Having a break from lessons...

[ghostie]

Just musing really and wondering whether anyone else has found the same thing...

Since buying my boy I've religiously had one or two lessons a week as I figured that I'm rusty and need all the help I can get. For the last month I've had an enforced break from lessons for various dull and complicated reasons, and I've actually been really pleasantly surprised how much we've come along.

I think maybe I've been worrying so much about doing what the instructor says and following their advice that I've not actually really taken the time to just have a play around and figure him out for myself. I feel that in the last month I've learnt so much more about how to get the best out of him and we have clicked a lot more.

I'll definitely go back to lessons once I've moved to my new yard and had a few weeks to settle in, but actually the break from lessons has turned out to be a good thing - which I never would have expected.

Has anyone else found the same?

 

[swampdonkey]

I was the same, had lessons every week for months and we were progressing, then things started to slow down a bit so I took a month off lessons and just played myself.

I was feeling very proud of the work we were doing so booked a lesson, hoping to show my instructor how far we had come along.

She insisted that we work went into trot pretty much straight away even though I said I had found if I spent longer in walk, until he was relaxed and listening he went better for me in the end. She was having none of it and said that I should be able to get on with things quicker.

It ended up being the worst we had worked for ages and I felt really disappointed, a) because it made me look like a liar, (saying that we had progressed) and b) because I felt I had let him down, I had to have a word with myself and say sometimes I do know my horse better!

I haven't had a lesson since and we are doing ok.
Think I need a different instructor but its difficult because instructor is YO daughter and is not happy to have other instructors on the yard.

Sorry, went on a bit but what I am saying is that sometimes you do know your horse better, trust yourself

 

[ghostie]

glad it's not just me then

That's a pain about your instructor Swampdonkey - that must be really frustrating. Is there another yard you can hack to for lessons?

Definitely agree there is some merit to going your own way for a little bit though - give me a few weeks and I'll be back on the regular lessons, but I think I'll find them more useful now that I feel I've got more of a 'feel' myself

 

[Bernster]

I do think you need some time in between to practice. My off times soemtimes become a bit too long and we get into bad habits so I do try and keep my lessons regular.

Do you think you need to try a new instructor? Sometimes you learn well with one but then it's time to work on something different in a different way, if you know what I mean ?