Riding difficult horses...musings

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Dobby

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The two horses I ride at the moment are big, handsome beasts and are both quite quirky. Both get very excited when jumping and can buck, and one can be very strong out hacking and has been known to rear and bolt in a past life although he hasn't tried it with me yet.

I learned to ride in a riding school on very safe ponies and I am more confident now than I was when I was there on smaller, well behaved ponies.

So i'm just musing to myself - does riding difficult horses give you more confidence or does it slowly erode it? Does riding horses with problems like this make you a better rider, or does it change your style of riding for the worse?

Has anyones confidence been gradually worn away by riding horses with issues or does it give you more confidence in yourself because you know you can deal with it? When you are at a riding school does it feel like you aren't trusted to ride "real horses" with quirks? I think that might be what it is for me, it's a real confidence boost knowing people trust you to ride horses who aren't for novices, and that makes you confident in yourself.

Just a few Tuesday night wonderings :)
 
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Good riding schools have a range of horses, some very straight-forward to ride and some more 'quirky' ones. When my sister and I learned to ride (many years ago), as well as the school horses, she regularly rode the owner's children's show ponies, while I rode the hunters.
IMO confidence is a very strange thing. A good instructor can help to build it, whichever horse you are riding but a fairly insignificant incident can shatter it, particularly if you have the imagination to see that it could all have ended very differently.
 
I think a -gradual- build up within a riders capibilities to more difficult horses will usually increase confidence. But being chucked in at the deep end when you don't have the skills to deal with it will probably knock any confidence out of the window. I think the same goes for improving riding, as long as there is a good instructor present. I think it certainly improves the 'stickability' seat factor. But it did make me more heavy handed which was a difficult habit to break.

For me, if made me more confident and i think it made me a better rider. But after a fall resulting in a very broken foot, i am a bit more wary of bad behaviour on the road. Not so fussed in the school though, softer landing and better footing in there. I'm kind of glad i'm not as cocky as i was in my teens. Am more considerate of the reasons for the behaviour now.
 
in all honesty ive found its killed my confiendence especially jumping.

its only been the past 3 years that ive thought about it and noticed it.

i think the issue is that I come to expect the worse. so im defensive and ride like i expect the worse.. never a good way to be.

BUT then i find if i know what a horse is likley to do im fine.

I had a mare (bought via this forum) she was evilness on horse form. she was a killer on the ground and a loon to ride. she could do a rear.. buck.. leap .. spin and try to kill the horse behind her in one move. but it was funny she never scared me just annoyed the crap out of me.

then i bought a 4 yr (again from this forum) wonderful horse and to be fair to her she never done it to any one barring me but she could leap around like a spanish riding school horse. at a comp it was fine but at home I hated it and backed off her. totally mad as a good slap she lept around but did go forward.

jumping. lord ive so many difficult horses and now my confidence is shot. i dont ride at a jump. and i hate myself for it as ive competed internationally and jumped some serious heights. but now on a bad day on the wrong horse i cant do a 6 inch pole.

the down fall of the first mentioned horse.. she was a jumper all she was good for, she came back off loan with a hidden tendon injury, i piad thousands to get her sound enough to jump.. and she was the first horse for years i jumped over 2"9 i was debating selling her, then the next day someone came to see her, me very confident got dumped over a 6 inch cross pole! 8 weeks later after a broken rib i did jump her again but my lord did i kick... no way was she stopping!
 
Some horses I fell safe on and others I don't. It doesn't seem to relate to their behaviour at all, my last mare was labelled dangerous and everyone thought I was mad to get on her back. I've never felt unsafe on her even when she's worried the life out of my OH who has been watching her. We just click together and I feel as though I understand where she's coming from.
Other horses may not do anything difficult, but if I don't have a connection with them, I don't trust them enough to feel comfortable. Not logic at all.
 
I've had a bit of both to be honest. I bought a mare from a dealer years ago who at first was horrible, bucked like a rodeo horse, napped, flung head in face (but thankfully wasn't a headshaker, just one of her little evasions). Lost confidence on her initially but rode through it and she became my horse of a lifetime. I became so confident with her that there was nothing she could to which worrie dme and in the end, she just didn't bother, we clicked and it was a dream relationship. Subsequent horses have had little issues which becouse of her just didn't phase me.

Said mare tragically died and Dougal had to be sold (due to job) which meant I didn't ride for 3 years.

Am now riding in India and have leased a couple of horses, both ex racers. One very sharp with attitude has knocked me sideways. After a nasty fall due to a bolt upright rear I decided not to lease him any more. Confidence has been SERIOUSLY affected despite the fact that 99% of the time I could handle him no problem. That 1% has totally knocked me. Am still riding and the horses I have now are sharp/spooky which I used to deal with standing on my head but increasingly am finding nerve wracking. Will persevere since I've been here before and so am keeping everything crossed that my confidence will come back again with a vengeance.

Even though I get scared to death sometimes I could not contemplate giving up, those times when everything go well are sooo worth it.
 
Confidence is a very fragile thing but you sound like you doing very well. Warning signs would be imagining worst case scenarios and playing these through in your head, and feeling panicky on the horse. It doesn't sound like you are doing those things but just be careful if you start to. I lost all my confidence on my horse after I bought him and he was just very evasive and naughty. He would buck and spin and dump me on the ground, and when I tried to hack him he would nap violently, literally throw himself into buildings and trees to scare me. After several trips to hospital, a change of feeding/turnout/yard and with the help of a good friend I have built my confidence back up to how it used to be. I still have my moments but my horse has stopped a lot of the silliness as he knows I can handle it and our relationship has blossomed. So it is possible to regain your confidence once it is lost but it's not easy.
 
I think I can answer this one as since I was a teenager I worked at dealers yards! Yes and No is the answer. Yes because you get a bloody good seat and it takes a lot to unseat you (I sat it out for 3.5 mins on the rodeo bull last year at the hunt ball!). No because when you've got nasty horse to jump, it knocks you back, now I'm older I do my best to avoid riding anything that I know stops in any sort of dirty fashion and take great pleasure in the more straight forward ones. I still enjoy riding nappy ones though as can normally sort them out quite quickly and love the challenge. I think after you've ridden a lot of horses you instantly know if you like something or not, and I can now tell from the ground if I'll like them ridden or not and if they are my type.
 
I think riding a difficult horse can give you confidence, as long as you are not too seriously injured. I managed to stay on mine through his bucking phase and , having done so I made a series of very small steps, which after two years have added up to him being a well behaved, but strong ride.
I didn't want a plodder and I think certain people are drawn torwards a cob type rather than the challenge of a less easy to manage horse, in the same way that some people choose to drive an automatic Ford Focus, and others don't.
 
To start off I think you need a very reliable horse, but as you progress you need a horse that is a touch more difficult than you are used to and a good instructor to teach you how to deal with it. Getting the right horse in that respect does require quite a lot of luck though!!!
 
When I was a kid (before insurance malarky) they had some quirky horses/ ponies at my riding school. For some unknown reason I love quirky horses, young horses or problem horses. It is a real reward to train them into nice well behaved ponies/ horses.

My personal horses have all been backed by me and trained on. I have then had dressage tution on them after their intial training.

The only thing I lost my confidence with is jumping. My first mare was very talented, but very divaish. One day she would jump the moon and win everything, the next day she would dump me at every fence. Since then Jumping is a bit of a sticky point. But I have to say, I have taken every youngster out jumping and XC (small classes). I always feel better for doing it, but am a nervous wreck before the class!
 
somethingorother said:
I think a -gradual- build up within a riders capibilities to more difficult horses will usually increase confidence. But being chucked in at the deep end when you don't have the skills to deal with it will probably knock any confidence out of the window. I think the same goes for improving riding, as long as there is a good instructor present. I think it certainly improves the 'stickability' seat factor. But it did make me more heavy handed which was a difficult habit to break.

For me, if made me more confident and i think it made me a better rider. But after a fall resulting in a very broken foot, i am a bit more wary of bad behaviour on the road. Not so fussed in the school though, softer landing and better footing in there. I'm kind of glad i'm not as cocky as i was in my teens. Am more considerate of the reasons for the behaviour now.
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dito dito dito, couldn't of put it better myself.

Looking it at from another point of view as well - I think as you get older (or should I say wiser ;) yes your confidence grows but so does your common sense, you see the dangers more and therefore decide to take less risks.
 
I suppose it depends on the outcome of any "incidents" to whether or not you end up more or less confident from the experience.

My confidence is easily shaken, and has been massively eroded by my ISH who has managed to dump me in one way or another 9 times in 14months! resulting in hospital visits!!! grrrrrrrr :rolleyes:

This has include bolting twice which ended with me on the floor, but if he had bolted twice and I had managed to regain control and not hit the deck, Im sure that wouldve increased the confidence in my ability but seeing as I didnt lol, I feel very vunerable on him at times and my confidence has been drained, hence why hes out on loan at the mo!!:rolleyes:

But in general, Ive never been one of those riders who relishes a challenge!! I much prefer something straightforward, sensible and sane that is 100% trustworthy, I like a horse with self preservation :D
 
noblesteed said:
Confidence is a very fragile thing but you sound like you doing very well. Warning signs would be imagining worst case scenarios and playing these through in your head, and feeling panicky on the horse. It doesn't sound like you are doing those things but just be careful if you start to. I lost all my confidence on my horse after I bought him and he was just very evasive and naughty. He would buck and spin and dump me on the ground, and when I tried to hack him he would nap violently, literally throw himself into buildings and trees to scare me. After several trips to hospital, a change of feeding/turnout/yard and with the help of a good friend I have built my confidence back up to how it used to be. I still have my moments but my horse has stopped a lot of the silliness as he knows I can handle it and our relationship has blossomed. So it is possible to regain your confidence once it is lost but it's not easy.
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ahhh this sounds so like me and my horse so youve given me hope!!! :D
 
Dobby said:
The two horses I ride at the moment are big, handsome beasts and are both quite quirky. Both get very excited when jumping and can buck, and one can be very strong out hacking and has been known to rear and bolt in a past life although he hasn't tried it with me yet.

I learned to ride in a riding school on very safe ponies and I am more confident now than I was when I was there on smaller, well behaved ponies.

So i'm just musing to myself - does riding difficult horses give you more confidence or does it slowly erode it? Does riding horses with problems like this make you a better rider, or does it change your style of riding for the worse?

Has anyones confidence been gradually worn away by riding horses with issues or does it give you more confidence in yourself because you know you can deal with it? When you are at a riding school does it feel like you aren't trusted to ride "real horses" with quirks? I think that might be what it is for me, it's a real confidence boost knowing people trust you to ride horses who aren't for novices, and that makes you confident in yourself.

Just a few Tuesday night wonderings :)
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I think riding more difficult horses can do wonders for your confidence and be very rewarding if you get a good end result. But it can utterly destroy your confidence if you are pushing yourself too far or if you take a nasty fall.

Personally I love to ride something with a bit more character but I hate a horse that refuses a fence. I'm happy to deal with spookiness or exciteability or even some bucks within reason, but I don't like refusing.

I'd never really had to deal with refusing until a horse I used to ride in lessons about five years ago developed a VERY dirty stop. I was quite happy when she was rushing fences but I had a couple of falls where I hurt myself badly enough to think an x-ray was sensible because she stopped very suddenly and dropped a shoulder. Eventually our instructor refused to have her in jumping lessons because she was doing it to several of the best riders even when they were presenting her properly and riding positively to the fence. It did knock my confidence, and when a year or so later I was riding a horse who would stop if he was unsure it would make me nervous and tense and I would often make him worse. Bless him he wasn't a dirty stopper at all but the previous horse has made me very wary of refusals. I avoid watching if I think there will be a dramatic refusal as it can still make me nervous!

On the otherhand I have had loads of falls due to bucking and it has never bothered me! The horse I am riding at the moment I have fallen off more times than any other I have ridden as an adult. She can be silly at times, but I feel very safe on her really. When I was a child I rode a little mare who was a terrible bucker and I would fall off her incredibly regularly before I learned how to sit them but she never knocked my confidence, although my god I learnt to sit up after a jump!

I have never felt like I'm not trusted to ride "real" horses because I'm a riding school rider. The riding school I went to as a child and teenager had plenty of quirky horses and young horses and was the sort of place where falling off was part of the learning process! They tended to use me as a bit of a crash test dummy and I was often the first riding school client to sit on new horses, and rode horses that they had in for schooling as well as the school horses and the youngsters.

The riding school I ride at now is not nearly as rough and ready but they do have some horses that are "not a novice ride" for the more experienced clients. Also I am one of the people that they tend to put on new acquisitions while they are settling them in so I get plenty of opportunities to ride horses that aren't typical riding school types. One of the more memorable ones (who sadly didn't stay) was a mare who had been used for jousting!

I've had a few opportunities to ride outside of the riding school too but to be honest, most of the privately owned horses I've had chance to ride have been more straight-forward than some of the riding school horses!

It is good for your confidence to ride privately owned horses though, and to actually be trusted to do so!
 
natalia said:
I think I can answer this one as since I was a teenager I worked at dealers yards! Yes and No is the answer. Yes because you get a bloody good seat and it takes a lot to unseat you (I sat it out for 3.5 mins on the rodeo bull last year at the hunt ball!). No because when you've got nasty horse to jump, it knocks you back, now I'm older I do my best to avoid riding anything that I know stops in any sort of dirty fashion and take great pleasure in the more straight forward ones. I still enjoy riding nappy ones though as can normally sort them out quite quickly and love the challenge. I think after you've ridden a lot of horses you instantly know if you like something or not, and I can now tell from the ground if I'll like them ridden or not and if they are my type.
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Totally agree with Natalia. As a teenager/young adult, I didn't have a horse of my own and rode all sorts of `difficult' horses to cut my teeth. I took pleasure in proving to myself and others that I could do it - my confidence was sky high. I am still very confident, but 20 or so years on I don't feel the need to prove or test myself. I am much more conscious of my safety for my own and my family's sake although still very confident. But I have no need to ride `difficult' horses. I take pride now that my horse is `easy' enough for a novice to ride - I have a wry smile when I hear tales of bravado riding cavorting rodeo horses. I was there once, but then wisdom came with age :D
 
I started off at a riding school and once I started getting braver I started getting on the nappy, bucky ponies. This was fine and then after we bought our own pony who was perfect and we gradually started moving up.

Due to financial issues I would buy cheap horses with issues and bring them on everything was fine until about 2 years ago and my confidence just started going down hill quickly for no reason what so ever! I was petrified of getting on another horse so we sold the quirky one and got something a lot calmer. My confidence was re-built but it will never be the same again.

I want a horse with talent yet sane and unfortuantly they don't come very often, I become such a wimp when the horse starts mis-behaving and I think its because I always rode quirky horses.
 
I guess it also depends on whether you are talking about horses that just need an experienced rider or one's that have behavioural issues.

I've worked in a dealer's yard too and as someone else said - you develop good stickability and deal with a wide variety of horses which does increase your confidence as you learn how to cope with many different situations and horses. By the same token although I grew more confident on the one hand, I grew less confident on the other as I became much more aware of what horses could really do in the 'nasty' stakes and started to think much more about the possible consequences.

These days I have no confidence jumping (neither does my horse so although I'd really like to jump again, we are a bad combination and would probably crash!) and in a funny way, just riding my own horse hasn't helped my confidence much at all really as you just get used to the one horse and I've become wary of riding different horses (which is also a hark back to my dealer days I think when you wondered what it might throw at you!)

For me its around self preservation - I'll ride anything I feel safe on, that doesn't necessarily mean a plod but something that I feel happy with. Anything I don't feel safe with, I dont' want to ride anymore, life's too short.
 
I think it's definately rider/horse dependent, someone I know just does not get along with a horse at a riding school (he has it in for her!) but clients absolutely love him and his quirkiness. I'm not one to mind a bit of bad behaviour as bringing them on through naughiness is always rewarding, although I have point black refused to ride a rearer as the 3 previous times it went up and over with me and she could definately tell I thought she was a complete git! haha
 
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