why it wouldn't be thrilled to see me or any other beginner.
 
littlelegs said:
Yep trasam, easier. So not logical from the pov of advancing the clients riding.
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And therein lies the big Q. Are they interested in advancing their clients riding or, and I'm speaking from an adult learners perspective here, is there an attitude of "just another bored housewife who's just happy to plod along for an hour each week so it does not matter".
 
I can feel your frustration. I find going for a riding lesson in a riding school a waste of time and frustrating. I am top end of novice/medium or that is how they describe me in the riding school. I find most of the horses lazy some are very stiff it is really hard to develop correct seat and lightness on a horse that is unresponsive as they are so used to been kicked and pulled. I think I will have to buy my own horse again and then take lessons on own horse with private instructor to improve. There must be some good riding schools out there but I find once you start taking lessons away from a riding school the teaching is very different. It almost is harder correcting bad habits that you have been taught at riding school, than if you had never ridden before.
 
I don't believe its even that specific. Just 'here we go, £££'. And in some cases, because the proprietor & instructors don't actually know any better themselves.
I look at it this way. Two rs near me are so different its untrue. One is brilliant, one is awful, they are the two extremes of the spectrum. From non horsey parents view, the crap one is best, because little katie from school was cantering off lr in 3mnths, & jumping in six. Whereas little johnny at the good one was still on the lr/lunge doing silly things like putting his hands on his head & being told to sit up. What they won't see is when little katie is 16, she has to start almost from scratch because she never mastered basic position & aids, let alone how to work a horse correctly. While little johnny is schooling, competing, & is a lovely still quiet rider.
 
My OH has been going through the "frustrating plods" stage as well, but is now just starting to ride a few more forward going horses.What worked for him was a short , intensive riding break where we both rode 4 -5 hours a day (including lesson) , this really accelerated his learning.You could also try the Equisimulator for working on your balance if there is a school near you with one??
 
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