Vic
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Ted the Horse!!!!!
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Post by Vic on Dec 30, 2007 17:58:17 GMT 1
Right, i have deliberately left myself a few hours to think before writing this as i was quite upset earlier. Just come back from schooling my horse and i am very very stuck. I genuinely feel like i can't ride and i don't know how to work this out, i am scared i am going to ruin/am already ruining my horse.
I've ridden since i was very little and jumped BSJA thruogh my pony years to a reasonable level, however i was always taught about jumping, not so much about flatwork. I sit very incorrectly, lower leg too far forward, sitting too far back, when i was younger, i didn't care, i would work my ponies on the flat but in retrospect i suspect not too correctly. Having got Ted last year I've set about trying to bring him on, he is fizzy and gets excited but isn't dangerous at all, just can be a bit frustrating. I can take him anywhere, we hack out a lot and i trust him totally.
Trying to work him on the flat though, it is getting worse and worse now. I genuienly feel like i can't ride for toffee, i know i won't fall off because my balance is very good (i used to ride a lot of dealing ponies) but i can not sort my position out and i feel useless!! Over the summer i had started to feel like we were getting somewhere but again looking back i can that whilst he may have been quieter and his head carriage better i was still riding like a plank. We've now got to the stage where head carriage is all over the shop (he has a tendancy to go hollow), we bounce into canter at opportune moments (not scary, i can stop, just frustrating) and today i think we have begun a bit of napping to the gate in that he is coming back to a halt, when i ask him to go forward he is coming back up at me and threatening to rear. His back is fine, just been checked, teeth are also fine as is saddle, i know that all these problems are down to me and my awful riding.
What on earth do i do?? Does anyone know any good instructors in the Durham/Northumberland area?? I am a geek, i love reading all the classical stuff and in theory that is the direction i would like to begin to learn more in but its just so damned tricky on your own, plus i feel very isolated up here in terms of horse people on my level who i can discuss things with. I am beginning to loose confidence to get back on him, not scared of him, just don't want to mess him up anymore, its really upsetting me. Any constructive critisism/help welcome but please be gentle with me as i feel very upset and fragile, doesn't take much to shatter my confidence. I am so sick of feeling like i can't ride properly!!!
P.s. Anyone who has seen that i was making enquiries about bits etc. for hunting please rest assured that this plan has currently been well and truley shelved for now.
I'm not too sure any of this makes sense to mean what i want it to but words have never been my best thing and i feel quite upset
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Post by specialsparkle3 on Dec 30, 2007 18:16:06 GMT 1
SorryI don't know of anyone, I just wanted to give you a big hug. We all go through a self doubting faze and make ourselves worse, but if you were a successful jnr, SJ then you can't be that bad. I really hope you find someone, where are you exactly? J xxx
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Vicky&Beenie
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"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears..."
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Post by Vicky&Beenie on Dec 30, 2007 18:16:26 GMT 1
dont worry when your riding improves your horse will i dont know of any good instructors in that area you will have to rely on somebody else about that one. when i started riding i used to get somebody to video record me riding. i picked up on my faults and worked on them one by one. watching other riders helps aswell and keep reading. i too am a bit of a geek and do way too much reading lol if you pick on one fault (lets say your lowerleg) focus on that for a while untill it improves and you can move onto your next fault (im not saying you have loads of faults :s) it might also help if you ride i schoolmaster (thats only if ted isnt. if he is good then you can work on your riding on him by the way when you ride ted, when he does something well always reward him, (not by giving him a titbit dont be upset ((((((((hugs))))))))) xxxx p.s i have a penpa in durham i could ask her if she knows of any good instructors?
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bliss
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Post by bliss on Dec 30, 2007 18:20:01 GMT 1
((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))) You sound like you need them I can help much other than saying weve all felt as you do now Are there any dressage clinics around you, that you can go to? we have a few around here in cambs, so you can try out a few instructors and see who can help you / you get on with, the most
Jill
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Vic
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Ted the Horse!!!!!
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Post by Vic on Dec 30, 2007 18:27:20 GMT 1
I have videoed me riding and it was so depressing!!! I have been trying to focus on my lower leg but i don't really feel like i am getting anywhere, i don't know if what i am doing when i try to move it further back is right or not, i suppose i could video again and look back but really its hard as i need to know when i am doing it so i can work out what it feels like. Ted's not a schoolmaster at all but i don't have access to one currently so i have to make the best of it. Ted lives in Durham, i live in Newcastle (but i may move him at some stage to be a bit closer to me). I know that i am ok over a fence and stuff but i don't want to accept the limitations of what i am at the momement, i want to improve and as soon as i get on a horse at the moment i feel like i don't even deserve to be there. It doesn't help that i don't really have any horsey friends near me that i can bend their ear with about this problem, my OH tries, bless him but i am still teaching him on the leadrein how to ride and so i can't really have that great an in-depth schooling discussion with him yet!!! Just feel sad and alone and unsure
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Post by kpick on Dec 30, 2007 18:27:42 GMT 1
Don't worry about it. Almost forget about it and allow yourself and your horse to learn together. Sounds dumb, but it does actually work. Another good way to start is to get on with the aim of doing one small thing during your ride, if it be ride a circuit with your legs in the perfect position, so be it and don't let anyone else make you feel awful for wanting to better yourself. Once you've gone a circuit with your legs in a perfect position, call it a day. I know, it takes forever, and everyone, everyday, is learning something with horses, its the way it is and there is so much to learn, I envy the person who knows it all. What is perfect? Who knows. Nobody can be 100% in every way. I have big lapses in position alot of the time, but the way I look at it, Am I stable? Enough. Am I hurting the horse? No. Is my horse still giving his all to perform? Yes. Until those answers change, I don't plan on doing anything big to change what I'm doing. This summer, when It came to the point I decided I could help Inky more in his flatwork, I got help, and it really did help me and my dressage scores shot up. Until you feel your horse cannot perform any better because of you or any such reason other then it being a boundry, Don't worry about it.
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Post by seahorse on Dec 30, 2007 18:31:47 GMT 1
Its ok, this happens to everyone who rides, at some point in their riding life. If they say it does not then they are lieing!!!!! Take a step back, take a deep breath and try to calm down, easy for me to say but you must as the more you get upset the more your horse will. He knows how you feel and he cant understand, and there begins the circle, you get more upset and so does he and in the end you are both at your wits end. Get a friend to video you riding, ok it may not be nice, then stop riding him in the paddock, just hack for the time being. Contact the BHS and find a reg instructor in your area (wish you lived near me) explain, take video to show them and ask for a couple of lessons on a schoolmaster. But dont practice at home. A good instructor with a good horse will really help, when you are confident enough get then to start some lessons with your own horse, it wont come over night but things will get back to normal. If you lived near me this is the path we would follow. But untill you get help just hack and spoil your horse, get his confidence in you back and you are half way there. Good luck and tons and tons og (((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))) to you both.
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Post by Lisa in Plymouth on Dec 30, 2007 18:38:49 GMT 1
Echo the comments made above. I'm not a great rider and am really aware of my position now (and how poor it is) but I do wonder if I was better when I was younger or just oblivious to it all. I did so many stupid things and fell off alot but still had so much fun when I was younger. I hope you manage to find a good instructor soon. With regards to the napping by the gate try and finish/dismount in every other part of the arena until you get an instructor (sorry if you already do this) and always praise him then, not by the gate. best wishes
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Post by sarahfox on Dec 30, 2007 18:43:46 GMT 1
Dont worry so much vic! If you want to learn classical riding then Im afraid you will feel like this many more times!lol! Most people find its not worth the bother tbh,and although a good seat/feel/timely application of the aids does make things pleasanter for the horse,as long as you arent banging on his back or pulling him in the mouth Im sure he is perfectly happy with you! However if you do want to learn classical and are happy to spend many,many frustrated hours doing so,the rewards are huge,many lightbulb moments and moments of pure perfect joy and oneness with your horse along the long road. Good advice from turbotoby re the vids,very useful for position.As would be a course with Heather,I know its miles away but the problem is that truly good instructors are few and far between and you are far better off imo saving up and going on a short course once or twice a year with a very good instructor than having regular lessons with a mediocre one.Sue Neville Parker also runs courses in the midlands,at www.arrowtraining.comThe first things you need to master are your position,feel of the horses movement and flow.Then you will need to work on those forever( lol!) but also begin to learn how to feel what aids to use and when.Its a lifetimes work. Personally I would suggest that you book onto a course,write everything down and get it videoed when you go,read loads and watch vid of yourself in between and then go as often as you can,even if you can only go once a year you will have plenty to work on in between times. My fave books to start you off would be Erik Herbermanns Dressage formula,Alois Podhjaskys complete training of horse and rider,and I would think Heathers EE book would be good too,but I havent read that yet as its not in print till next year! Post some vid on here and I will make nasty remarks as usual if you like! Seriously though,dont feel bad for your horse,we all have to learn and we will all make many mistakes through our whole lives,but as long as those mistakes are made with the horses best interests in our heart,that is the best we can do.xx
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Post by horsey123 on Dec 30, 2007 18:56:29 GMT 1
dont be silly look in the yellow pages and look for riding insct`
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zack
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Post by zack on Dec 30, 2007 19:12:46 GMT 1
Hi Vic, I don't know you, and don't want to sound pushy, but I really want to say give yourself a break!
I am certain that you are a very competent rider, and one that is a thousand times more sensitive to the needs of their horse than many, and aspirations to improve are a great thing. What else is there to life than trying to make stuff better?! And the beauty/annoying thing about it, is that there is no way of knowing when you've got to the end of that journey, so you just keep on trying...(and heavens it's a long road) I would echo all of the advice of above, and there are many people here with more experience than me regarding classical riding and techniques. I would also invest in getting an instructor and/or going on a course. I have also found that NLP/CBT/Human Givens styles of short burst, confidence building, motivational work can be totally life changing, and improve ones riding tenfold. Sometimes our brains get into a 'wire and fire' mode of failure, and we all know the old adage of self fulfilling prophecy; think you're a cr*p rider and that's precisely where you'll end up! We tend to shape our lives to fit our internal dialogue, if you look for failure you'll pretty quickly find it. I am no psychologist or therapist, but have worked closely with proffessionals who are, and have found that a couple of sessions, which equip you with some tools to start to re-train your thinking, can be absolutely invaluable. There are actually people know specialising in motivational coaching for sports, many of whom focus on equestrian sports. Sorry if this sounds like aload of mumbo jumbo, and please feel free to ignore it all!
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Post by rhillahorse on Dec 30, 2007 19:25:14 GMT 1
Firstly, stop giving yourself such a hard time!
Echo sarahfox - look into Enlightened Equitation, I have the book and found it literally very enlightening! If you can't go on a course you could look into finding a local EE instructor.
Your leg position is possibly being hindered by a saddle with traditional GP forward set stirrup bars, so it isn't all your fault!
big ((((hugs))) aswell x
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Vic
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Ted the Horse!!!!!
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Post by Vic on Dec 30, 2007 19:28:20 GMT 1
Thank you all, nice to not feel quite so alone!! I've ordered my books and i think i will go and do one of Heather's courses, i kind of suspected i would end up doing one but was trying at all costs to avoid it because she lives in such a silly place (i.e ridiculously far from me!!!) With regard to the therapy CBT thing, i do not think you are talking mumbo jumbo as i already see a therapist, have been for about a year and suspect i will be for the foreseeable future!!! So it is a good idea!!! Having calmed down a bit i think my imediate plan is to hack out a bit and make sure me and Ted are still friends, then maybe try a little bit in the school and see where we get (maybe). I've digged up some videos from the summer, i'm putting them here against my better judgement!!! These are from the summer so Ted HAD improved a bit (although not so sure now) but my riding i think is still the same. Please try not to be too horrible, obviously i want critisism but constructive only, if you can't think of a constructive bit please don't post. And please bear in mind that i do have the best interests of my horse at heart and never ever want to hurt of upset him so if you feel that i am doing so by all means tell me but please try to be gentle, i am trying my best!!! Seriously, if anyone is horrible to me i think i will cry, a lot!!!! I love my horse Some stills
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jo
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Post by jo on Dec 30, 2007 19:45:19 GMT 1
best idea in the world that you treat yourself to some lessons with Heather, get onto one of her machines and feel what it's supposed to feel like (riding!) then maybe send your horse to a trainer who can get the horse's muscles in the correct places to carry you. then put the two together!
I think your horse is hollow, your position is defensive, taking away the stirrups may help you to ride your stumps instead of coming down heavily on your horse's back.
hey, you're about to start a new journey with your horse, HOW EXCITING for both you and him!!! Good Luck! Oh and are you sure the saddle fits him? His teeth are ok and there isn't discomfort in his back - well there prob is long standing because of the way he's being ridden but that would be expected. STOP, and start a different plan and you will get there. FAB that you recognise you want to change instead of the minions (millions) who don't even recognise their mistakes...
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Post by sarahfox on Dec 30, 2007 19:49:44 GMT 1
Well done for being brave vic!
Ok,imo your biggest problem is that you and you saddle are both too far back,your legs,as you say are too far forward,but Im certain this is not being helped by the saddle and the position of the saddle.What saddle is it?Was it fitted correctly? cant see with you on but if it is tipped down at the back this wouldnt help either. Whats actually happening is that you are out of balance with your bum so far back and your legs so far forward,this will mean you arent sitting as softly into the saddle as you should be,it also makes your hands unstable,both of these problems will be causing your horse to stiffen his back and hollow,hence the 'hard' movement and the high head.That in turn makes it even harder for you to be soft and balanced! What to do? If funds allow you could look at getting a saddle that would place you in a better position,although I know how dear the darned things are so dont even like suggesting it! Alternatively,make sure that the saddle is sitting level on ponios back,place it a little further back,it is restricting the shoulder at the minute(imo). Then,lots of work with no stirrups Im afraid! The problem you need to get over is that your stirrups are placing your legs too far forward,which means you need to work doubly hard to get them back,if you work really hard at it it should only take about a year!( no,Im not being nasty,thats how long it took me,and I have a darned vid from the other day on a new horse and somebody elses saddle with my blinkin legs forward!lol!) The no stirrup work is good for reminding your legs where they should be,it also helps to get the pelvis into a better postion where the legs are hanging freely rather than pushed forward from the hip. Once you have stretched your legs back and down with this you should be able to take your stirrups down a few holes for flat work too.Ideally you probably want them at least 3 holes lower,as it is your bum is being pushed off the back of the saddle,meaning that your rise is huge,coming from way too far back. The other thing that you could do,is to bring your heel back towards the horses hind legs as he steps through in walk,do this on a hack with every stride. Was that constructive?it wasnt meant to be nasty in any way but if I make you cry I will cheer you up with a vid of me being unbalanced too....
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