Mixed Feelings after Lesson

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ApolloStorm

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I had a lesson tonight on baby horse, I haven't ridden her lots recently but enough to keep her ticking over. It was a group lesson by the YO- who is BHSI and has been giving me general pointers for things to work on ( Forwardness being the main one) but this was my first *actual* lesson with her. The group was quite mixed, from me and my green baby to a girl who is an excellent rider & her fab warmblood. We worked on a bit of leg yield and turn on the forehand, and then canter. I haven't ever done any lateral with her, and even then I haven't done it for a long while!
Though after a great deal of effort ( on my and YOs part) something definately clicked in her head and she seemed to get it. However, I feel like I was riding like a sack of potatoes, especially when I couldn't get her to canter on the right leg, which she has NEVER had a problem with before. It doesn't help that I am not feeling 100% but I can't decide if I feel deflated after the lesson or happy that she learnt! Not sure if its " you rode rubbishly & she would have gotten it straight away if someone else was riding" vs " she's a baby, the work was tough and she learnt something, you should feel happy"
Do any of you ever feel a bit rubbishy after a lesson?
 
Definitely have felt a bit rubbish about my riding in lessons sometimes, but if she learned something I'd be chuffed!
Just home after my lesson and my babby just learned to jump so there was a run out which I should have prevented, but her getting over it afterwards trumps that kinda poopy feeling!
 
Don't worry I'm sure we all have days like that! I'm going through a (3 year now!) period of being built up after being broken down. I used to ride really short with pinchy hips and steering from whole upper body.

Whenever I have a lesson my trainer likes to push me. Sometimes its great and it all comes together and I leave feeling super but on occasion i really struggle and end up feeling rubbish! I will freely admit on occasion I've felt like crying! But I try to think I'm not rubbish I'm just learning a new skill set.
 
Surely if you came out of a lesson having done everything perfectly then you wouldn't be needing a lesson in the first place? We all have lessons to improve; that's the point.
 
Definitely, especially when we're learning something new or I'm finding something g difficult. Feels horrid, my position goes all over the place, the bad habits are exaggerated but it's part of the learning curve. As long as there are good bits and improvements overall that's fine with me at the stage we're at anyway!
 
Perhaps the problem is not you or the horse but that you were in a group lesson of very mixed ability / learning stage, which might have meant you were working on something that was new for your horse and so you felt 'spuddy' trying to get it. I find with babies that my position can often go out the window because I am focussing so hard on the movement and even the basics can then get lost. Maybe go for a 1-2-1 lesson next time to reinforce those basics and start the lateral work again but with a bit less pressure?
 
Abacus said:
Perhaps the problem is not you or the horse but that you were in a group lesson of very mixed ability / learning stage, which might have meant you were working on something that was new for your horse and so you felt 'spuddy' trying to get it. I find with babies that my position can often go out the window because I am focussing so hard on the movement and even the basics can then get lost...
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Spuddy. Love it.

The points about working on something new for the horse and how proper riding principles can go out the window a bit when working with babies, and when your focus is much more on the horse than yourself - they were my thoughts exactly. Although it's what we aim for, horse and rider won't always be 100% in harmony. Especially when you're training a youngster. Think of it as a process - you learn something new (about yourself, or executing a movement, or the horse), horse learns something new... the next part of the process is to bring those things together. In this instance you're just coming up now to the last bit of consolidation, so don't feel bad because it's not happening. You haven't really had a right go at stitching them together yet. It will happen.

Did I ever feel a bit rubbishy after a lesson? Absolutely. But oddly, I like to think of it as a positive. It means you have self awareness, an ambition to improve, and you know what needs improving. If you know that much you're well capable of working on any deficiencies and achieving that improvement.
 
ApolloStorm said:
y to a girl who is an excellent rider & her fab warmblood. ?
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My instinct (an experience) would suggest you might have been trying just a bit too hard due to the company even if you didn't mean to. It's human nature. Net result would be tension in you causing minor issues with horse.
Wouldn't worry about it.
 
It happens to everyone. The good news is that the next lesson is a clean slate. I'm very guilty of only working on the things I'm good at between lessons. Sometimes it takes a bad day to remind me that I should work on some of the less easy things as well. Particularly with youngsters- especially the warmbloods, who don't seem to grow a brain until 7 or 8 realistically, haha. They have on and off days just like we do. And then as your horse ages and training progresses, you'll think "wow, was this really like riding a noodle 2-3 years ago?! Where did this power steering come from??"

The good news is that with you and the horse having an "off day" you really got your money's worth out of the lesson! :D
 
I admit, I don't, but I have 1 to 1 lessons and my instructor is brilliant for choosing the right things to work on, on that particular day.

Until you really get going again, I would stick to individual lessons if you can.

I have had lessons in the past that I have felt deflated afterwards, usually with instructors who are too nice, if that makes sense.

From what you have described, your horse learnt something valuable, for me this would be a massive positive :)
 
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