Out of practice :(

[SnowPhony]

I had a bit of a mishap last week and have been beating myself up since. I'm no world beater but I've always been a competent and confident rider. The person people go to if they are having a few issues with their horse or have a youngster they want starting off and I was known for my calm, quiet and effective riding. It's something I've always been pretty proud of.

I have had a bit of time away from riding for various reasons with nothing more than a bit of sporadic hacking every now and then until a couple of months ago and now I'm riding a fab horse. Last week I schooled and was really quite annoyed at how rubbish my riding was. It was the first time I've schooled something for over a year. Long story short, I ended up on the floor and it was my fault.

I've been angry at myself since but to be honest it was a bit of a wake up call as my riding was a lot sharper once I climbed back on. I'm still really disappointed and for the first time in a long time really doubting my own ability.

Was I just a little out of practice and I'll be fine now I'm riding on a regular basis again or have I just got rubbish?

 

[nosenseofdirection]

I'm sure you're just out of practice. If your horse was turned away for that length of time, you wouldn't slap a saddle on and go straight into the school and attempt canter pirouettes. It will take time to get your fitness back up to scratch, and to get your eye in again.

Hope you're not too sore!

 

[Love]

I'm sure it will be because you were rusty! Being out of Riding for that long, the muscles you had built up before will be weaker. It's not that you've forgotten what to do as such.

And lets face it - I've been riding for 13 years with no breaks and still get decked!

 

[SnowPhony]

I'm a little sore, turns out you pick up quite a bit of speed falling from 17.2hh! I'm starting to see the funny side, but was still such a stupid fall I'm quite embarrassed.