Fizzy Rerider
Member
Hi everyone,
I used to ride as a child and returned as an adult (about 2 years ago). I'm loving being back in the saddle but feel I'm not really progressing. I am looking at changing riding schools for various reasons (see below) but in the interim I was hoping for some recommendations please...
Does anyone recommend any books or websites that are good as a reference for using various cues/techniques etc? My trainer says things like half halt up, half halt down, outside hand to inside shoulder etc and it seems she means something different each time. I learn best when I can sit down and understand the theory, as well as putting it into practice. It would be nice to have something I can refer to, to see when I should use a half halt, what the correct cues are for different situations, what I should be doing for each gait/move to ensure I'm asking for it correctly and am not making it harder for the horse! I can ask my trainer (and do) but when there is a gap in doing something, it jumps straight out of my head!
For an idea of my current level, I have weekly lessons which involve a mixture of walk and trot mainly. Lots of leg yields, serpentine loops, 15/20m circles and that's about it (so it's getting quite repetitive). I canter sometimes but that is limited as the school doesn't currently have many horses capable of cantering due to their age and I end up usually on the younger horses (some backed end of 2021, some ex racers that haven't had much schooling) and my trainer doesn't want those cantered yet as they're still learning. The lessons on these younger horses can be fun and challenging but I don't feel I learn much (other than getting used to them being a bit spooky and getting better at keeping my seat when they have a bit of a wobble). As I'm effectively teaching the horse, I don't feel I'm actually learning much myself as the focus is on the horses learning...
I am keen to improve my canter. I have a decent seat in canter, I don't bounce around. However, I feel quite unsteady even if I don't always look it. It can be months in between cantering which is frustrating. I've had hacks elsewhere and cantered without any issues there but it's not the same. I'm also wanting to do some dressage and start jumping again (I jumped as a kid). I am looking at getting my own horse in the next year or so and am sure things will improve then (and when I change schools) but any recommendations of books/websites for me to improve my knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I used to ride as a child and returned as an adult (about 2 years ago). I'm loving being back in the saddle but feel I'm not really progressing. I am looking at changing riding schools for various reasons (see below) but in the interim I was hoping for some recommendations please...
Does anyone recommend any books or websites that are good as a reference for using various cues/techniques etc? My trainer says things like half halt up, half halt down, outside hand to inside shoulder etc and it seems she means something different each time. I learn best when I can sit down and understand the theory, as well as putting it into practice. It would be nice to have something I can refer to, to see when I should use a half halt, what the correct cues are for different situations, what I should be doing for each gait/move to ensure I'm asking for it correctly and am not making it harder for the horse! I can ask my trainer (and do) but when there is a gap in doing something, it jumps straight out of my head!
For an idea of my current level, I have weekly lessons which involve a mixture of walk and trot mainly. Lots of leg yields, serpentine loops, 15/20m circles and that's about it (so it's getting quite repetitive). I canter sometimes but that is limited as the school doesn't currently have many horses capable of cantering due to their age and I end up usually on the younger horses (some backed end of 2021, some ex racers that haven't had much schooling) and my trainer doesn't want those cantered yet as they're still learning. The lessons on these younger horses can be fun and challenging but I don't feel I learn much (other than getting used to them being a bit spooky and getting better at keeping my seat when they have a bit of a wobble). As I'm effectively teaching the horse, I don't feel I'm actually learning much myself as the focus is on the horses learning...
I am keen to improve my canter. I have a decent seat in canter, I don't bounce around. However, I feel quite unsteady even if I don't always look it. It can be months in between cantering which is frustrating. I've had hacks elsewhere and cantered without any issues there but it's not the same. I'm also wanting to do some dressage and start jumping again (I jumped as a kid). I am looking at getting my own horse in the next year or so and am sure things will improve then (and when I change schools) but any recommendations of books/websites for me to improve my knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.