Starting over

[Ptolemy]

A little background, I used to have my own horse when I was 19, an ex-racer who was the most wonderful guy, even though he did have terrible feet and a habit of being absolutely terrified of water (very interesting to read all of the barefoot information now!) Situations changed, I moved abroad and I have sorely missed riding ever since.

Situation has changed once more and I am now returning to the UK . I am extremely keen to get back into riding. I also have 2 daughters 12 and 7 who seem equally keen to join me on my horsey journey.

I'm wondering what the best way would be to get myself back into the swing of things as quickly as possible. I have to admit, I have forgotten more than I ever knew, to be honest I couldn't even tie a safety knot any more, so I was wondering if there are any places that offer perhaps residential crash courses (for adults and children) on horse care etc, preferably "up north". I realise that I could go and just do riding lessons at a school, but for me the riding was only a small part of the wonders of horses, and it wouldn't feel right somehow to go for riding lessons without a refresher course in the basics of horse care... does that sound strange?

I loved spending time at the stable with my boy. I'm sure my memory is being selective here and choosing to forget about the cold winter mornings etc, a bit like childbirth ;-) but oh well!

My long term aim is to again have a horse of my own, however I realise that I have a long road ahead of me to get to the point of being knowledgable enough to do that. I'm curious as to what would be the best strategy for starting up again. How many riding lessons a week would be best, how to brush up on horse care, is it worth doing the BHS exams? etc.

 

[Tammytoo]

Whereabouts are you "up north"? The Yorkshire Riding Centre is near Harrogate and they do tailor made courses to cater for whatever you want to do if you give them a ring. The agricultural colleges at Askham Bryan near York and Bishop Burton near Beverley do courses. Get in touch with your local Riding Club and see if they run stable management and horse owner courses - they would also appreciate help with organising events, which would help you to get to know your local horsey community.

Good luck!

 

[Goldenstar]

I would wait till you are back In The area you will be living in and then ask around there regional boards on here so you could use them to find a good place.
I would start at the best riding school you can find explain your situation book a course of lessons I would probally do private ones at first then do a mixture of group and private and see how you get on .
Where will you be based ?

 

[Honey08]

Roughly what part of "up north" will you be? Most good riding centres will do horsemanship courses too...

 

[Ptolemy]

I'll be Northern Lancashire or Southern Cumbria more than likely

 

[trottingon]

Thats reasonable "horsey" country I'm sure you'll find something suitable. You could contact Myerscough College they are in Lancashire and do equine courses and are a show/events centre.
How about all three of you having lessons at a riding school for a while, perhaps helping out there and building your knowledge and skills up, then contacting local livery yards to see if anyone needs any help on a regular basis, or part loaning a pony a couple of days a week and seeing how committed your children are after a while.
When I was younger I never heard of loaning or part loaning but it seems to be quite common these days, and can be a good way to get back into horses.

 

[Ptolemy]

Sounds excellent, thank you.

I'm not too worried about the kids, they'll be able to get their horsey fix at school where they'll also be able to do pony care etc too. I'm more concerned about myself... I feel like I have forgotten pretty much everything! I'm sure a lot of it will come back fairly quickly. Thank you for the suggestions, I shall look in to them!

 

[Ptolemy]

Oh wow, Myerscough College looks perfect! They have courses for all sorts of things! I'll look in to riding schools once I have found somewhere to live, but in the mean time this has given me something solid to focus on.

Thank you so much

 

[Rhubarb]

Google Take Back the Reins. Its a post olympic legacy scheme for people who want to get back into riding. Numerous centres across the UK offer a course of lessons say over 4 or 5 weeks for a reduced price. Might be worth a look.

 

[Ptolemy]

Another excellent suggestion, thanks