Comments on daughters riding..... be kind or constructive :-)

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merlinsquest

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As title really...... We decided not to loan the haffy in the sig and so I said that Zoe could share Merlin with me. Hopefully she will grow soon (she is only 11) but he is only 15.1hh so not exactly huge!!

She loved riding him, bit of a first as she has been riding ponies mostly, a few wobbly bits and crap transitions but we all start somewhere!!

Any helpful comments would be appreciated on her riding and also Merlin in general, espcially his movement.

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q2/sarahbarratt/?action=view&current=04032007003.flv
 
Looks really nice - he is really forward going and she looks comfy. As you say there are a few wobbles - can she / is she having lessons on Merlin with a good instructor? Maybe some work without stirrups would help her get a deeper more secure seat? (And if she's like me a bruised bottom after today, LOL). But that shows I've been sitting on it which is what my instructor wanted, deep into the saddle, rather than supporting my weight on all sorts of other areas.

She looks fab - my sister is 10 and she isn't a patch on that, but then she's not very confident sadly.
 
Shes doing well, I think she needs to bring her lower leg back, infact her whole leg needs to come back a fraction but her lower leg should be in underneath her hip . didnt see much of the video as this comp isnt playing the whole thing grrr
 
I had the same thing with my step-daughter, she went from 13hh pony to 16.2hh Touchy. The important thing is to let them find their way slowly,it is a big difference, so rather than a whole lesson, what i would do is offer some pointers each time.
Your daughter looks ok on Merlin, the upper body stillness will come when she is a bit bigger and stronger.
Btw Merlin looks like a poppet!
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To be honest today is one of the few times she has really ridden him!!!

She has ridden for about 4 years but only on a friends pony with me giving (bad) instruction!!

She is going to start having 'proper' lessons next friday with my instructor.... prior to that no proper lessons as i am too stingy to pay for local riding school!!!

Not sure if the climax of the lesson was on the vid, so here it is in slo mo!!!

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q2/sarahbarratt/?action=view&current=04032007001.flv
 
Generally I thought she looked very good. The picture was a bit grainy, don't know if that is my computer, and the saddle appeared to be huge for her in seat size and flap length, which never helps.

Couldn't tell if she was allowing the horse to go on too long a rein or whether it was leaning a bit, either way, not a disaster and fixable in any case (right rein appeared a bit better than left)

I think they will be fine together
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Oh bless her!

Was she okay?? She was doing so fab until that point - he really stood back from it and she went with it.

What year is she out of interest, 6 or 7? Only 'cos I'm a trainee teacher.
 
She's only young and I think she's doing a great job. The girls at Olympia and such are the exception not the rule - I didn't even start riding until I was 14. Lots and lots of praise for her, I'm sure she will develop into a very strong rider. Show her some video footage of good riding if you can and then get her riding in front of some mirrors if poss so she can visualise what people keep telling her to do.
 
Did put her off a bit to be honest... she hasnt jumped that big before... only poles on the ground :-(

But I think she will be okay... she did jump one more but only about 8" high instead of 2'

Not bad for a horse written off with arthritis!! See Irap links!!
 
awww bless ... see you never seen that invisible spread that was there, thats the problem .. merlin seem to :P


Glad rider is ok xx
 
Think it might have been a huge ditch that would eat him if he touched it!!!

Shame coz all the other times he jumped it well and took off at the right place.... silly boy.... still 'Pride comes before a fall'... she will remember that!!
 
very smart rider and lovely horse.

the horse looks foward going so i think to help her when she rides something else she should try and stop kicking/nudging so much. in the canter she needs to relax a bit more to go with the movement. so lots of transitions etc.

hope the fall has not put her off
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I am in no way qualified to comment, as she's probably better than me! She looks like she's determined and enjoys what she's doing, and that's all good! would have to agree with the saddle being a little too large for her, when she comes down from the rising trot you can see her slip back in the saddle a little before she rises again which seems to be making her miss a beat sometimes, and also pushing her leg fowards and rising from the wrong part. Encourage her not to rise so far, she'll find it less tiring and easier to control. It's all stuff that all kids do though. Oh, and lengthen those stirrups so she has to put her leg further back!! So hopefully with age and time (and obviously it's hard to get used to the different trot of a pony to a horse) she'll come on in leaps and bounds. But other than that she looks to be riding very well for her age.
 
Thanks crazy chestnut.... we are also in surrey.... are we near you??

Think too much pony punting has made her legs a bit kicky... also only just reaching the bottom of the saddle flap doesnt help!!! If only her legs would grow a bit!!

Did look at a smaller saddle for her (that one is mine) but didnt know if a 15" Ideal saddle with medium tree would be the same 'fit' as a 17.5" Ideal one for the horse????

Answers please from all you saddle boffins!!
 
Very very good riding - can't say I am surprised about the fall as even in the first video occasionally she seemed slightly behind the horse. My only other comment was her shoulders while cantering, they rock back and fourth. As for falling over the jump, it is not something she should worry about - we have all done it...... many times.

The best thing she can do is keep riding - she has 'it' just needs more experience to help polish it off.
 
I haven't read through all the replies so I apologise if I am repeating anything.

I am not greatly qualified to comment but thought I would anyway!
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I think she looks really good on him for her first time and given her age.
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Generally I would say she needs her leg further back and needs to use her legs to help her rise whereas she looks to be using her body to hoick herself up. This would help her to land gentler in the saddle too as she would have better control of her bottom. Lengthening the stirrups might help a bit.
Also (and I think this is just practice) she needs to be quieter with her leg as she tends to swing it about in canter and uses her bottom to push him forward. I would explain it to her as her giving someone a piggy back and having to run with them while they wriggled about swinging their legs. It would make it very difficult for her but if they sat still and hugged their legs around her she would be able to run much easier.

Tell her I think she looks great on him and I hope they have loads of fun.
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I am very impressed with her bravery jumping....I am too scared!
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Re saddle size, when we first got the highland my son was only 9, so I bought him a wide 15" pony saddle to use as his legs were on the flaps, he was in that one for about 18months until his legs grew (we stood him in the muckheap
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The fit was fine and because he was light it didn't concentrate too much weight in a small area. You can pick little saddles up quite cheaply - I bought quite a nice one as we were showing, put longer girth straps on it, and in the end sold it for more than I paid for it. Can't comment on Ideal Saddles as never had one..but surely your local saddler would know?
 
Very promising - a small person on a big moving horse. She was just a tad behind the movement but a very good shot at riding him indeed. She won't be big enough to hold him together for a while, but it will come and if he's genuine enough for her to enjoy, then what's the problem. My only comment on this matter is that I over-horsed my son at 11 (size, not difficulty of animal) and had to re-think. Shoved him back on ponies and we are still having a blast at nearly 15! Horses are not quite the same and while I appreciate economics play a big part, a pony is so much more fun - and they do like having one of their own! They are out of ponies so quickly, I think keep kids on them as long as possible. Merlin does look a super, super type though. Lovely lad.
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Oh, yes, tack to fit child and horse will make a huge difference!
 
She's doing well.
I'd definitely invest in a shorter saddle for her, she'd really struggle to get the right position in that one, esp on a fairly wide horse.
I'd forget about jumping for a little while until she gets used to how different his stride is and she can properly control the length of his canter. One more fall and she may not be so confident next time. She can do lots of canter poles etc and practice feeling when he's going to take off over the pole
 
I think she looks fine- I would agree that she needs to learn to close her leg rather than kicking esp when going into canter but having taught a number of children of this age they all do this unless riding immaculatley schooled dressage/show ponies(and even then.........) You could see at the start that she wasn't used to the size of his trot stride as she seemed to be over rising but this soon settled once she got into a rythm.

I think he will help her riding and they will be make a good little team! Hes a lovley, helpful sort.
 
hiya i am the 1 that fell off!!! Thanks for being so nice and I will take all your comments on board!!

I am starting proper lessons on him next week!!!!

Thanks!!!
BYE!!!
 
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