Progress?

[Morton90]

Hello all,

I started riding lessons as a beginner before Christmas- weekly, group lesson on a lead rein mostly at a walking pace/ introduced to the trot. The school wasn’t a good fit for me, I recently moved to a new school and having 1 private lesson per week. I am now doing rising trot on my own, my instructor said I should be ready to canter in the next couple of months/ start preparing for hacking with her. That I would be ready for a horse loan by the end of the year.

I know everyone is different but was wondering if this a typical standard of progress? : )

 

[sarcasm_queen]

Have you had any stable management lessons? I think riding wise you’re definitely on track for a loan by the end of the year, but as an owner, I’d want to know that you knew how to do basic stable management stuff too (tacking up/grooming/skipping out etc)

 

[Peglo]

I agree with the above. The riding is a small part of ownership (unless you do proper full livery and only ever turn up to ride) so if you haven’t already I would try and get some experience of the care and management side.

 

[Morton90]

Completely agree. I’ll be picking up extra lessons during the year around stable management, the school is great and said they would be happy for me to volunteer there too.

Riding wise- is this slow or normal progress for a beginner?

 

[I'm Dun]

Its on the slower side but you started of in a group lead rein session, it sounds like you've made good progress since then. There isn't really a standard time frame for learning anything never mind riding,

 

[honetpot]

Completely agree. I’ll be picking up extra lessons during the year around stable management, the school is great and said they would be happy for me to volunteer there too.

Riding wise- is this slow or normal progress for a beginner?

There are perhaps two or three parts to learning to ride.
1 Learning how to control your body on something that changes shape/balance underneath you. I have known athletic people with good body control get this quickly. The use of body weight and how to position your weight affects the horses movement and ability to react.

2 Learning what the aids are, where and when to apply them so most horses can understand them. You think. you do, they get, perhaps understand, they do, time delay.

3. I actually think this a huge part of riding safely, being able to predict how the horse is going to react to things outside your control, so you can put the aids in place to counteract the unexpected. Its a bit like driving a car and covering your brake if you see a dog or a child at the side of the road, you are ready to act.

Part 1 can be speeded up by a mechanical horse, it develops your core body strength so you can control your body better. The big but is. I have seen people who have a 'good seat' but have no real idea how to get the best out of a horse, and untidy riders who get the best out of any horse.

 

[Skib]

I dont think it is slow. OH and I were adult beginners and cantering was more like a year. We had private lessons and we both cantered in the school by the end of our first year.
I learned canter properly the following year while out hacking.
But my advice is not to rush it. While I was slowly learning to ride and apparently making no progress, I met a young man - in his 20s maybe - who had been pushed on too fast. He had been taken hacking with long canters and it had scared him so much that he had stopped riding altogether.
I then continued solo school lessons but began to hack on a safe horse. I rode first, ahead of my RS escort, which prepared me well for riding out alone later.
When our RI was thinking of me sharing her elderly horse she asked me to ride up the track and then turn and canter back to her.
When I reached her and halted from canter she said "Well you're not afraid, are you?"

It is a bit puzzlng to me why I am not afraid to canter on a horse I know. I suspect it goes right back to childhood and pony rides on the beach. If your parents put you on a pony, and pay for a ride, you assume it is a safe and natural thing to sit on an animal. And also that it is a treat because it costs money. And learning to canter is a bit like learning to swim. For a time it is something that scares you and which you cant do. And then quite suddenly you get the hang of it, you breathe and relax and canter seems easy.

However, it was only several years later that I learned to canter in the school. I was lucky. At a UK riding school one has to fill up a form saying what one can do. I was allotted a 15.00 hand mare called Willow and a young teacher who when she saw from my form that I could canter out hacking, gave me special tuition to canter inside the school. One thing she did was to have me canter quite early in the lesson before I got tired.

I always wanted to ride horses and I am so grateful to the teachers who made it possible.

 

[JFTDWS]

Depends whether you're an adult newcomer, or a teen, really. It's probably normal / average for an adult, but kids pick things up so quickly and tend to be fearless so they progress more quickly.

Either way, it doesn't actually matter. It's not a race - it's more important how well balanced and sensitive to the horse you are than how quickly you're moving up a gear. And, this is presumably a hobby - you're supposed to enjoy the ride, not rush to the end!

 

[Jojo2go]

Hopefully your riding instructor is taking into consideration your progress and estimating accordingly. If they are feeling you are not strong enough at the trot, they aren't going to move you up to the canter yet. Pushing ahead too quickly can cause problems if the rider isn't strong enough. It might be boring for you, but going to quickly can lead to a wreak.

 

[Morton90]

Thank you. I think because it means so much to me, I want to learn to be a good rider.
With anything new I know it will take time & experience : )

 

[calder]

Thank you. I think because it means so much to me, I want to learn to be a good rider.
With anything new I know it will take time & experience : )

100% know the feeling!

I've started (as an adult), stopped and started again several times, and am also from a non-horsey family. It's not the easiest thing in the world to learn, but it is one of the best. If you are only riding once a week progress can feel slow.

My advice, for what it's worth, is just to keep riding and to trust in the process. Try out some different horses and instructors to find out who and what you click with. Your seat will improve almost without realising it, but for your aids you'll need a good instructor's eyes on you (books and Youtube will also help.

 

[HopOnTrot]

Owning a horse is less about “can I canter” but more about “if X happens, do I know what to do?” Get as much experience of different things under your belt as possible.

 

[Skib]

Owning a horse is less about “can I canter” but more about “if X happens, do I know what to do?” Get as much experience of different things under your belt as possible.

Although in my second year of riding I set out to ride as many horses as possible, I disagree with this. If x happens, I dont truly know what to do. Riding is not like maths. One has a variety of solutions, depending on the situation and the horse. And one may not choose the right one and have to try an alternative.
But being able to sit canter and, as a result, being able to sit a spook into canter seems to me an absolute essential of learning to ride. You dont ask a child who cant swim to jump into the deep end of the pool.
Being able to canter doesnt mean that you have to canter every time you ride but for many learners canter is the biggest problem and it is sensible to tackle it and to get it over with.