# Does anyone ever feel they are getting worse at riding?



## maggiestar (21 April 2013)

You know how sometimes you feel as if you're taking one step forward and two steps back? That! 
I was kicking myself today - I had thought my canter transitions were improving (even, dare I say it, sorted) but today's lesson was terrible. The trot was bouncy, my legs were all over the place, I was leaning forward etc... Sigh. I really feel as if I should have passed this stage by now as I've been riding on and off for years. At the moment I can only ride once a week at a riding school but hope to go up to twice a week soon. Just feel a bit downhearted as I'd made a real effort to concentrate on my position and get the horse listening but it all fell apart. Does anyone else get days like this?


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## Echo24 (21 April 2013)

Absolutely. I was loaning a welsh pony who I hacked out on my own, cantered on hacks and jumped on. So when I took on a new share I thought my riding was reasonable. How wrong was I! Said horse tanked off with me on several occasions and really played me up, despite the fact I used to be a confident and assertive rider with my last pony. 

I think we all get days when we feel we're making great progress and then have a rubbish lesson. I think it helps to have a change of direction, maybe go out for a hack next time? Then come back to it hopefully with a fresh mind.


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## maggiestar (21 April 2013)

charcoalfeathers said:



			Absolutely. I was loaning a welsh pony who I hacked out on my own, cantered on hacks and jumped on. So when I took on a new share I thought my riding was reasonable. How wrong was I! Said horse tanked off with me on several occasions and really played me up, despite the fact I used to be a confident and assertive rider with my last pony. 

I think we all get days when we feel we're making great progress and then have a rubbish lesson. I think it helps to have a change of direction, maybe go out for a hack next time? Then come back to it hopefully with a fresh mind.
		
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It sounds like you're a great rider, charcoalfeathers. It must be hard making that transition to  a new horse and to go out of your comfort zone but well done you for doing it!  
I like your hacking idea, it would help to have a change of scenery but sadly my school doesn't have anywhere to hack so we're confined to the school. Hopefully when I increase me riding lessons it'll get easier!


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## Dumbo (21 April 2013)

I feel like a rubbish rider on my horse! We hack mostly and I'm constantly trying to keep him on the verge, keep him off the other horse's back side etc.. I love riding him but I never really focus on my self.
I rode my friend's mare the other day and she was so responsive I felt like a fab rider! 
Hopefully going to have some lessons on my boy this summer though


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## TrasaM (21 April 2013)

No, you're not alone. Generally overall I know that I am improving; gradually  however I've had lessons where nothing has rhymed. Hands wrong legs wrong aaaagggghhhh . Then there are days when it all goes really well and I start to think I've cracked it but next lesson I'll be back to same old me
  I guess the progression path is not a straight line but in my case it probably resembles a cardiac readout from someone with arrhythmia.


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## maggiestar (21 April 2013)

Dumbo said:



			I feel like a rubbish rider on my horse! We hack mostly and I'm constantly trying to keep him on the verge, keep him off the other horse's back side etc.. I love riding him but I never really focus on my self.
I rode my friend's mare the other day and she was so responsive I felt like a fab rider! 
Hopefully going to have some lessons on my boy this summer though 

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Hee hee, I think that's the secret  Always ride the most responsive, cooperative horses - they always make us look good!


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## maggiestar (21 April 2013)

TrasaM said:



			No, you're not alone. Generally overall I know that I am improving; gradually  however I've had lessons where nothing has rhymed. Hands wrong legs wrong aaaagggghhhh . Then there are days when it all goes really well and I start to think I've cracked it but next lesson I'll be back to same old me
  I guess the progression path is not a straight line but in my case it probably resembles a cardiac readout from someone with arrhythmia. 

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Ha ha, you've got that right! It's definitely not a straight line. The weird thing is, my mind knows what to do but my body has other ideas...


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## Echo24 (22 April 2013)

maggiestar said:



			The weird thing is, my mind knows what to do but my body has other ideas...
		
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I think everyone does this - the countless times I've turned left with my instructor shouting at me to turn right!



maggiestar said:



			I like your hacking idea, it would help to have a change of scenery but sadly my school doesn't have anywhere to hack so we're confined to the school. Hopefully when I increase me riding lessons it'll get easier!
		
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Do you have a private lesson once a week? When I used to ride at a riding school, I would have one private lesson during the week and join a group lesson at the weekend. It gave me a chance to focus on what I needed to do, but during the group lesson could put that into practice without the pressure of having to get it perfect, while also learning to ride around other horses as well. It was also an eye opener to see how other people ride and pick up some hints and tips from other riders too


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## MissTyc (22 April 2013)

Constantly. 
Used to have a "perfect" position over fences, all balanced and comfy looking. Looking at my photos from yesterday I wonder what the hell happened. I look like I've never jumped before, let alone regularly for the last 30 years!


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## maggiestar (22 April 2013)

charcoalfeathers said:



			I think everyone does this - the countless times I've turned left with my instructor shouting at me to turn right!



Do you have a private lesson once a week? When I used to ride at a riding school, I would have one private lesson during the week and join a group lesson at the weekend. It gave me a chance to focus on what I needed to do, but during the group lesson could put that into practice without the pressure of having to get it perfect, while also learning to ride around other horses as well. It was also an eye opener to see how other people ride and pick up some hints and tips from other riders too 

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I used to have a private lesson on top of the weekly group lesson but then life got in the way and I had to drop it. As soon as summer is over I'll have more time so will definitely pick it up again because, as you say, it's ever so useful to have that one to one attention.


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## maggiestar (22 April 2013)

MissTyc said:



			Constantly. 
Used to have a "perfect" position over fences, all balanced and comfy looking. Looking at my photos from yesterday I wonder what the hell happened. I look like I've never jumped before, let alone regularly for the last 30 years!
		
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It's so frustrating isn't it, lol! I guess we all have bad days and the trick is to keep smiling. Horse riding does bring out the perfectionist in me though! )


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## sl114 (22 April 2013)

maggiestar said:



			You know how sometimes you feel as if you're taking one step forward and two steps back? That! 
I was kicking myself today - I had thought my canter transitions were improving (even, dare I say it, sorted) but today's lesson was terrible. The trot was bouncy, my legs were all over the place, I was leaning forward etc... Sigh. I really feel as if I should have passed this stage by now as I've been riding on and off for years. At the moment I can only ride once a week at a riding school but hope to go up to twice a week soon. Just feel a bit downhearted as I'd made a real effort to concentrate on my position and get the horse listening but it all fell apart. Does anyone else get days like this?
		
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Are you posting on my behalf? 

I had the exact same day on Saturday morning.  I was riding a school horse and had a great start to a jumping lesson, however half way through things started to go wrong.  Horse kept breaking canter, was difficult to make a transition from trot to canter and then used the other two horses in the school as an excuse to do something other than what i wanted him to.  

What did i learn...that there is always room for improvement and it did make me step back and focus on riding the boy on a flat lesson rather than using another horse for flat work.  I need to re learn how to deal with a very intelligent  old school horse, who knows every trick in the book to do as little work as possible.  My challenge, how to keep him going, focus on my position and DONT GET FRUSTRATED, because this tenses me up and then i put the tension on the horse, which tightens him up, causing his to be uncomfortable and then doesnt react properly.

I am also going for a hack on Saturday, which should clear my head.  I like the horses have been looking forward to getting out into the fields and into the fresh air.

Keep going and as always, look at where you may have been going wrong and improve.


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## Pippity (22 April 2013)

maggiestar said:



			I used to have a private lesson on top of the weekly group lesson but then life got in the way and I had to drop it. As soon as summer is over I'll have more time so will definitely pick it up again because, as you say, it's ever so useful to have that one to one attention. 

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I have to admit, I've always found group lessons pretty useless. Before I got other horses to ride, I'd occasionally have one on top of my private lesson, just to have more 'horse time' but I never really gained anything. I get far more from a half-hour private lesson than an hour-long group one.

As an added bonus, the group lessons made me feel as though my riding was going backwards, because I was comparing myself to the other people, rather than myself.


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## PleaseVenus (22 April 2013)

Yes  I finally felt like I was getting better and now I feel like I've gone backwards. It feels like I fall off way too much, just at the slightest spook yet when I was little I got called glue seat lol.


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## sl114 (22 April 2013)

PleaseVenus said:



			Yes  I finally felt like I was getting better and now I feel like I've gone backwards. It feels like I fall off way too much, just at the slightest spook yet when I was little I got called glue seat lol.
		
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Backwards like this?


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## cobalobM (22 April 2013)

i've recently changed yards and the other day I was in the school, thinking I was doing okay until a girl who looked a bit younger than me came in on her big grey sport horse type working in a perfect outline and had perfect position and doing lateral work all over the place, made me feel a bit rubbish!!!!


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## Pippity (22 April 2013)

sl114 said:



			Backwards like this?







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If I could stay on over a jump that big, I wouldn't care which way I was facing!


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## PleaseVenus (22 April 2013)

Haha  oh my!  I can only hope not. Though that looks much more graceful 

^ hehe, it's huge!


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## maggiestar (22 April 2013)

sl114 said:



			Backwards like this?







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Omg, that's brilliant, ha ha! 

Thanks everyone for all your lovely replies - it's good to be reminded that it's OK to have off days! Onwards and upwards as they say. (Hopefully not backwards!!)


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## Jasmine86 (30 April 2013)

I've "apparently" got much better over the past year according to various instructors, competition results and other liveries.  Been working on my position both on the flat and over fences, learning to jump proper courses, hold my horse together more etc. well cue lots of falling off! 

When my position was awful I never came off - well once in 4 years! i was once told by a very bhs instructor - my dear you never learnt to ride, you learnt to stay on. I'm not too sure what it is you're doing with your body and god only knows how but it seems effective but it's as subtle and refined as a brick. My reply - thank you  

Now in riding better and my confidence is better ive fallen off 4x this year but 2 of them involved 5 weeks out the saddle. 

Ok so previously I didn't like jumping fillers, uprights, spreads etc. and now I will do courses of 90-1.05 but I used to ride a dirty stopper who never got me off but now if they stop I fly!


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## Hallage74 (1 May 2013)

Jasmine86 said:



			I've "apparently" got much better over the past year according to various instructors, competition results and other liveries.  Been working on my position both on the flat and over fences, learning to jump proper courses, hold my horse together more etc. well cue lots of falling off! 

When my position was awful I never came off - well once in 4 years! i was once told by a very bhs instructor - my dear you never learnt to ride, you learnt to stay on. I'm not too sure what it is you're doing with your body and god only knows how but it seems effective but it's as subtle and refined as a brick. My reply - thank you  

Now in riding better and my confidence is better ive fallen off 4x this year but 2 of them involved 5 weeks out the saddle. 

Ok so previously I didn't like jumping fillers, uprights, spreads etc. and now I will do courses of 90-1.05 but I used to ride a dirty stopper who never got me off but now if they stop I fly!
		
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Had a very similar experience - I was quite proud of my ability to stay on !!!


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## TrasaM (1 May 2013)

Yesterday RI decided it was time I did some jumping as we've not done any for ages. Last time we tried I didn't have my jumping head on and whilst very funny was pretty awful. I mean I do know by now that I shouldn't be sitting bolt upright going over the jump whilst giggling like an idiot   
Anyhow yesterday went really well; bum back allowed with hands and bum straight back in the saddle on landing. yeeehhhhey  and survived a humungous buck from mr horse... Now if only I can guarantee that I can do same next time...uuuummm.. This riding business is complicated.


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## Penumbra (1 May 2013)

Hi, I often feel the way you do. I'm a uni student, and I've been riding on and off for years, but at the moment I just don't have the time to ride a lot except in the summer. This winter I've managed about a ride a week to keep me ticking over, and when I ride more in the Summer, by the end of it I am a much better rider- stronger in my legs and more assertive and just generally more confident, so I think the only solution is to ride as much as possible, and over time, you will get an improvement (although I agree it is not linear, and I was a better jumper as a young teenager than I am now). 

I do think once a week group lessons are probably not enough to improve quickly as by the end of the week, you have forgotten lots of things you learnt last time. 

However, in group lessons, you do get the benifit of watching others ride- you can see their mistakes and what works for them, and try and avoid them yourself. If I am struggling with an exercise, it really helps me to see someone else do it successfully!

When you have more time, perhaps treat yourself to a half hour lunge lesson, as this will help you focus on what you're doing wrong, not the horse, and is an excellent way to improve your possition.


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## Rhubarb (1 May 2013)

I restarted lesson this January after a 22 yr break. I've been having half hour weekly lessons and can totally identify with the OP.  One week its my hands, then the next legs, then seat, back to hands!! Today it was my canter.. I just couldnt sit as deep as I had the previous week. RI kept telling me to relax my thighs which is jolly hard when you are concentrating on a 20m circle and tryimg to keep your hands quieter. Finally got it by the end of the lesson. On the other hand I got the horse in a lovely outline and did some great trotting...something I couldnt do 4 months ago!

I recently did a week long intensive course with a dressage trainer. I had two lessons per day including plenty of lunging. I found it really useful and felt i had made real progress. Unfortuanately I didnt get to ride for two weeks after the course and felt I'd gone backwards.. But not as far as before the course!! More a case of three steps forward and one back!!


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## Hallage74 (1 May 2013)

Did you do the intensive course on your own horse ? I was considering something like that


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## Rhubarb (1 May 2013)

Hallage74 said:



			Did you do the intensive course on your own horse ? I was considering something like that
		
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No I dont own a horse yet! I rode one of the horses at livery on the trainer's yard.


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## Toffee44 (10 May 2013)

Not alone

Will hack anything but seem to have lost the ability to school.

I really need lessons but have no school and no transport to take me.& every one here is £40+

She had been working so well in an outline in walk and trot and then few days ok as if I had never worked her will ride again Monday hoping it was the wind etc.

 Three years in I don't know why I bother. In bad horsey place atm I think. Happily could sell everything!


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## Hallage74 (10 May 2013)

Don't do it!


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## wotnot (10 May 2013)

I have only been having lessons since August, but used to ride occasionally as a kid and spent summers as a teenager out hacking - but had never had lessons.  I just used to get on and go, but I find the riding school horses so difficult to get anything out of.  

I ride my friends ex-racer when i visit her, (she has retrained him incredibly well) and just have to touch him and he is listening and reacting and whatever i ask for from my theory he just does and he goes in a straight line / diagonal in whichever direction i ask.  I ride a couple of other non-riding school horses and struggle to get them to stay in a straight line, but easy to transition.
The riding school horses i just struggle to ride as im not confident using a whip and they simply dont respond to the leg.  

Riding school tomorrow, so i shall probably feel useless again after that!


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## maggiestar (10 May 2013)

wotnot said:



			I have only been having lessons since August, but used to ride occasionally as a kid and spent summers as a teenager out hacking - but had never had lessons.  I just used to get on and go, but I find the riding school horses so difficult to get anything out of.  

I ride my friends ex-racer when i visit her, (she has retrained him incredibly well) and just have to touch him and he is listening and reacting and whatever i ask for from my theory he just does and he goes in a straight line / diagonal in whichever direction i ask.  I ride a couple of other non-riding school horses and struggle to get them to stay in a straight line, but easy to transition.
The riding school horses i just struggle to ride as im not confident using a whip and they simply dont respond to the leg.  

Riding school tomorrow, so i shall probably feel useless again after that!
		
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I know exactly what you mean about some riding school horses not responding to the leg! My RI said the best thing to do is 'ask once, then if no response, then tell!' A quick tap is much better than constant nagging with the legs. If you're wary of tapping the horse, try lightly tapping your own thigh - the sudden movement sometimes gives the horse a bit more impetus


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## imaginegenerous (31 May 2013)

Quite often. I rode regularly in my teens, almost daily, then things have been sporadic since although was having weekly lessons about three years ago (time   and lack of money got in the way since). Even then I found once a week wasn't enough to see real improvement, the old muscles and mind forget things when there's a 7 day gap!


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## Nonyabusiness (8 June 2013)

maggiestar said:



			You know how sometimes you feel as if you're taking one step forward and two steps back? That! 
I was kicking myself today - I had thought my canter transitions were improving (even, dare I say it, sorted) but today's lesson was terrible. The trot was bouncy, my legs were all over the place, I was leaning forward etc... Sigh. I really feel as if I should have passed this stage by now as I've been riding on and off for years. At the moment I can only ride once a week at a riding school but hope to go up to twice a week soon. Just feel a bit downhearted as I'd made a real effort to concentrate on my position and get the horse listening but it all fell apart. Does anyone else get days like this?
		
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i feel the same..... one day i think great ive mastered my riding again the next its gone to pot again.... is it me or is it my horse.... its drives me mad.... keep being told it will come just keep at it.


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## sarahann1 (10 June 2013)

Frequently! I've been riding for 24yrs and I'm blessed with the coordination and reflexes of a hobbled cat. I persevere, mostly the good lessons outweigh the bad, and I try and keep a smile on my face.


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## Pinkvboots (10 June 2013)

Me too been riding for 35 years and I look worse now than ever, I used to do showing and dressage years ago then had a break just hacking and a bit of schooling, started showing again and I just forget how to ride in the ring, I feel like a complete idiot and I look like one, leaning forward looking down what has happened to me ! I feel like I am loosing the will as the more I worry the worse I seem to be.


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## Chichi (10 June 2013)

Ah Ah, I love this post and I can so identify with it...

I have never been a brilliant rider but I have the feeling I am getting worse by the day. I have had my horse 5 years and we are just going nowhere. Quite often I think I should just give up because really this is hopeless but then I remember how nice it is to go for a hack or just enjoy my horse... so I am not going to give up just yet, I am going to try and find a different instructor, a different method, ride different horses maybe as well and concentrate on what is going well rather than what is going wrong.

Pinkvboots, I think so too. The more you worry and you are self conscious of what you are doing wrong, the worse you get. 

Good luck all... we will hopefully get where we want to be eventually.


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## IAmCrazyForHorses (15 June 2013)

I know how you feel. I've been riding for two and a half years and I still can't canter properly. You think I'd be able to jump by now! Last lesson my first canter was brilliant but my second canter was awful. 
I've found that the more I think about my canter position the worst I am. But if I just canter and don't think I'm actually ok, if that makes sense.


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## TrasaM (15 June 2013)

IAmCrazyForHorses said:



			I know how you feel. I've been riding for two and a half years and I still can't canter properly. You think I'd be able to jump by now! Last lesson my first canter was brilliant but my second canter was awful. 
I've found that the more I think about my canter position the worst I am. But if I just canter and don't think I'm actually ok, if that makes sense.
		
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I'm the same  had a real breakthrough moment recently though. After my poor RI wearing her voice out for almost two years about sitting up properly...I though I was..doh! I sat correctly and magic, horse went beautifully and listened to my seat much more.  
I over think it too and it gets in the way if doing it correctly.


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