Baby horse progressing superbly

[Casey76]

Unfortunately he is really outstripping me, and is becoming a super-sensitivie ride. I keep telling myself that I'm in no hurry and I can stick to perfecting my lateral work in walk before moving up to trot... however my instructor is getting a teensy bit frustrated with me, so next week I'm going to ask her to stick me on the lunge, just so I get some more trot-time under me.

Honestly, baby horse has never done a single malicious thing under saddle, hasn't even thought about bucking, he isn't distracted by any of the comings and goings on the yard, but for some reason I've developed a fear of riding him.

Considering he's still less than 20 hours undersaddle, he is doing amazingly with my instructor: lateral work in walk and trot, canter figure-8s etc. My instructor says he's extremely trainable and learns so fast. He workes in a lovely natural relaxed outline, and every time I really look forward to riding and I'm like "yes, we are going to do some fabulous work today"; then I get on and I just freeze up

No matchy here I'm afraid!

Trot work from 2 weeks ago:

And a canter pic:

 

[Bernster]

Ah, don't be so hard on yourself - maybe you just need more time. If he's going well for your instructor, and still a bit new to you/riding, then there's no harm at all in going slow I reckon.

 

[Sprig]

He looks great. It sounds to me like you and your instructor are not compatible. It is supposed to be fun!

 

[EQUIDAE]

Mine is taking longer than I hoped but I am happy to go at mine and his own pace. If you allow your instructor to push you you risk ruining his and your confidence. You will know when he is ready to be pushed a bit as he it will feel right and he will be asking you for more - that is what i have found with mine anyway.

 

[be positive]

Your instructor needs to remember who the client is, who is paying for the service, it is not always easy to do but the horse needs to be produced for the owner, not the trainer, if he gets too far ahead of you it will do neither of you any good, yes you may still have to play catch up but a good trainer will be producing a horse that the owner can ride, getting frustrated will not help, she should slow down a little, try and make him a little less reactive then spend time boosting your confidence so you can look forward to riding a well educated young horse at a level you can enjoy, he may be a quick learner and very trainable but you are the one who will ultimately be riding him.

Don't be too hard on yourself, riding a young green horse is not easy, there is no hurry to prove anything to anyone, take baby steps until you feel confident in what you are doing, don't be pushed if you are not ready, it may be time to look around and see if there is someone who will look after you a bit more.

 

[Micropony]

My boy was started 10 months ago, sounds like a similar setup - I am involved but not the expert, and all being done under watchful eye of experienced trainer. As others have said, don't be pushed too far out of your comfort zone. Trainer might be a bit overexcited about your lovely talented horse. But he's not being produced to sell, he's being produced for you, and that's what you're paying for. If you just want to hack him around a bit and enjoy him then that's perfectly legitimate, and also an important part of his education. And if he's doing fancy stuff with your instructor there's nothing wrong with making your sessions with him a bit easier for him to build his confidence (and yours) with things he has really well established.
He looks lovely btw x