Starting at the bottom again

[sjdress]

My mare had to retire and I’ve brought a young green horse. It feels a bit disappointing to be starting right at the bottom again after reaching a good level with my mare and really improving as a rider. I almost feel like I have lost a bit of confidence in my own ability as I have gone from riding Elem/med now back down to intro/prelim! Has anyone else gone through this and how did you cope with starting again!

 

[milliepops]

I did this recently when I got Salty, though I did still have Kira at advanced which was quite a contrast. I would look at it a different way, you have all that experience and knowledge behind you now, so it should in theory be a little be easier to start climbing the ladder again than when you did it the first time.
I know I felt like I got started in a way that felt more proficient, for want of a better word, than with the first horse I started training. You know the things that are important for later on - proper acceptance of the contact, having the horse really on your aids, straightness - those are all concepts that are quite hard to learn the first time.

I'm vaguely looking for another now and extreme budget constraints mean it's going to be another new start - its quite fun really as horses at the beginning of their learning can make quite big improvements quite quickly when you get further up the levels you can spend months making tiny tiny improvements and that feels like wading through treacle

 

[Wheels]

I love working with young and inexperienced horses.

There are many challenges along the way but it is very rewarding to educate a young horse and bring them through the levels in a way that suits you.

Enjoy it

 

[dixie]

Yes! I’ve gone from jumping and consistently being placed at 95/1m opens BS to trying to jump safely round 70 and 80cm on my new horse and riding like I’ve never jumped before. However I’m pretty sure with time and patience it will all be worth it.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Think of it this way - you get all the sense of achievement of having put all the work in yourself rather than getting a ready made replacement!

 

[milliepops]

Is it possible to ride some more advanced horses now and then alongside your horse? I know what you mean about feeling like you lose confidence in your riding, only having something green or unbalanced to ride does make you feel like you can't always ride as well as you want to (I don't actually think it makes you ride any differently, but you can't feel the effects of subtle aids so well because the horse doesn't know them yet, so things can feel a bit agricultural).
If you can hop on an established horse and just give your body a chance to remember what that feels like from time to time, I think it helps mentally, and it also means you keep riding your young horse properly rather than getting tricked into babying it!

 

[daffy44]

I'm the other way round, I love starting with the young horses as I see it as a chance to correct the mistakes I made the last time, or just to refine things. I feel every horse teaches you something, and every youngster is an opportunity to put the new things you have learnt into practice, its a blank canvas to enjoy.

 

[Moon River]

The more I've learnt at the higher levels the more I see in the lower level tests that I didn't appreciate the last time round

 

[JFTDWS]

I also love working with young horses - doing things differently, seeing how they turn out. Much more exciting than fiddling around with a more established horse (although I also love riding my most established too, it's just different!).