Not new, but long break...

[littletrotter]

I'm just looking for reassurance i think.

I just turned 35, i've ridden once since i was 20 and not ridden "seriously" since i was about 17. When i say seriously i never showed or anything but spent weekends and evenings riding other people's "problems" and galloping about fields on semi wild ponies. I did have lessons on and off from age 10-17 too. The last time i rode i was 26 and it was one of those "armchair hack" type rides, a wee walk up the side of a loch and back.

Anyway due to various changes in my life recently i've decided to get back into riding. I would really like to get to the stage where i can have a lesson one week and a hack the next. I found a school, i bought some new gear (still had boots but bought new jods and a nice new hat), i was all set to book a first assessment lesson next week, but...now i am slightly panicking!

Will i remember how to do it? The lovely girl at the school i chose says everyone is different and just to come and get on and see how i go. She asked how much/well i used to ride and i didn't know what to tell her - i can mentally remember say, the led yield aids, but i have no idea if i'd have the strength/flexibility of hip to actually ask them properly. The whole time i was thinking of folk who turned up in lessons when i was younger saying "oh yes, i used to go out with the local hunt!" and then they could barely stay on for a trot. Am i going to be That Person? Likewise i know intellectually i used to pop 90cm jumps on bigger ponies like they were nothing much, but i was 3 stones lighter back then and can't imagine a horse getting into the air with me now. That's another worry - i'm nearly 14st. Now i'm 5'10" and pretty active (walk 5 miles every day) and actually only about 1.5stones "overweight" (by BMI charts, about 2 stones over my own "normal" due to pregnancy/stress eating and i'm on weightwatchers just now and losing it well) but i'm worried even if they put me on a nice big cob i'll be sat there like a sack of spuds on the poor thing's back.

Someone console me. Will i settle into the saddle and remember it all, or will it be like learning everything again? I think this is worse than first learning because when i first learned i was probably crashing about on the poor beast's back, i but i wasn't AWARE i was. If i am terrible this time around i'm going to be thinking the whole time "poor horse!". Am i just overthinking this?

 

[Orangehorse]

Stop worrying, you don't forget how to ride, although you will be stiff and tired. Just ease yourself into it. About 30 minutes is going to be enough time to start with, schooling anyway, and don't increase this time until you don't feel exhausted for the rest of the day!

Maybe have some very gentle lunging as well to remember how to sit, without worrrying about the horse.

I gave up horses for 10 years, although I had the occasional ride in the meantime.

 

[madlady]

Stop worrying and enjoy it!

It really is surprising how much muscle memory your body has.

I did have a break from riding some years ago - for about 6 years and decided to for a few lessons to get back into the swing of things as me and a friend were thinking of getting one between us. So I rocked up for the lesson - told the instructor all this so she said we'd just roughly go over the basics and include some bits of lateral work at walk so that we could see how much I remembered.

Well - I didn't make a total arse of myself - I could do rising trot, canter, half halt, rein back and I had a fabulous lesson - my muscles had remembered quite well! What I hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that I hadn't used those particular leg muscles for a long time - my legs were, quite literally, quivering when I got in the car and driving was interesting as I just didn't have any strength left to operate the clutch.

I went back for another lesson the following week but took OH with me to do the driving

 

[littletrotter]

Hey,

Just a wee update...

I did my assessment lesson, just a 30 minute one. It went well, i was on a big cob who was a bit unresponsive (in a school-horse sort of way) but who was very very sweet and patient with me constantly starting my posting on the wrong diagonal and being generally weak between my neck and my ankles.

It was quite an odd experience, i could clearly feel my brain sending messages to muscles which, especially in my inner thighs, just don't seem to be there anymore! Another change for me is that though i did ride bigger horses on occasion when i rode a lot, i usually was on big ponies or little horses and it i'm clearly not used to thinking about the amount of room a 16.2hh+ horse needs to turn! Anyway i managed a walk trot (sitting and rising) and canter on both reins without making an arse of myself and booked myself into a normal group lesson the following week.

The group lesson was an hour one (my right hip adductors are not talking to me anymore) and was obviously more involved with poles and teeny (not to jump, just to stretch a canter stride) crosspoles towards the end of the lesson. I was on an even bigger cob who i was warned was unresponsive but who worked very well for me i felt - we were both curly with sweat by then end! I had a lot of rattling about still especially in sitting trot, a lot (initially) of struggling to keep my legs effectively still (eventually the instructor put my stirrups up a bit and that helped enormously) and seem to have developed an annoying habit of trying to use my entire seat and hands to "keep the horse going" in canter (because my legs are just so weak) which means i'm not very still and really need to concentrate on keeping my hands DOWN.

But inevitably i had just that one magic moment where i managed to canter at K, turn neatly just after A and come down the long side over two tiny crosspoles and rejoin the ride at H with balance and rhythm and it felt like it used to. And that was enough to have me book again for next week.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Sounds like two very successful lessons to me! The muscle strength will continue to frustrate you for a while I'm sure but as you've got the 'brain' there I think you will progress very quickly. I hope you continue to enjoy your riding.

 

[Tammytoo]

Well done you! You are obviously a thinking rider, for which your horse will thank you. Another good way to improve your riding is to have a lesson on a horse simulator. This helps you to improve your position and aids without having to worry about controlling the horse as well. I might well be able to recommend someone if you didn't mind saying what part of the country you are in, not your address just general area.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[littletrotter]

Tammytoo i'm near Glasgow, that sounds an interesting idea.

Third lesson this week (missed last week as child had ecg to attend and it would have been a big rush to get home, feed everyone and get out to the stables - i have 3 kids and 2 have special needs, i am using my carer's allowance to fund my riding, and it is proving very worthwhile!).

It was actually much much better! Very odd. My sitting trot had improved really vastly - i was back on the first cob i rode though so i wonder if he just has an easier trot - and i really felt i was getting weight into my legs instead of just sitting like a sack of spuds on my bum. My hips coped fine too and i was able to spring off at the end instead of sliding in a heap! I am gradually finding my balance again too, which is great. Last night we worked on canter and over two and then three teeny fences in a short round the school and back on yourself course. It was a shame really because the 14hh ponies were actually jumping them but my 16.1hh boy just strode over mostly. Probably better all around to take it slowly though.

I realised last night how weak i am still though - i was supposed to come on the left rein from a standstill at K to approach at canter a jump between F and B, then continue round to another wee fence next to E before doubling back over one set diagonally at X. All well and good except that in my HEAD i can do a walk-canter transition very smoothly, whereas in reality there are several battering trot strides in there which left us approaching the first fence in a ragged unbalanced canter. He looked after me, and we landed each time in a nice smooth rhythm to get round the other two with a bit more poise, but i certainly learned that i really need to give myself a circle and find our balance first! Definitely not 17 any more...

 

[Goldenstar]

It will just keep getting better and better.