Feeling useless after a fall..

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jackiepink

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Had a lesson on Tuesday I was riding so much better. Trot work felt beautiful had the horse nice and relaxed working in a lovely soft outline. I was feeling really confident and relaxed then I asked for canter horse did not go. After a few bad transition attempts instructor spurred the horse on we cantered a few strides. Back into trot asked for canter again horse then bolted I could not control him. Managed to almost stop him but by then I had lost my balance a bit horse slowed down seen me hanging off the side bolted again and off I fell. Landed on my back very sore cannot walk at present but nothing long lasting.
I have ridden the horse before and cantered him in my last lesson. But cantering is my weak pace.

I always get tense in the canter work, I have a real fear about the horse bolting with me. So now my fear is more confirmed as I know I cannot stop the horse if it goes to fast. My husband thinks I should just give up riding he says if I am not careful I will seriously hurt myself. I am not the most natural or confident rider, I do have to work at it.
That same day I was meant to be arranging a vetting on a lovely two year old I was going to buy. The plan was my instructor would produce it and compete it I would continue my lessons and ride her horse until the new horse was more established and I could cope with it. After my fall it knocked all my confidence and I contacted the owner to explain what had happened and at this moment in time I do not think buying a youngster is the best thing to do.
I feel like I should not be buying a horse as I obviously are not a good enough rider. But I enjoy riding and really want my own horse to progress on. I have ridden at riding schools in the past and had my own horses before. I do not enjoy riding at riding school so I have lessons on my instructors trained stallions so I can get the correct feel. I just do not know if I will ever get over this stupid thing about the canter and the horse bolting off with me. It is always at the back off my mind it never goes away. I can ride really well some days and I think I am progressing but then something like this happens and I back to square one.
 
We all have days like that! Just gotta pick yourself back up and get back on!

I would be having lunge lessons so that you can jsut relax and work on your canter and not have to worry about controlling the horse. You can build up your confidence and then progress out.

Personally i wouldnt be buying a 2yo as my first horse, the whole learning together thing is really not the best way forward ive found- why have you picked this route rather than a ready made dependable sort that can build your confidence now whilst you improve?
 
wldnt buy a 2yr old, if ur not confident doesnt matter how good ur instructor is ur nervoiusness will rub off onto a baby.

Get sumthin older who has seen the world plenty out there now, probably very very biased as all mine r cobs but hav found a nice ploddy cob who can stick it up a gear when asked is good for nervous rider more to hang onto aswell, good luck tho :)
 
Does it bolt or do you feel like it has due to the change in pace? If you just think it does remind yourself it is supposed to be going faster and relax
 
Spotsrock said:
Does it bolt or do you feel like it has due to the change in pace? If you just think it does remind yourself it is supposed to be going faster and relax
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No it def bolted. It was probably not the horses fault to be fair to him. He is quite sensitive I am sure he was reacting to my nerves and my position is not great in canter. So I probably made the horse bolt without knowing it. The canter in my last lesson was forward but calm.
 
Big alarm bells going for me!

At this stage you need to develop a bond with the horse. That won't happen if you ride someone else's horse once or twice a week. What you need is to be on a horse as many times a week as you can manage. It's a lovely idea to buy your instructor a horse to bring on but there are a lot of down sides.
I'd strongly recommend that you get yourself an older "been there and done it" type of horse that you can develop a relationship with as you learn to ride and, crucially, develop your horseriding muscles and therefore the set of tools that helps keep you on board in the unexpected situations.
 
Totally agree with 'hic'. I suggest you need much more riding experience before considering buying. Then a well experienced mannered one who is generous and used to less confident riders. You need to enjoy riding, not make it a chore. I fully understand you husband's concerns. Try low level hacking as a relaxation, riding is about more than going round an arena.
 
Whose idea was it to buy a 2 year old??
To me it would seem as if the instructor is taking advantage by getting a novice rider to buy her a horse to produce and compete in exchange for lessons on her own (unsuitable?) stallions. No point trying to get you to develop "feel" on well-trained horses if they're too sensitive to the common mistakes of a novice and end up wrecking your confidence.
IMHO a good instructor/friend would help you to find a suitable schoolmaster type, as others have suggsted above, for you to develop your skills and confidence on.

But don't feel useless because you're clearly not! You've obviously cantered successfully before so just chalk this one up as a bad experience and try to focus on the good canters you've had. xx
 
AshTay said:
Whose idea was it to buy a 2 year old??
To me it would seem as if the instructor is taking advantage by getting a novice rider to buy her a horse to produce and compete in exchange for lessons on her own (unsuitable?) stallions. No point trying to get you to develop "feel" on well-trained horses if they're too sensitive to the common mistakes of a novice and end up wrecking your confidence.
IMHO a good instructor/friend would help you to find a suitable schoolmaster type, as others have suggsted above, for you to develop your skills and confidence on.

But don't feel useless because you're clearly not! You've obviously cantered successfully before so just chalk this one up as a bad experience and try to focus on the good canters you've had. xx
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^^^^ This.

Unless OP has literally more money than knows what to do with/would have huge sense of pride in watching a horse they owned (and could possibly never ride) compete with someone else don't see what is in it for OP.

A boring old RS might be a better place to learn.
 
Sounds to me as though your instructor is picking this route for you for his/her own benefit.
You buy a horse, he/she produces and competes it whilst you are paying for it knowing full well that it is very unlikely going to be suitable for you in the long run and that you need a more established been there done it type of horse for you to prgress on.

You would be better off buying something you can learn on, that wont scare you and something you enjoy riding! :)
 
AshTay said:
Whose idea was it to buy a 2 year old??
To me it would seem as if the instructor is taking advantage by getting a novice rider to buy her a horse to produce and compete in exchange for lessons on her own (unsuitable?) stallions. No point trying to get you to develop "feel" on well-trained horses if they're too sensitive to the common mistakes of a novice and end up wrecking your confidence.
IMHO a good instructor/friend would help you to find a suitable schoolmaster type, as others have suggsted above, for you to develop your skills and confidence on.

But don't feel useless because you're clearly not! You've obviously cantered successfully before so just chalk this one up as a bad experience and try to focus on the good canters you've had. xx
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^^ This.
 
Firstly the Horse did not bolt with you. What happened was the Horse tanking. They are 2 seperate things.

Secondly, I echo the others. A 2YO is not a good first Horse. If the Horse is going to be produced as a competition Horse, the liklihood is, the Horse will be a sensitive ride, which would not be suitable for a nervous rider.
If you have the money to buy now, why not look for an older been there done that type, you can continue your lessons whilst creating a bond and filling you with confidence.
 
I'm a bit bewildered by this post. Sorry but if you are not experienced enough to be confident in canter then why on earth are you riding "trained stallions"?? I have never ever been tanked when I was still learning the basics. Bad form for an instructor to put you on a horse liable to do this when you are not confident and still learning the paces.
 
Hot2Trot said:
I'm a bit bewildered by this post. Sorry but if you are not experienced enough to be confident in canter then why on earth are you riding "trained stallions"?? I have never ever been tanked when I was still learning the basics. Bad form for an instructor to put you on a horse liable to do this when you are not confident and still learning the paces.
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^^^^^^ this!
In my mind I would be finding a new instructor!
 
Hot2Trot said:
I'm a bit bewildered by this post. Sorry but if you are not experienced enough to be confident in canter then why on earth are you riding "trained stallions"?? I have never ever been tanked when I was still learning the basics. Bad form for an instructor to put you on a horse liable to do this when you are not confident and still learning the paces.
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And looking to buy a 10k 2yo. :(
 
Sounds like your confidence took a real knock, but (and I know this is easier said than done!), you need to dust yourself off, take a deep breathe ( and some Rescue Remedy!) and get back on. I find singing helps me when I'm nervous, as it means you can't hold your breathe - and when you're nervous you'll be doing that, and the horse will pick up on it usually.

Regarding buying a 2 yr old, I have to agree with the other posters, I think unless its the quietest baby ever it probably won't be the ideal horse for you. If I were you, I'd get a nice schoolmaster, something that's been there, done that, and will be a safe confidence builder. You can always buy a youngster in a year or so when your confidence and riding skills have grown.
 
baker190 said:
^^^^^^ this!
In my mind I would be finding a new instructor!
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To be fair to my instructor. I am not a complete novice I have ridden in the past , I have ridden both her stallions many times and never had a problem. I have also had lunge lessons with no reins stirrups etc on her stallion. They really are well behaved most of the time. They have also been used in the Para world championships.
I can ride a riding school horse confidently in all three paces. I am just rusty and nervous in the canter. So I do not feel it is fair to blame the horse or the instructor. I was probably sending mixed signals to the horse.
It was my idea to look at the two year old it was a unusual colour by a stallion I like. For my budget I thought I would get a more quality youngster than a older horse.
 
Buy something that will build your confidence not knock it. A youngster will not do that. I bought the wrong horse, big mistake! My confidence hit rock bottom and I've ridden and owned horses for years. I now have a safe cob who is a saint, we had our first XC lesson last week and he was a star. Good luck and stay safe.
 
But my question is, what would YOU get from buying a 2yo?
And 10k on a 2yo that cannot lift its feet, I would say that is a lucky escape and your instructor should have advised that this woud have alarm bells ringing.

You obviously have a lot of money to spend on a horse (some of us could only dream to spend 10k on a horse) and your market is huge for that kind of money, so I think all that all eveyrbody is saying on here is to look for something that YOU will get the enjoyment from and something that will help you with regaining your confidence. a 2yo that your instructor can produce and compete will be enjoyment for him/her and the closest to enjoyment you will get is watching someone else ride the horse when it could be you having the fun!
 
baker190 said:
But my question is, what would YOU get from buying a 2yo?
And 10k on a 2yo that cannot lift its feet, I would say that is a lucky escape and your instructor should have advised that this woud have alarm bells ringing.

You obviously have a lot of money to spend on a horse (some of us could only dream to spend 10k on a horse) and your market is huge for that kind of money, so I think all that all eveyrbody is saying on here is to look for something that YOU will get the enjoyment from and something that will help you with regaining your confidence. a 2yo that your instructor can produce and compete will be enjoyment for him/her and the closest to enjoyment you will get is watching someone else ride the horse when it could be you having the fun!
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The two year old was in a very well known stud. So although I do not agree with youngsters not seeing a farrier, I had confidence that the owner was well respected honest and sells good stock. As I said it was purely that I fell in love with the look of the horse and I was looking for something with serious competition potential. I was prepared to not ride the horse for a couple of years and watch it compete, carry on with my lessons until hopefully the time would come that I could ride it. Saying it out loud does sound a bit mad.
 
jackiepink said:
I think I am being a bit silly really. It may turn out to have never been suitable for me to ride.
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This exactly. Unless you know you can ride anything then youngsters are a huge gamble. I've been riding for 20 years and I wouldnt buy one. Do you even know at what discipline you want to compete at if you wanted it to have "serious competition potential"? I always wanted to be a show jumper but turns out i'm a bit rubbish at it and dressage is more my thing. You dont really know until you start riding at an advanced level.
 
Hot2Trot said:
This exactly. Unless you know you can ride anything then youngsters are a huge gamble. I've been riding for 20 years and I wouldnt buy one. Do you even know at what discipline you want to compete at if you wanted it to have "serious competition potential"? I always wanted to be a show jumper but turns out i'm a bit rubbish at it and dressage is more my thing. You dont really know until you start riding at an advanced level.
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I would like to have something nice enough to do a nice dressage test. With quality enough movement and paces to compete BD.



I would love to jump small fences, but not sure if I would ever be brave enough. I used to do a bit of jumping as a teenager never tried it since!.
 
GeeGeeboy said:
So you were going to buy a two year old because you liked it's colour and you're a nervous rider?! Not the best plan IMO.
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Yes I know, sounds crazy now thinking about it.
I would have enjoyed watching it compete, but maybe it would never be suitable for me to ride.
Back to the drawing board!.
 
You live and learn. You'll be able to find something much more suitable which you'll actually be able to ride now and learn on. If you get the right horse then it will do your confidence the world of good because you will form a bond and be able to trust your horse.

Chalk this incident down to experience and move on. It makes you a better rider. Until you've been tanked, bolted and broncho'd you havent lived! It becomes a lot less scary once you've survived it.
 
You are being a bit hard on yourself. I can see the appeal of getting a young horse and bringing it on but the reality is it would be a long time before you could enjoy him. Far better to get something which already knows the ropes and that you can use to further your own riding.

I watched someone fall off recently during a lesson because she, like you, gave the wrong signal and the horse went one way whilst she went the other. It was a monetary lapse..that's all it takes. So yes, getting the messages mixed may lead to you being dumped.:) I've done the same but horse was kind enough to rescue me from an undignified tumble by stopping.
I have also been on a RS school horse who loved to tank off in canter. I think it was his party piece. I hated cantering him for this reason.
I think it's been said already and I know that you are familiar with this horse but I would question the wisdom of you cantering him when you are already anxious about it.
PS..hope you feel better soon and don't hurt too much.
 
We all have mad ideas from time to time, especially when it comes to our horses, so don't be too hard for yourself.
You could buy yourself a school master that is more than capable of doing the things you want but that is safe and sane enough to regain your confidence and that you can really enjoy!
 
baker190 said:
We all have mad ideas from time to time, especially when it comes to our horses, so don't be too hard for yourself.
You could buy yourself a school master that is more than capable of doing the things you want but that is safe and sane enough to regain your confidence and that you can really enjoy!
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I have thought about buying a schoolmaster type. The only thing that worries me is the amount of BD points it would be allocated. I know you can downgrade a horse but I think this then means you cannot qualify for championships etc.
I imagine it would be hard to find a trained horse with little points.
 
I am not the competition type to be totally honest so the whole point side of things is a total mind field for me :) but i am sure even if you go something that has had a busy life working in other disciplines that you can learn on and together make it what you want with the help of a great instructor I am sure is quite possible!
Have a look online, speak to competition yards, breeders etc and really look into what your options could be, doesn't hurt to ask and have a look about! :)
 
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