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Angrymog posted:I think you'll agree that that was all a bit Can I give advice? I don't get to give advice very often, so I'm going to give advice! The clear round video looks fine, to be honest. That's a really awkward height for any horse to jump, because as you said, the fences look too small to be interesting or engaging to the horse, and yet they still require you as a rider to really nail everything, in order to try and get around perfectly. Although Tinker isn't working against you in any way, if he doesn't look around and think 'This is serious jumping time!', then you can't get that complete package of horse and rider trying for the same objective ^^; quote:- Didn't really warm up Tinker and I took him out first; I should have given him a trot and canter around before I jumped, but the fences on that round were little so I thought we'd be okay Warming up is really important. It lets you show the horse around and explain to him what's happening, but also lets you set the tone of the ride. Think back and remember a time when you've been riding with your instructor, and mid-way through a lesson, you nail a jump or a series of jumps that feels really good, then after a lap of the school or a little break, you confidently go and jump another jump. If you have that sort of memory, then bottle it, because it'll be really, really important in jumping! That moment is what you want to be re-creating, every time you ride off towards the first jump in a competition. You want to remember the quiet confidence, and draw on the reassurance that you've just nailed a really nice jump, and you're going to do it again. You want the same balance, the same breathing, the same foot position and the same little buzz of excitement that you had when you were going around the school to jump the second set, and if you can tap into that, then Tinker will also pick up on all of those little things. When you walk into the school, or onto the jumping course, the clock will never start until you signal to the judge, and approach the first jump. You have a minute or two to ride around the school and warm up the horse. A lot of people (especially new riders) panic, because the riders before them didn't make full use of this time, and they think there's some sort of etiquette to get on with the jumping, so that the people behind them can have a go. If you walk into the school already waving your bottled memory around in the air, and the horse understands exactly what's about to happen, then by all means, make it short and get on with it before any sort of nerves start to kick in, but if you don't feel 100% confident, then feel free to spend a minute or two riding some simple, familiar exercises, to get your confidence up. Those exercises certainly won't make you feel any worse, and since Showjumping is 50% a mental exercise, you should absolutely take full advantage of any time you have to compose yourself, and get both you and Tinker in the right frame of mind for what you're about to do. As I said, the ride itself looks fine in the video. You have good posture, your jump seat is solid, and you give him leg at the right time. I think he sometimes chooses when to jump, instead of jumping straight off the leg signal? On the run out at the second part of #4, do you think you could have kept him straight if you were holding the stick in your left hand? The first 5 jumps are all on the left rein, so I would have started with it there. I think you guys will do well together. Don't ever feel embarrassed about the awesome thing you did on a horse being less awesome than you expected it to be!
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May 29, 2015 02:14
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:29 |
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Angrymog posted:Here's more of the ever so floofy-footed Tnker, this time in warm up before the lesson starts for real. Your transitions are great, and your corners are really consistent. I wouldn't worry about what your canter seat looks like, because it just looks like it might take that much kinetic energy on your part to keep him in canter? You can afford to look a little silly, because the horse looks great in both gaits, and you're making him look great! You're also brave enough to post a video of yourself riding for the internet to critique, which makes you a brave (and thus better) than any of us ^^;
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Jul 22, 2015 22:13
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I came to post pictures of my horse, but  this is now The Solstice Thread
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Jul 28, 2015 23:38
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Eddie's super handsome. What's he like to ride compared to Tinker?
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Aug 16, 2015 21:41
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I rode for the first time today after two months of being in and out of hospital, and holy crap, it's hard to give / avoid giving leg aids, when your legs have been left to turn to jelly :{
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Sep 1, 2015 19:25
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Angrymog posted:It was nice to ride him again, but the lesson wasn't much fun really. My usual instructor was ill, and this was a suprise technical lesson about making the horse move in an outline - making them hold their head and move more like dressage horses. It's not fun, but it all comes together in the end, right? ^^; I see lots of people buying all kinds of scary-looking bits, or gimmicky products that clip onto the bridle, to try and keep the horse's head down, when the only real problem they have is that they've just never been taught how to ride with light hands, while containing the horse's energy underneath them. The fact that they mix this stuff in with the jumping is probably a sign of a good riding school. In fact, if they have horses that can move in a proper outline, that's probably an even better indicator 
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Sep 19, 2015 13:15
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Angrymog posted:It did a bit, but I'm bad at learning physical stuff, so it's the sort of thing that I'd need to do a lot to get down pat. Almost all lesson was at trot and without stirrups which was an additional challenge. I think it's the sort of thing I'd like to book a solo lesson to try and learn properly. I find group lessons are actually better for picking up that sort of stuff. In a solo lesson, you're constantly under instruction, and focusing on performing something specific, wheras a group lesson gives you a fair bit of breathing space when the attention isn't on you anymore, and you can just chill out... Or work really loving hard on your fundamentals! I find that if I just jump on a horse and all eyes are on me, I start to alternate between focusing on all of the little things : Proper seat? Rein tension? Heels down? Neck straight? Consistent Strides? Which leg is currently raised? When I'm under pressure like that I'll start to second-guess things like my diagonals, which I should trust myself enough get right the first time, and instead of multi-tasking, my brain will just flip through these things one by one, causing me to focus on something, and then immediately neglect it, as I focus my full attention to checking something else. In an average group lesson in the UK, there's a good degree of downtime, where someone else is performing a manoeuvre, nobody's looking at me, and I can take the time to compose myself, and work on my fundamentals for a lap or two of the school. I just turn everything off, close my eyes, and start to feel the footfalls, or go into sitting trot, and straighten up my seat. I find that when it's then time for me to take the lead, or perform a manoeuvre, I can turn everything else back on, and ride with a lot more confidence and composure. I think of a group lesson as half an hour of being mentored by the instructor, and half an hour extra to just ride around in a rectangle, and practice something fundamental the instructor has indicated I should be improving. I much prefer that to an intense half-hour lesson, where I'm constantly under pressure to improve my faults as quickly as possible.
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Sep 19, 2015 15:26
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Have anyone ever ridden in a US-style lesson? They're um.. terrifying :{
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Sep 19, 2015 15:37
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teenytinymouse posted:Think of having big weights attached to your heels and put a hand on the saddle when you need to and keep yourself stuck on the saddle, it's not fun for anybody if you're bouncing the whole time. Hello, fellow 'Huge Imaginary Weights' user! Our instructor used to pull out £20 notes, put them in the seat of the saddle, and wager that we couldn't keep the money sitting there, while performing an ever-more-ellaborate set of manoeuvres. I've never seen anyone win the money :{ quote:What are US style lessons like? The only one I've ever been in was English Riding, but also kind of like circuit training. Everyone was assigned a corner, half or route around the school, and had 20 minutes to ride around and work on a specific fault or manoeuvre, by repeating it over and over again. The instructor was on horseback, and rode around the school observing the riders and pointing out faults, while her understudies all watched from the gallery.
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Sep 19, 2015 15:53
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Angrymog posted:Going to do shopping for my trip tomorrow. I swear by these, and I'm slowly converting everyone who hacks out with me to do the same :  Wear it around your neck to be snuggly and warm. If it starts raining, you can pull the front up over your nose without taking your hat off, to keep your face dry, or keep sand out of your eyes. If anyone happens to fall off and cut themselves on a tree / stone / barbed wire, it can wrap around pretty tight do stop the bleeding, and won't slip off. They're called Buffs, and you can get them from any outdoor / camping shops, and most sports shops. I think Poundland sell knock-off ones that I've bought before because I liked the designs, but they're nowhere near as warm when it drops below zero in the winter :{
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Oct 2, 2015 15:41
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Nondevor posted:The next time though, when I went after the other people in the group, he kept speeding up while I was trying to find my diagonal. So it was a combination of a) not being used to a horse that did that b) had my stirrups a little too high... c) trying to find the right posting rhythm while simultaneously slowing him down. Welcome to horses! Did he just sort of stumble over the beam, or did you get a free jump? I'm sure your riding instructor gave you a better analysis of what went wrong, but it sounds to me like he just wanted to catch up with his friends, and anticipating Dusty doing something like that isn't exactly the first thing on your mind, when you're trying to focus on your timing, and at least three other things, to get into the right groove to rising trot? quote:Falling off is something you also have to practise In all the time I've been riding, I've never been taught to fall, because riding schools over here all have stipulations in their insurance policies that prevent it. I've asked a few, because I have a really messed up back, and I'm scared of wearing a Body Protector, but they're all "NOPE!". I might just go to a judo class or something ^^; Angrymog posted:Also, only three more days until I fly out on my holiday! This is just a guess, but are you going to a very cold country, to ride the greatest breed of horse in the world?
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Oct 7, 2015 04:11
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Nondevor posted:Results are in from my x-Ray, and unfortunately I broke my middle finger. Oh poo poo, um.. welcome to horses :{
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Oct 7, 2015 05:21
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teenytinymouse posted:Why would the body protector hurt your back? I never rode without one tbh and my back is the one bit of me I never really hurt (except the time I mentioned above when I landed on a pole) I have Spina Bifida, so they're not just painful to wear, but potentially a lot more dangerous than just falling normally, and taking a blow on the point of impact. I own one because British Eventing require one to be worn when jumping over fixed jumps, and don't make any exceptions for disabled riders, but it completely messes with my riding when I wear it  If I was a normal rider, I'd probably wrap one over the top of another one, and ride in them both.
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Oct 7, 2015 10:41
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Angrymog posted:Have survived desert. Have terrifying horse videos to share once I am back home. You know the rules of the thread. Don't you dare come back without pictures of pretty poinies.
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Oct 17, 2015 22:16
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Glad you enjoyed. Are you sick of riding walk and trot yet? What happened to both people and horses when the sun went down, and you were done travelling for the day?
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Oct 20, 2015 21:18
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Angrymog posted:I don't know what to do about my loan. I'd get out now, before you become sentimentally attached to Ed, and it gets harder to leave. There are hundreds of thousands of horses to choose from, and you can mould most of them into your 'dream horse', but you can't change the yard into something it isn't. If isn't a) Somewhere you feel completely comfortable, full of cool people who can help you get more out of your horse. AND b) Already set up with a school big enough for you, with all the equipment you need, close to good hacking spots. Then I'd definately take a step back, and look for other horses, who are tied to yards you'd rather ride at. I've seen so many people end up paying to loan at terrible yards, because they think 'Oh, this will be good enough. At least I can ride a horse every day!", and then both horse and rider just sort of trudge through a daily routine, without realising how much more fun and productive every day of riding would be, if they were in a better enviroment, with [literally any horse].
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Nov 12, 2015 18:56
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Angrymog posted:Had a good lesson on Tinker today. Instructor talked us through the basics of turning on the forehand, and then we did a little bit of jumping - put him over a triple jump with no stumbles or crashing through. By 'triple jump', do you mean a Combination or a Bounce? The Bounce is my nemesis, and a constant reminder that my back is hosed :{ I'm sure it's really bad for your state of mind to actually think about which jumps you hate more than others, but : Cross > Vertical > Oxer > Joker > Bounce
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Nov 27, 2015 22:11
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Third vote here for 'hes in pain' ciukd you get a video of him in every gait, and both collected and extended trot? A physiotherapist should be able to take a quick look at that and tell you if you can consider or rule out joint pain, and it could be as simple as getting him a massage.
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Dec 6, 2015 20:39
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Has anyone had experiences with their riding regressing? I recently spent a few days in hospital and a few days recovering, and now my riding has absolutely gone to poo poo. I have muscle wasting in my left leg, which I've always adapted my riding around, but now it's suddenly gone from 'I have to squeeze harder on one side' to not being able to move a horse forward with squeezing at all, and not being able to give the canter aide. It's loving terrifying to sit on a horse, and not having any control, even though you know exactly what to do :{ Has anyone had any similar experiences, or riding set-backs? I've contacted my original riding instructor, and asked her to include me in one of her walk-trot group lessons, to see if she thinks it's a simple set-back, or if I'm going to have to start riding again from scratch, using artificial aids.
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Mar 6, 2016 22:00
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I'm currently laid up with a blood disorder, so I haven't ridden in months. The last time I did ride I actually managed to get into a really loving stupid accident that led to me concussing myself by landing on my own helmet. Since then, I've developed nerve damage in my leg, so it's going to be a long, expensive journey back to being able to ride at a competent level again. I don't know if anyone's interested in reading about that ^^; Angrymog posted:Now back on Tinker and occasionally Murphy (not the Murphy in my last post - the website forms were too geated towards full loaner and i had no idea how to answer). Are you still near Kent? Before I fell ill, I was going to make a trip down to England to visit a school a friend is teaching at, and apparently lessons in most parts of England run close to £45 for an hour with a non-BHSI instructor?
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Dec 8, 2016 18:21
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dandybrush posted:Sorry to hear you're unwell Tyma, I hope your road to recovery is smooth. I'd be interested to hear how things go for you. I used to be based in Buckinghamshire, where there is a lot of para and RDA stuff going on, it might be worth getting in touch with some coaches involved with para dressage or RDA groups near you to see if they can help recommend something. Hi! Let's talk about how awesome the RDA are! I originally planned to ride through the RDA, because I was born with a messed up spine, and one messed up leg. When I got to the riding centre that the RDA used for sessions, I ended up getting assessed by, and then taught by the daughter of the owner, because I guess she thought my body was interesting, and wanted to figure out how she could make it ride a horse (Now I've known her for 15 years, this is absolutely the reason she would have done it). She later told me that the RDA support in our area wasn't great, and that I probably wouldn't have had much fun, if I'd learnt to ride through the local RDA system. The one thing I did learn, though, is that with the right teacher, anyone can go far in equine sports. I'm incredibly proud of what I've managed to do, and I'm still absolute trash compared to anyone who has actualy Para-equestrian funding behind them. Although I'm eligible to compete in disabled competition, I always compete in able-bodied, because the level of talent amongst funded riders is absolutely insane. Anyway, a few years ago, I somehow ended up in Scotland, with a horse on part-livery at this little place : http://www.muirfieldridingtherapy.org.uk/ This place is the RDA idea pushed to the absolute extreme. They were one of the early National Lottery funded charities, and built an indoor school full of pulleys and levers to help completely immobile people onto horses. In the summer I was most horsey-active, I watched a boy with cerebral palsy learn to walk - from scratch. They hooked him into a harness from the ceiling, and sat him over a little icelandic pony, as it walked around in circles, and I guess over the course of a few months, he started to understand the motion of walking, by mimicking the horse. I wish I could have taken lessons with them while I was there, but they had a 2 year waiting list, and I was at the absolute peak of my riding, so the best I could do was enter the able-bodied classes for all of their fund-raising shows, trounce anyone who dared to enter Mountain And Moorland, and donate all of my winnings back to the centre. I still donate any cash I win from shows to them via paypal, because I know that place would have changed my life, if I hadn't been lucky enough to live near my initial riding instructor. Anyway, I habe no idea about the prices in Scotland, but here in South Wales, the going rate for a lesson with a BHS-I or BHS-II is always under £25, with or without horse hire. The only time I've ever seen it go over £30 is if the lesson is behind closed doors, or the instructor is currently some sort of Celebrity, and the lesson includes an signed photograph at the end. I guess riding is a more common and competitive business in rural Wales than it is in England? Was this the picture? It only let me see it once you friended me on Twitter ^^; 
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Dec 8, 2016 20:13
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Thanks for the kind words. I'm already feeling better with booster injections, and I'm really just waiting until I'm in a state where I know I can ride every week, before I try to work my way back up. I'm actually torn between going back to my original instructor, or asking the RDA if they can help me get back on my feet. Untortunately, the horse I'd been riding for the past 2 years recently got sold by her owner, and replaced with something incredibly fleighty, that I could barely ride even if I was back to 100%, so I'll have to get back in the saddle via riding lessons, local charities, or outright horse theft. Just checked, and my local prices are : Dinefwr (BHS-I) £20 / hour Clyne (No BHS affiliation) £13 / hour
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Dec 8, 2016 20:27
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dandybrush posted:How is everyone else's riding/horses going? I got released from physical rehab with a doctors' "ok" to start riding again. He suggested I limit physical activity to 1/8th of what I instinctively want to do. I don't know what that means in horse riding terms (Jump 0'3" fences?), so I'm going to get in touch with some RDA groups, and see if they'll let me plod around in walk, and do some gentle stretches for the first few rides. I'm a *little* bit worried that it's going to be painful to trot, or go into light seat, with the damage on my right leg, but since I'm going to have to work my way back up gently from nothing, it doesn't really matter if I have to learn to adapt to my disability at the same time. In fact, now that I'm writing this, it might actually be a good opportunity to learn something completely new, like riding with bridged reins, or Romal style reins.. I don't think either of those would actually be useful in in the future, though? Any suggestions? The plan right now is to take things very easy for 3 months, and then if I've healed enough, start hospital physiotherapy around March.
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Dec 18, 2016 00:48
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They grow moustaches for the same reasons dogs grow whiskers. It's a much more prevalent in breeds that come from countries with long winter days. Most horses just grow whiskers to help them improve spatial awareness, and feel around grassy areas with their mouths, but breeds developed in countries where foraging is more difficult sometimes go one step further, and grow the horsey 'tache to help them forage just as well in darkness as in daylight.
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Mar 13, 2017 02:51
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:29 |
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One of my friends bought a Connemara, and we both instantly became engulfed in the crazy world of Show Ponies. He's a total sweetheart, and tries his hardest to do everything that's asked of him, but he seems to run out of steam after a few strides of canter, drops all of his impulsion, and doesn't pick it back up. I'm still too sick to work with him, but he seems to carry himself from the front as much as he can, and can only carry himself from the rear if the rider is determined to create an insane amount of energy, and can use it to will him forward. He seems like the kind of horse I'd love to ride, and not being well enough is a tiny bit frustrating. He's consistently placing 1st in-hand at shows, and 2nd/3rd in ridden classes. He looks incredible from the front, and ridden in an outline. The moment he loses impulsion, though, it all falls apart. How do people go about figuring out a show-piece that covers up his faults, and doesn't ever let the judge see the rear-end of the horse? The owner is talented enough to take him into the upper-level classes of Mountain & Moorland, and asked if I'd like to enter in the lower classes that she's graduated out of, so I guess I have a few weeks to get my poo poo together, and figure out a show-piece that I can do on grass. (I hate riding on grass). Also, I apparently have to buy the "proper attire" fore Mountain & Moorland, most of which looks like Steampunk cosplay items?
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May 16, 2017 19:07
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