I agree with almost everything everyone else has said.
I would also like to request that you repeat this quote below to every non-horse person you know, since most of them think riding is easy and should not be considered a sport :lol:
I’ve got pretty good balance, I’m fairly athletic in general, but being on an animal with a mind of its own is a factor unlike anything I’ve experienced in any other sport.
Regardless of what happened, I think it is good to ride a variety of horses while you are learning, as the different builds will alter your position, and different ways of going will challenge your balance and ability. Some horses let you develop bad habits without realizing it as they compensate for you (such as some horses don’t care if you pinch with your knees, while others will refuse to go!)
You may find that with the smaller horses you struggle to find your leg position, so be patient with yourself if that is the case: you may find you have to spend time back on basics for a while to find your balance/position on a different shaped horse.
I question that the trainer would put a beginner on a horse that is known to be spooky. You need to be on a solid horse so that you can learn to ride properly. I also feel like the trainer may be pushing you too fast if they were letting you canter when your legs were swinging and such that you could only go half a lap. I solid foundation is where every rider should start. You need a solid horsey citizen so you can become a solid horsemen.
If you are relatively athletic there are dynamic motion sports such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing and skating, as well as martial arts that incorporate mat work/wrestling that might help with the “I go one way while my platform is going the other” aspect of horse sport. Also balance exercises such as Yoga poses and working with a medicine ball, and some of the exercises in passing I see performed at basketball practice. It’s a very dynamic sport once you really try to learn it.
[QUOTE=FerretMan;7295258]
I am a new rider (I’ve had 4 months of weekly 1hr lessons, never been near a horse other than that). QUOTE]
So you have sat on a horse for a total of 16 hours, give or take. Probably closer to 12 hours, if you don’t count getting into the ring, mounted, fixing stirrups, getting off… In my NVHO, I’m thinking cantering already is moving a bit fast. Depending, of course, on your reason for taking lessons and what you hope to accomplish.
It IS possible - I taught one of the leading men in A Man Called Horse to ride bareback for that movie. He also had never ridden before and he had a month before reporting. He certainly wasn’t a finished product at the end of that time, but he could stay upright on a reasonably calm, comfortable horse. That was his purpose - he’d get more experience once he was on location. So in all honesty, I can’t really say I taught him “to ride” - but I taught him what he needed me to teach him in the time frame allowed.
If you really want to learn to ride, there’s a LOT of walk/trot stuff to keep you from feeling as though you’re a 2 year old on a carousel horse or pony ride - while developing your muscles and your awareness of the other brain in the partnership.
At your height/weight, I wouldn’t put you on a pony, but you certainly don’t need a draft cross. Especially one that has a titchy personality.
Good luck - as someone else mentioned, equestrian sport (particularly h/j oriented) need all the guys it can get!
[QUOTE=merrygoround;7295620]
The horse you were riding is totally unsuitable for a lesson horse. It would make me question the calibre of the instructor.
If you have not mastered the leg stability necessary to be safe at a canter, you should not be cantering, especially on a horse like this. Your size and weight do not require a large horse.
And yes some people unfortunately do consider 1/2 draft horses as Warmbloods, which they are not.[/QUOTE]
Agree with all-and to perhaps clarify for the OP-draft cross is his breeding (he could be half Percheron, half TB). And he could be registered with American Warmblood Society (and/or Registry but not sure about their requirements). Registry isn’t the same as breeding here.
OP, don’t ride a bolter. It’s not worth what you will have to later undo in your own mind.
[QUOTE=ccoronios;7296029]
[QUOTE=FerretMan;7295258]I am a new rider (I’ve had 4 months of weekly 1hr lessons, never been near a horse other than that). QUOTE]
So you have sat on a horse for a total of 16 hours, give or take. Probably closer to 12 hours, if you don’t count getting into the ring, mounted, fixing stirrups, getting off… In my NVHO, I’m thinking cantering already is moving a bit fast. Depending, of course, on your reason for taking lessons and what you hope to accomplish.
It IS possible - I taught one of the leading men in A Man Called Horse to ride bareback for that movie. He also had never ridden before and he had a month before reporting. He certainly wasn’t a finished product at the end of that time, but he could stay upright on a reasonably calm, comfortable horse. That was his purpose - he’d get more experience once he was on location. So in all honesty, I can’t really say I taught him “to ride” - but I taught him what he needed me to teach him in the time frame allowed.
If you really want to learn to ride, there’s a LOT of walk/trot stuff to keep you from feeling as though you’re a 2 year old on a carousel horse or pony ride - while developing your muscles and your awareness of the other brain in the partnership.
At your height/weight, I wouldn’t put you on a pony, but you certainly don’t need a draft cross. Especially one that has a titchy personality.
Good luck - as someone else mentioned, equestrian sport (particularly h/j oriented) need all the guys it can get![/QUOTE]
I I agree, in my lesson program you wouldn’t be cantering yet. On average it takes at least 9month to a year of once a week lessons to have the strength, balance, and position to canter. You don’t have enough foundation to hold your position at the canter so there isn’t much point in doing it yet. Going fast just to go fast isn’t going to teach you to ride.
These three things don’t belong in the same paragraph:
Riding once a week for four months
Spooking school horse
Cantering
I would investigate other programs. In my opinion you could find a better one.
Thanks to everyone who’s offered advice, I was thinking I’d get maybe one or two replies here. It’s been nice to read so many responses.
I certainly don’t want to keep riding a horse that bolts, but I wasn’t sure if this was just part of the deal; like somebody here said that any horse can have a bad day. My instructor did start me out on a longe line the first few times. After he took off the other day, she was far more concerned than I was. I was ready to mount up again about 15 seconds after getting off, and if she hadn’t stopped me I would have.
I think I could have handled it a lot better given a second chance. I didn’t really realize what was going on at first, I was still half-halting trying to get him to slow down. I didn’t want to end up underneath him so as soon as he turned a bit to the left I jumped to the right.
My goals are just to become a good rider, basically, get a horse of my own and ride for fun, be able to jump and ride well over natural terrain. When I started I was imagining ‘renting’ a horse in someplace like Germany and going off by myself for a day in the forest. I don’t know if such an arrangement is possible, but that’s the image I had in my head. I could see trying polo someday too, but I’m in no rush. So long as I make some improvement each week I’m happy.
I think I might take an extra lesson during the week someplace else to get a better perspective.
Good luck-that isn’t something you should expect to have to handle at this point. On the other hand, they are horses, and anything can happen at any time, so your attitude is good :).
I do really like what you said about the sport. Wish you’d been at the Thanksgiving table when someone said that dressage wasn’t a sport because if anyone can do it into an elderly age then it clearly isn’t a sport.
It wasn’t worth arguing with the guy, but it would been nice to have your perspective there!
Absolutely you need to be on a different horse… A horse known to be “spooky” is no mount for a rank novice… 4 months of once a week lessons puts you in that category…
Also question why the heck you are cantering when it is obvious from your description of your riding … that you do not yet have an independant seat… Back to the Longe line with a LOT of no stirrup work to develop that before attempting the canter on any horse.
I would look into trying some other trainers. I come from a stricter background so to me cantering off a lunge line after only a couple months, especially if you aren’t solid with keeping the stirrup in the right spot on your foot, seems early to me. My boss (granted this was a western barn) had people canter within a day or two of having first gotten on a horse, just to give you an idea of how varied instructional techniques can be. IMO this lesson horse isn’t as solid as I’d like to see for a beginner rider, I’d rather have a horse whose bad day is being too lazy to canter.
Welcome to the sport, it’s addictive! As for your image if riding in Germany, it’s totally possible. Give it a few years and I’ve got the name of a great place, you’re not by yourself, but the scenery through the forests and fields, as well as the awesome horses this place has, make it totally worth it!
I think there are a lot of instructors who just don’t know how to teach adult beginners. I too started as an adult, with once-weekly lessons (although my horse wasn’t spooky).
But like you, we moved pretty quickly to cantering, and then to jumping crossrails. I was off the lunge line within 2 lessons.
I didn’t know how to canter. I didn’t know how to steer. I certainly didn’t know how to jump, much less how to recover from a jump. I wouldn’t have been able to do a quiet sitting trot, had we tried that.
But I didn’t know that I didn’t know these things. I thought I knew how to canter; not well, but hey, I gave the cue, the horse went pretty much where I steered her, and stopped when I stopped her. I stayed on, and it felt ok. So, I knew how to canter. I stayed on over the crossrail jumps, so clearly I knew how to jump!
When I moved (with the horse), my next instructor wouldn’t let me anywhere near a crossrail for over a year of weekly lessons, plus following her lesson plans when riding on my own, since I now owned horse. I got good enough at the canter to at least realize how horrifically bad I used to be, but I’m still working at getting better at it years later. And I don’t mean in some kind of high-end competitive sense, just…riding.
I might admittedly be relatively slow as a riding-learner, but I’ve seen other rank beginners pushed far too soon into trot, canter, jumping. It also often doesn’t seem to be the adults pushing for that (I wasn’t; I just followed my instructor’s lead when she decided we would progress to x), but maybe it’s the instructor being worried that the adult will lose interest if they keep them endlessly on the lunge line and don’t “progress”?
That said, there are great instructors out there! I know, I’ve lessoned with them 
From what you’ve said, you are probably overhorsed. If the horse is truly bolting then it’s no place for a beginner rider no matter how brave they are.
I suspect the fact that you are larger than most beginner riders in the English disciplines has limited your choice of horses and perhaps has made your instructor compromise a bit on safety for size. Sometimes even horse-sized schoolies really can’t take the weight of a full sized male rider and maintain soundness. Particularly if the barn schoolies are older former show horses who needed an easier job.
I’m not as horrified as some people are by the fact that you are cantering because that’s pretty common in a lot of US lesson barns if you’re athletic and balanced. I’d ask for more time on the lunge line if you can get it. They may be a little reluctant to do so because lunge lessons are can be hard on school horses who may have some age related soundness issues that makes repeated circling difficult.
If you can’t switch horses, maybe ask if you can do more work at walk and trot without stirrups before you try cantering again.
Yes, you will get a lot of opinions! Horse people are famous for telling you the “right” way to do anything (and there are many right ways) and we like to see beginners succeed.
Yes, this horse sounds too much for you. It’s easy to pick up bad habits or to get scared if an accident happens. Cantering sounds well within your capabilities by now, but only if you can work on developing a secure position rather than on controlling the horse. Incidentally, are you able to canter in 2-point? That will encourage a steadier leg.
One other thing nobody has suggested-you may want to learn more about horse behavior and body language. It might help you figure out why a horse is doing a particular behavior and how to get it to do what you want. Most people have more experience with dogs and cats, which have very different behaviors-they are predators, while horses are prey animals.
Ferretman: First! WELCOME TO CoTH! One thing you will get here (as I’m sure you’ve already seen) is unvarnished opinion from all comers. Most of it knowledgeable and well informed about horses, and the myriad of issues surrounding them.
Now. When I started taking lessons, I was also taking weekly 1 hour lessons. It took me much longer than 4 months to develop my seat to the point that my instructor was willing to let me try a canter. It was closer to a year. Your instructor should be thoroughly grounding you in the fundamentals, and be sure that you are secure and doing well at one gait, before asking you to go to the next level up. Your trot should be light and well controlled, with your seat, legs and hands staying in place and going where they need to be to communicate with the horse. Unless you’re at the track, riding isn’t about speed. It’s finesse.
It sounds to me like you have been rushed a bit.
That concerns me.
How did you find this trainer? What are her credentials? How much shopping did you do?
About size: Personally, I don’t worry about how big the horse is, except when trying to mount from the ground, or falling, and I’m a 60 year old lady. Every horse in the world is stronger than me. They’re stronger than you too. But as you are a 6’ guy, I can see why they were putting you on a larger mount, but still, there are plenty of horses out there that can carry you just fine. (like others have said)
This guy just wasn’t the right one for you—a pretty much rank beginner.
Are larger more difficult than smaller? They are all individuals, but ponies have a bit of a rep.
http://www.richardbealblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/santa.jpg
All horses have good and bad days, just like people. A horse who has a few small spook issues on a good day will be that much more so on a bad.
If you are good with your trainer and want to stay with her, go ahead and see what other mounts she has to offer you. Part of learning to ride, is learning to ride different horses. They are all individuals with their own ways and quirks. Riding different horses will also help you find the personality of horse you mesh with.
And when your trainer says: “What do you want to do?” You answer with: “I want to ride a horse. I want to be GOOD at it. And I want to have all my fundamentals in place. At this point in my experience with horses, I’m not sure what direction my path will take, but whatever it is, I’ll need to start from a solid, well-laid foundation. Give me that.”
Don’t get discouraged. The good part of horses can be found in a thread on here:
So you see, it’s not all about riding a bolting guy that doesn’t want to behave. Once you get into it, and you have a few nice experiences of your own, I think you’ll be hooked. Welcome to HORSES!
Yes, this is my situation exactly. There are always a few little girls there riding or taking lessons and the instructors casually get onto them whenever they make a mistake, but with me my instructor is sometimes almost apologetic when correcting something I’m doing.
What you said about the rest sounds very familiar as well. I think I’m a quick learner in general, and learning quickly seems to be an obsession in the US. From childhood onward so much emphasis is placed on how quickly you can progress through material, but I’ve too often in my life had the experience of being enthusiastically rushed through things by teachers and instructors after a little bit of early success and missed important fundamental stuff along the way, eventually having to come back and work on it on my own. I’ve told my instructor several times that I’m “not in a race”, but to be honest after trotting around week after week I did start to get a little bit bored. If I had to wait half a year before cantering again…well don’t think I could do that.
One way to avoid boredom is to attempt a 20m dressage “perfect circle”. It’s not as easy as you might think, can be done at a trot and helps with developing aids. My instructor also had me working on leg yields to break things up a bit. There are things you can do to keep your mind focused on the finesse.
I’m going to take a wild guess that you are on this (unsuitable) horse because it is the only one available that is appropriate for your size. You aren’t that big, but if the instructor mostly caters to kids, they probably don’t have a “man’s horse” on the roster.
A lesson horse for a beginner to learn how to canter on should be very easy going, and if anything, is wanting to stop rather than go.
If your instructor cannot supply a quieter horse (spooking is also NOT OK for someone learning to ride), I would look for another barn and instructor.
Best of luck, and welcome to riding!!!
Welcome to the world of horses.
Horses bolt for a variety of reasons and degrees. I hope you and your trainer have a plan for another bolting incident so that you don’t lose confidence.
Personally, bolting is easier for me than a bucker, spinner, or rearer but a beginner shouldn’t have to deal with any bad habits - that’s the trainer’s job.
Often, a bolter will turn into a bucker or spinner if they don’t get their way (the horse may be in pain under certain circumstances too.) So this habit is never desirable and the underlying reason for bolting needs to be addressed before it get worse.
Beginner horses should be very forgiving and predictable. If a horse is ‘having a bad day’ it usually means it is too moody to be a reliable mount, or has training issues, or pain during certain circumstances.
Good luck and have fun!
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