I had my horse riding lesson today and don’t know why I was so off! I have been taking lessons about 8 months but due to vacations and such I haven’t ridden since the end of January. I am learning barrel racing. I was riding a new horse today but didn’t feel nervous at all. However in my lesson my lope was a mess and I nearly fell off twice (her lope is hard to sit but come on) I knocked over the barrels 3 times at a trot and kept messing up my figure eights. I’m so beyond frustrated with myself. It was no fault of my instructor and I kept apologizing to her. I don’t know why I was all over the place.
Once in a while we all have a bad day. Don’t beat yourself up. You will get back in the groove.
8 Likes
Riding requires lots and lots and lots of practice. I have been riding for 43 years and I still learn something all the time. About my balance, my hand position, etc. You’ve been riding 8 months and 2 of those months, you were on vacation. You just need more time in the saddle. Lots of it. I liken it to grass growing. You can’t see it grow, but after a few weeks, you have to cut it. Just keep working. It will get better.
6 Likes
We all have crappy days sometimes. The biggest thing is not to take it out on your horse or your instructor, then let it go and come back ready to work next time. It is fine to take a step back once in a while and refocus on solidifying the basics, especially if you are on a new horse or just back from some time off.
1 Like
I have crummy lessons too sometimes. Do you ever ride alone- just you and the horse? Lessons are important and obviously necessary, but sometimes, when I am off track…I get back on track better with just me and my horse with no pressure of a lesson or someone giving feedback. Could you lease a horse so you maybe have the option to ride on your own sometimes? I agree 8 mo is not long and barrel racing requires a lot balance at a fast speed. I would be on the ground for sure!
2 Likes
I have been riding for 40 years, I suddenly feel really old, and I still have the occasional day that I feel like I can’t even post the trot. Off days are a part of being around the horses. You just hope your off day and the horses off day don’t happen on the same day. 
7 Likes
Somedays you start to believe you can actually ride, you have some talent…many many days you wonder if you will ever get it, and maybe crocheting wet noodles would be more satisfying.
once in a blue moon you experience such a wonderful moment of partnership, understanding and beauty, and it fills up your soul. This is why we ride, for those rare moments…and for the sheer joy of ‘today I don’t actually suck’
6 Likes
Bad days happen, it’s ok, your instructor understand that likely as much as anyone. With my students, bad riding days are often the result of stress at work/school, or being physically off because of spending too much time at a desk!
Try to avoid apologizing though. Rather than say, “sorry I messed up the pattern again”, say something productive like “I am having trouble picturing where I should turn”. Not only does this help your instructor help you fix this issue but it also helps your brain stay in learning mode rather than shutting down in failure mode.
5 Likes
It happens to all of us. Yesterday at my lesson I just felt out of synch with my horse. We’ve been having a lot of really good lessons recently so the fact that I felt “off” with him frustrated me. I still learned a lot and gritted through it and I know that usually there will be one off day here and there, but I need to remember what I learned to apply it to the next lesson which will hopefully be an “on” lesson. Don’t stress too much about it and go into the next lesson with a positive attitude.
2 Likes
Here is one to think on…we have been struggling all winter to get consistent ride time, either too cold, or snowing…my coach posted this the other day…
Just a friendly reminder…
Our horses have good and bad days…just like us.
Some days they are awesome…just like us…some days the are grumpy…just like us.
They want to do it right but sometimes have no clue what you want…just like us.
Some days they just want to sleep and eat…just like us.
The simplest things for us to understand, can be the hardest for them.
They really don’t plan to be bad…they sometimes can be impatient and try to hard…or not enough…this gets us upset.
Getting upset gets the horse more upset.
If this road was easy everyone would do it. Remind yourself why you want to be in the saddle. Hold on to it.
I would like to see people enjoy their riding more…lately I see a lot of pressure being put places and yes we are always on some sort of deadline…but once and awhile just enjoy the horse and your time with it.
5 Likes
OP, I wonder - did your instructor continue to push you to do what the set intention of the lesson was, or did they reframe things when they saw you were struggling?
If it was the former, you may want to consider talking to your instructor about handling that better so you walk away from each lesson feeling something got done, even if it meant going back to a basic principle - a good coach will meet the student (and horse!) where they are at on that day. You never just pick up where you left off the day before - you and the horse aren’t the same today as you were yesterday.
3 Likes
We all have days like that. Maybe you’re catching a cold and you’re balance was just a bit off.
1 Like
She reframed things. We stopped the canter altogether since I just wasn’t confident on that horse and did ALOT of trot and balance work. She could tell I was getting flustered and explained even at a slower pace there is endless things to learn.
7 Likes
You hadn’t ridden for almost 6 weeks and were riding a new horse. That would cause many to have an “off day”.
2 Likes
People take lessons all their lives. Patience. It was just one day.
1 Like
Don’t beat yourself up - we all have bad riding days. Plus, a very real (and difficult to develop) skill is the ability to adjust your riding to a new horse quickly. I am a good rider - not professional quality, not amazing, but a very solid and experienced rider – and I am AWFUL the first time I get on a new-to-me horse. I don’t know what it is. It does make trying-out horses very difficult because the entire first ride is just convincing my body that I have actually sat on a horse before :eek:
I’ve been riding for 25+ years. I have ridden well over 50+ horses in my life. I have never ridden the same horse for more than 1 year time span. I STILL am terrible at adjusting between new rides. Second ride - it starts to click and third ride is when everything clicks into place.
I’m probably an exaggerated version than most, but don’t discount how difficult it is to switch to a new ride. This becomes more true as you ride at a more technical/precise level. I obviously don’t feel as awful on a first ride when it’s a casual trail ride on a loose rein compared to how awful I feel if I hop on a '“strange” horse and start trying to do 2nd/3rd level dressage movements.
Don’t shy away from riding new horses for this reason though - each horse teaches you something new and the more you switch around the more “flexible/adjustable” a rider you’ll become!
2 Likes
Thank you so much for the kind comments and advice everyone!
