New Rider--Should I Change Horses?

[Scaramouch]

I’m not sure at what variety of barn you’re taking lessons now, but could you find a dressage trainer who offers school horses?

There’s no way someone with <20 hours of saddle time should be “bored” at the trot. With a good dressage trainer you will never be bored. Unlike in the up-down lessons commonly given to kids where they learn to stay on and push the buttons on a broke-to-death animal - which requires little more than basic balance and a bit of muscle training - you learn how to ride and, more importantly, how your riding influences the horse’s way of going so that it is as correct as possible.

After you’re competent w/t/c and basic lateral work then you’ll be ready to move on to an eventing trainer. A good one can teach you a) how to jump and b) help you become a competent rider outside of the arena if that’s what you want to do.

[Whisper]

It sounds more like a “spook and scoot” than a true bolt. In a bolt, you have no control at all, and the horse doesn’t calm/slow even after an extended time. They can sometimes run right through a fence. In a “spook and scoot,” the horse accelerates into a fast gallop, tense through the neck and back, but still has steering, will listen to half-halts, and will calm and come back to a canter in roughly the length of an arena side or so. Regardless, it sounds like this particular horse is a bit too spooky for a beginner, so you should try a different horse or different lesson program.

Scaramouch, some eventing programs take on beginner riders, but focus only on flatwork (often on the longe) at first. If he wants to eventually move into jumping, I think that would be better than finding an exclusively dressage-oriented trainer, and then switching. More important than the discipline, is to find a program that has suitable horses for him, and a teaching style that keeps him focused, is clear, etc. Too many beginner lessons are just basic turn this way, do that gait, without actually helping with position, contact, etc.

[Timex]

there’s no way you’d be cantering already in my lesson program. there’s plenty to learn at the WALK that could keep you from getting bored in a once a week lesson scenario. I will admit to having been called ‘conservative’ in how I teach, but then again, I haven’t had to test out my liability insurance policy either.

[IFG]

IMHO, the horse is unsuitable for a beginner, and the fact that he has been spooky before raises huge red flags. I would head for a barn with a more experienced instructor and a wider range of horses for someone of your size. When my kids started riding, there were limited options as the barn where we started. I moved them to a pony barn and taught them myself for several years. That way they had many options for appropriate mounts. Once they were bigger and more experienced, they returned to the original barn.

[HungarianHippo]

OP, kudos for your balanced perspective-- lots of beginners entirely blame the horse/trainer, or conversely lose all confidence that they can ever be a rider. Recognizing that you need to improve your skills, but also that the horse is not a good match, is the perfect approach.
A loose lower leg and no weight in your heels is usually compensated by gripping at the knee and even gripping with your heels (and this surely would have been exaggerated once your horse started to run). So instead of your body communicating slow/whoa, what your horse hears is “Fly, my steed! Fly like the wind!” :lol:

It’s helpful to think about center of gravity and how it affects your balance. You want your CoG as close as possible to the horse. When you grip at the knee, you “eliminate” any base below the knee. This raises your center of gravity to well above the saddle, which in turn significantly impairs your ability to stay with the horse’s motion (which leads to even more gripping). When you can let your legs drape around the horse’s barrel, as if they were a pair of soaking-wet jeans, you lower your center of gravity much closer to the saddle. Balance dramatically improves, you will feel it’s easier to just stick with the horse, AND you can influence the horse with your seat. AND you feel what the horse is doing better. It’s a dramatic improvement in every way.

Another good image to keep in mind is to lay a soda can on its side, and pinch it a slightly above its midpoint with thumb and forefinger. It takes a lot more pressure to succeed at lifting it up, if you can even do it at all, vs wrap those fingers all around it. Then you can keep the can close to you with minimal pressure.

Good luck and glad you weren’t hurt!

[FerretMan]

Well I want to give my trainer a bit of credit. We’ve definitely been working on many of the things mentioned here. I’m going to be moving across the country after Christmas, so I’m going to have to find a new barn anyway.

About the “spook and scoot” vs bolt thing, I’m really not sure. I did ask for a canter (my trainer has been letting me canter for just a few laps at the end of the lesson–this is my favorite part so I may have been a little over-excited myself). I was expecting him to move a bit, but the speed was so much faster than I expected or even realized he could go and his back end was kind of moving left to right in a different way from usual. He didn’t respond to my reins at all pulling him back and started speeding up…but it was only a short moment later that I jumped off, after galloping barely a quarter of the way down the arena. He turned back and stopped on his own a few seconds later.

He does have more natural stop than go as somebody here put it. I have to work the whole time to keep him moving, but he’s also pretty fast at the trot and canter when he does move (compared to the other horses). As I’ve ridden him he’s become more and more responsive to what I’m asking. The first time I tried to canter he wouldn’t go, just picked up a faster and faster trot. My trainer said he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to or not with me on him.

Now I have to add one more detail here about the spooking I’ve neglected to mention so far, and that is that whenever he spooks it is always in one specific part of the arena, the farthest corner/edge away from the barns. When he isn’t spooking he’s always trying to get away from that spot. I can take him happily along the rail on one side with no effort at all, but on the other side with a leg on him and contact on the reins it is all I can do to keep him ‘sort of’ towards the rail side of the dirt. This gets worse and worse the longer the lesson goes. He always goes faster after we pass the corner. When he spooks it is almost always away from this edge of the area or cantering forward a bit just after we pass the scary corner. If there are other horses around he does better, a little calmer but still on edge. I haven’t been able so far to “keep him distracted” enough to completely overcome the problem.

It kind of reminds me of how I felt about “the deep end of the pool” as a kid.

When he took off the other day we were at the opposite side of the arena where I’ve never had any spooking problems before.

[MMacallister]

That sounds more like you asked for the canter, then grabbed a hold with your legs (telling the horse to go faster) and when the steering went out you bailed. As for the normal “spook” spot, after you explained it a bit better I bet it is going away from the barn and the side the horse is happy to go down is toward the barn.
I know cantering is fun, but it sounds like you need to do some more work at the walk and trot or only canter on the line or maybe in a round pen. Cowboys don’t become cowboys in 4 months (or Olympic jumpers, eventers etc.) the learning curve is much longer than a lot of sports unless you are doing it every day.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

[QUOTE=PrimoAmor;7295946]
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.[/QUOTE]

^ I agree with this. If it’s possible to take a lesson at another barn for comparison purposes, you may learn something invaluable to the beginner rider: not everyone who teaches is competent. And incompetency can really slow your progress. And get you hurt.

[Gloria]

For someone so new to the sport, you certainly show a lot of good sense in the right direction, FerretMan. Ideally a new rider should be mounted on a steady horse - one who has some go and tons of whoa, knows three gaits, and basically don’t know anything else. It should definitely not bolt, or shy, or evade a corner. Horses that do these things are dangerous, especially for a beginner.

However, from your posts, I’m not convinced that this horse is really doing these things, or your trainer is incompetent. I think what you have is a horse that is a bit too sensitive, and it has learnt to take advantage of a new rider. I think what might have happened is, you asked for canter, was surprised by how much movement there was, got tights (very very common and natural), and the horse responded accordingly.

For most tall riders, especially ones with tall torsos, a wider horse offers more security than a narrow horse. From this perspective, this draft cross is probably suitable for you.

With that said, I think something needs to be changed, or you will get seriously hurt. I’m not suggesting you to “get a different horse” or “get a different trainer”. This horse might be suitable for you with some minor changes. I would suggest you to do some canter on the lunge on this horse. That way, you can get a feel of what a canter should feel like without worrying about your steering. When you are released from lunge line, canter on this side of arena so you get a feel of it without worrying about him evading the far corner. Once you are comfortable, you can tackle the other issue.

You are athletic. Many factors are in your favor. You just need a bit time to get the right feeling. Trotting over pole on two points will also help you develop that much needed muscle memory that are lacking in any other sports. .

[regalace]

What you’re describing is pretty typical for a lot of horses, though not what I’d look for in a beginner’s school horse. You sound, with this added description, like you actually have a pretty good handle on what’s happening. Just some other thoughts:

1. A good beginner school horse should not be doing anything resembling bolting, spooking, scooting, or avoiding one end of the arena. Typical school-horse moves include going somewhat faster toward the gate and slower away, cutting corners or drifting toward the center of the arena, or wanting to follow too closely to a fellow school horse.
2. You probably could have ridden it out if you’d been prepared for what happened, but this isn’t good for your riding. If you don’t first gain a secure seat, you’re trying to “ride out” stuff from a point of less than optimal security, which eventually becomes a problem. Plus, if you haven’t developed an awareness of what your seat is doing, you’re going to be counteracting yourself inadvertently.
3. Because you’re learning to ride English instead of western, your learning curve will generally be steeper because, first, the saddles are designed more for flexibility than stability, and second, because most English horses have much more impulsion in their gaits, which makes them feel bigger, faster, and harder to ride.
4. The thing about the horse getting more responsive each time? Probably it’s you getting more educated about your cues and more confident in them.
5. I’m guessing your instructor is female. You might find that some instructors haven’t worked with bunches of male riders and don’t know how to teach to a particular body type. Lots of instructors don’t really address the human physiology of riding anyway, and guys tend to have a different set of challenges in learning to balance.

It sounds like you’re doing well even with a less than ideal horse to ride! Keep having fun!

[ReveilleandRinsie]

You clearly have a good understanding of who you are and what you’re looking for – and it seems like you might not so much have the wrong teacher or the wrong horse, but more that you have the wrong program. The sort of up-down lessons that would bore an adult at the trot are fine for kids, but an adult with developed brain and athletic skills and an idea of what he wants to do needs a different sort of program. The suggestion of a dressage barn with experience teaching adult beginners is a great one, or if there’s an eventing barn where you’re going, that might be a good choice. Speaking of which …

If you’re moving across the country soon, now’s a good time to start scouting programs in the place you’re going. CoTH is a good place to get that kind of recommendation for a lesson program for a motivated, very beginner adult who’d like to (maybe? yes yes? :D) do a little three-day eventing in the future.

I’d agree that you’re not too big at all to ride that horse; you could ride any number of horses at your height and weight. A fit horse or even a pony could carry you with no problem; a guy at my eventing barn is about 6’2 and rides a 14 hand pony. He’s not heavy, but those stirrups are pretty long!

Anyway, welcome, and we’re glad to have you on CoTH and in the riding community!! Ride on!

[Justa_Bob]

When you move, you can request recommendations on COTH for barns in your new locale. If you are interested in H/J; eventing, dressage, western - post on those forums. If you don’t care so much, posting on Off Course will work best. You can always try a lesson at the different barns to give you an idea of the trainer, horse and general barn vibe. Pick a barn with a trainer you like AND a big, well-trained school horse.

Good luck.