Can we have an adult re-rider support group?

[Opus1]

Had a pretty good ride at my lesson today. I pretty much did nothing but work on my sitting trot in a dressage saddle. According to my trainer, I looked like a dressage rider and not a h/j person trying to do dressage. I actually ‘got’ the trot several times, I once I realized how I could use the thigh blocks to help me by pressing my thighs against them. Go figure. Having rode in a PDN all this time, I look at saddle blocks and pads with great suspicion.

Now, let’s see if I can carry what I learned today into my lesson with new trainer tomorrow.

[spacytracy]

I felt the same way Opus when I first rode in a Schleese. Then I loved it!!!

Dewey, you too! I love the students, but they make me crazy at the same time! haha.

[WIExpat]

Can I brag for a minute?

So, I’ve been leasing my sweet OTTB schoolmaster now for about two months. I’m able to hack twice a week, with one lesson on the weekend. Our hacking and dressage work is coming along nicely, as was the jumping…the only thing in the way there was my confidence.

And I don’t know what happened, but in our last two weekends, we just clicked!!! Last weekend and this weekend we jumped real jumper courses (only 2’6") like a real team!!! I keep running through our lesson today and am so pleased with our progress.

I’m waiting for my first back to riding fall/going off-course/etc, and I know it’ll happen.

But today, I am so pleased!

[pony4me]

Congrats! It feels so good when it clicks!

I had a good lesson Saturday on a very nice (translation: I could never afford him) sale horse.

Mr. Stall Rest may get his first shock wave treatment on Wednesday. I orderd four more Uncle Jimmy’s Hanging Balls from SmartPak to keep him occupied in the days ahead.

Can’t believe we’re already on day 33 of stall rest.

[PaintedHunter]

Well I had a nice little fall tonight. There is ice on my tailbone as we speak.

Went through a five-crossrail bounce grid, and I had been having trouble keeping my green gumby gelding straight. The last time, I got him mostly straight even though he was wanting to drift right on out of the grid. I prematurely celebrated in my mind going into the last jump, and he tried to take it at an angle to go over the highest part of the jump, not the middle. The move threw me off, and I admittedly did not have a good enough position to recover as he made a big move to cut a sharp left corner (that’s his favorite- darting left after jumps). So, he went left… and I went right. For a split second I thought I might recover, but I just couldn’t.

At least he felt bad about it afterward - he rested his head into my chest softly as if to apologize and make sure I was OK. But really, I was at least half at fault. I’m calling the getting him straight part a success. And really, he had a nice pace through it!

[TarheelJD]

[QUOTE=PaintedHunter;6085230]
At least he felt bad about it afterward - he rested his head into my chest softly as if to apologize and make sure I was OK. But really, I was at least half at fault. I’m calling the getting him straight part a success. And really, he had a nice pace through it![/QUOTE]

This is a great paragraph – both sweet and hysterical. Glad you can laugh through the ouchy tail bone. Hope you feel better soon.

Missed going to the barn today But I’m sure next Saturday will come quickly.

[PaintedHunter]

Yeah, for all his gumby, head-tossing faults, he sure is a puppy dog…on the ground! And he really does LOVE to jump. I think he was trying to give himself a bigger challenge by taking the highest part of the crossrail…if I could only reason with him and tell him that we can jump higher more often if he would behave better. Sigh.

Sorry you couldn’t make it to the barn today! I was so happy to have three days in a row of riding. But man, my legs are yelping!

[OneGrayPony]

Sorry to hear about your fall PaintedHunter!

Dewey, the vest is this one http://www.smartpakequine.com/flex-rider-cushioned-riding-vest-8332p.aspx?cm_vc=Search…I told him not to buy the Tipp until I was sure I liked riding in a vest…and I haven’t tried it out in the saddle yet so I’m not sure whether I will or I won’t. It does fit nicely on the ground, although it makes me feel like I’m one of these guys.

I’m a little worried about feeling stiff in the saddle which is something that I struggle with as an adult anyway but maybe it will have the opposite effect by making me feel more “safe”. Who knows.

Spacytracy I am SO glad you’re back in the saddle and I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with Dublin. I know you’ll find the right horse for you - and remember - this is SUPPOSED to be fun

Went out to the barn yesterday to let the pony run around since he was getting so beaten up in his new paddock that he can’t go out there until that horse leaves (at the end of this week). He has a huge knot on the side of his cannon bone related to a kick (not lame on it thank god) and his hoof is all cut up. a;sdlkfja;sdlfja;slkdfjaslkdjf HORSES!

He isn’t lame, so I’m guessing it’s superficial but I have this tiny niggling worry that perhaps he’s nursing a bone bruise. He’d be lamer if it were a fracture, right? I cold hosed it (and flooded the wash stall…the drain was frozen sigh) for a little while and I’ll do that again today. They called me when it happened and said it was nothing…and it looks mostly superficial but it’s mighty swollen.

On the other hand, we’re loving the new barn. He has gained a ton of weight and he seems generally happy, albeit a bit up from not being out. Okay, he’s a crazy man right now. But he’s moving beautifully on the new footing and if I can just bubble wrap him long enough to get really started again, I’m sure we’re going to love riding there!!!

[Hinderella]

OGP, I hope your pony is OK! I have the Tipperary vest, and I’ve found it doesn’t change my riding a lot, but the long “tail” in the back will, once in a while, make me tilt forward a bit. It’s well worth it though, to have that extra level of protection to fall back on when a windy/cold/scary day comes along. I don’t use it often, but when I do, I think it helps me to relax just a little, knowing that perhaps it won’t hurt “as much” when I go off.

I will say that I’ve fallen off so many times now that I am no longer embarassed or scared about it. I figure if I’m going to continue to push myself to improve, sooner or later I’ll push beyond my level of current ability…and fall off. And then I’ll get better, and I won’t. All of the best riders fall off sometimes, there’s no reason to believe that I won’t too.

Pony4me, you can also entertain your horse thorugh his recovery by taking a gallon plastic milk jug, cut some holes in it, fill it with treats and hang it in the stall. it takes them a while to get the treats out, and keeps them busy. Slow hay feeders, like the nibble nets, are great too. It allows them to eat longer without necessarily eating more. The treats like Jimmy’s have a lot of sugars in them, be careful he doesn’t overdo it.

[OneGrayPony]

Thanks Hinderella! It’s good to know. And since my position tends to be behind (when I have position faults, that’s where I go) rather than ahead, tipping occasionally might not be a bad thing

I’m getting over a lot of my fear of coming off…now almost 3 years after my accidents…but man has that been slow progress. I kept thinking that what I really needed was a fall that didn’t hurt, and yet, I really don’t think I was ready until now to deal with that.

When my gelding was dancing around like a looney-toon, and I was alone, in the new indoor…a year ago I would have given up and gone back into the barn. Or gotten on and walked 4 steps and jumped off. Or maybe not walked at all, just mounted and got off.

Then I would have sobbed for a few hours in the barn. Which is what I did in the first year after my fall.

This time, I got on, didn’t clutch at him even though he felt boingy, managed to walk around peacefully even though he was boogey-eyeing around the ring. I’ve built up a lot of trust in this horse, and even if he is “just a horse”, I realized that not only would he not purposefully try to buck me off/lose me (unlike the last 3 critters that I’ve owned), but that if by chance he did lose me, he’d try to dial my phone and call for help if he could.

After all, I’ve foxhunted now…I can do anything Well…almost.

Anyway, I do think the vest might make me feel that extra little bit secure in that a fall most likely won’t sideline me for a long time. Logically I know that that is the case and that my accidents were both freak, and that most falls are not bad, and that I WILL fall so long as I ride…but…convincing my lizard brain of such happenings is not an easy thing!!! Just gotta keep plugging away.

Hope you and your super-pony are well!!!

[PaintedHunter]

I’ve thought about getting a vest to feel more secure as well! I am starting to feel more trusting of my gelding, though, and I can feel it become reciprocal. Maybe we just needed time.

My fall last night has caused me to wake up with a nice case of neck whiplash. Ouch!

[Dewey]

There was a lot of discussion of bad falls earlier in the thread, and I decided that I had been lucky and need a vest. I consider myself a strong rider, and I don’t lack confidence. I school green horses, though, and I am in my 50s. I really don’t want to end up in the hospital, and one bad spook or bucking session could send me there.

I am not saying we should all wear vests, but I do want one for myself. I’m just afraid to invest in one without trying it on first. It won’t do me much good if it’s not comfortable to ride in.

Anyone else have experience with safety vests?

[Hinderella]

OGP I definitely found that I was a more confident rider after hunting. I don’t think it’s the hunting, necessarily, it’s the great instruction from Hunter’s Rest. I’ve always come home from my VA trip with new tools in my tool box.
Painted hunter, one of my last falls was when the pony suddenly decided, for no reason, to spook when I was mounting (?). I had a little whiplash from that, it took a good wek to go away. Hope you feel better soon.

[OneGrayPony]

Dewey, I used to be a strong and confident rider schooling greenies…after a few bad falls (that involved the hospital) I’ve become the weak and wussy rider who is just glad to be topside again. I’d highly recommend trying a vest so that you don’t become like me (it sucked, really it did!). Anyone near you have one that you can try on?

PaintedHunter - ouch! Neck pain is no fun. Take it easy and don’t stress it…

Hinderella, oh yes - Hunter’s Rest’s instruction is top notch, truly. I also think there’s something to the “if I can jump a coop outside in uneven terrain with lots of other horses…well, then I can manage a little dink around the indoor on a pony who is being a little silly” thing. Not to say that hunting was so terrifying, more of a something clicking again to push beyond my fear-imposed limits.

Nice weather today (well, rainy and mid-40s as opposed to 14 degrees and freezing)…hoping for a nice hack!

[Dewey]

No, I ride at a H/J barn with a bunch of teenagers…no one has ever heard of a protective vest! :lol:

I am seriously thinking of going to Aiken to try some on–it’s about 2 hours away, but there’s at least one good tack store there and a racetrack, so they should have some vests. I will look into it.

[Hinderella]

Dewey, don’t worry about being the only one with a vest. I, too, ride with a bunch of teenagers who have never heard of a vest…but thye don’t know what a hot flash is, either

You definitely want to try them on. The one difficulty with the vests is finding room for your bust. I think they were designed for men. My Tiperrary has the lacing on the sides, but it took a little work to get the lacing adjusted correctly. It helps to have a friend do it, sort of like lacing up a corset in Gone with the Wind.

[Dewey]

Fortunately, I don’t have much of a bust–:lol::lol:

I do think you are right, though, and I need to try them on. I am concerned about where the vest will hit me on the back.

DH has even said he will buy it for me–this is an offer I need to take advantage of!

[Opus1]

Today’s lesson was canceled, but we’ll just do a longer lesson on Thursday.

Tomorrow’s lesson is still up in the air, as there’s rain in the forecast for the morning. May or may not taper off by my lesson time.

:sigh:

[TarheelJD]

I bought a vest at WEG, since I could try a bunch on there to decide which felt best. I got a Tipperary, and it really doesn’t interfere much at all. Sometimes I forget it’s there until I have to bend down in the pasture to avoid a branch and my chin hits it.

I’m thinking of going to Hunter’s Rest in the fall, and doing the car ride thing. Hinderella – if I do that, can I stay afterward for a few days and take some lessons there? Sort of like an adult riding retreat?

[Hinderella]

Tarheel, you ABSOLUTELY can stay extra days at Hunter’s Rest and train. I can’t say enough good things about HR as a teacher. But she’s tough, I’m definitely afraid of her in a lesson format! I’m planning to spend a week there in the fall, and if I can afford it, I’ll ship the super pony down, too.

if you check the hunters rest web site you may see a true adult summer camp listed, she does one from time to time. Www.huntersrest.net

I keep telling my instructor at home that there’s a huge market in the adult re-rider world. There are so many of us out there!