Hi, I have been reading this forum for some time and really appreciate all the kind members who post on here. It has been really helpful and encouraging. I had a bad experience which has really shook my confidence and I decided to create an account and post about it. I hope someone can help me to understand why it went so badly.
My background is I used to ride as a child and teenager but have just this year started again, age 29, after a lot of years not riding at all. I have had some health issues to overcome, some still ongoing, so returning has been a big deal for me. My partner has also started riding and he is enjoying it. We have been taking private lessons together but we have been wondering about getting a horse to share and ride in between lessons. I was looking up some for sale online and came across a yard fairly near me which sells horses. It had lots of great reviews so I thought maybe they would be a good place to go to find the a horse. I rang up and they told me to come up.
When we got there it was actually quite a run down place with what looked like derelict buildings. Only three people were there who own and run the place I think. We were told that actually only one horse would be suitable, a little 14hh cob. I said a few times I thought he was a bit small for us, me being tall and curvy. They insisted he'd be fine and said he was perfect, quiet, kids can ride him, does everything but great for even beginners to ride.
So I said I would try riding him, which is where the nightmare began. Whilst I've been getting on from the ground ok in lessons (on a 15.2 horse), on him the stirrup leathers were really short and couldn't be dropped very low. I asked to use the mounting block and they said I could but gave me strange looks. He wouldn't walk straight when led, which meant there was a big gap between him and the mounting block. He didn't want to stand still. I managed but when I got on I fell forward over his neck a little. He then would not settle. He started shifting and moving, it felt like he didn't want me on him and I thought he was going to buck. I very nearly got off. They mentioned something about it not being his normal saddle. When I picked up the reins he hated it and started backing up, the only way to stop him was to pretty much have no contact on the reins. They started shouting at me to kick him on and steer him, which was hard because I couldn't have much contact on the reins. He still didn't want to walk straight. After walking for a while which just felt weird, I didn't feel like I had control or felt safe, she told me to try trotting him, which was really bad because my stirrups were far too short. She impatiently said well we'll adjust them then and put them to the bottom hole, but she told me to pull the leathers down for her because if she pulled them down he didn't like her pulling?? On the very bottom hole they didn't lie flat, but it was an ok length. I rode him a bit longer but I didn't feel safe and told her it didn't feel right. I got off, he rubbed/itched his face on me pushing me a little and I tried to lead him, which was also a struggle, he didn't want to walk straight or nicely with me.
She told one of the other two women there to ride him, who they said was the one who normally rode him. He did the face rub/push thing to her before she got on. She got on him and he seemed better with her riding but she had a schooling whip and she was whipping him every second or two, I could hear the snapping constantly. I commented on it and the woman said she hates people who kick and tells people to "tickle" them instead with the whip.
Finally, my partner tried a short walk on him. They told him to not use the reins, to keep his hands still on the pommel, to not pull at all and to kick him on. They told him to look left to get him to turn left, not to use his hands. He said it felt strange and not like we're being taught to ride.
We left, trying to be polite. After we drove away I broke down in tears. They had looked at me like I was the worst rider ever, like I had failed to ride the easiest horse ever and I could just see their judgement. They were probably ridiculing me after we left. I was completely honest with them about our riding experience, I told them I had just started riding again after not riding for years and that my partner was new to riding. They knew our situation, I told them on the phone and when we got there.
The thing is I have felt confident in lessons. The horse I have been riding has felt good and I have been walking, trotting, cantering, trotting over poles, around cones and in circles. Everything has been going well. I have felt comfortable, apart from getting achey and a bit out of breath from all the trotting, which I think is normal, especially given my health situation. Riding this cob felt unsafe, uncomfortable and wrong. My partner said my riding looks fluid during lessons but didn't on this horse we went to see. My confidence has really been knocked and I don't know how I feel about going for my lesson this weekend.
A couple of other things. My partner said that when this cob was walking his back feet were catching his front. Also, I know he has been for sale for a while. He also didn't seem all that friendly despite them saying he was great.
Can anyone help me understand what happened and why it went so wrong? Thank you for reading.
My background is I used to ride as a child and teenager but have just this year started again, age 29, after a lot of years not riding at all. I have had some health issues to overcome, some still ongoing, so returning has been a big deal for me. My partner has also started riding and he is enjoying it. We have been taking private lessons together but we have been wondering about getting a horse to share and ride in between lessons. I was looking up some for sale online and came across a yard fairly near me which sells horses. It had lots of great reviews so I thought maybe they would be a good place to go to find the a horse. I rang up and they told me to come up.
When we got there it was actually quite a run down place with what looked like derelict buildings. Only three people were there who own and run the place I think. We were told that actually only one horse would be suitable, a little 14hh cob. I said a few times I thought he was a bit small for us, me being tall and curvy. They insisted he'd be fine and said he was perfect, quiet, kids can ride him, does everything but great for even beginners to ride.
So I said I would try riding him, which is where the nightmare began. Whilst I've been getting on from the ground ok in lessons (on a 15.2 horse), on him the stirrup leathers were really short and couldn't be dropped very low. I asked to use the mounting block and they said I could but gave me strange looks. He wouldn't walk straight when led, which meant there was a big gap between him and the mounting block. He didn't want to stand still. I managed but when I got on I fell forward over his neck a little. He then would not settle. He started shifting and moving, it felt like he didn't want me on him and I thought he was going to buck. I very nearly got off. They mentioned something about it not being his normal saddle. When I picked up the reins he hated it and started backing up, the only way to stop him was to pretty much have no contact on the reins. They started shouting at me to kick him on and steer him, which was hard because I couldn't have much contact on the reins. He still didn't want to walk straight. After walking for a while which just felt weird, I didn't feel like I had control or felt safe, she told me to try trotting him, which was really bad because my stirrups were far too short. She impatiently said well we'll adjust them then and put them to the bottom hole, but she told me to pull the leathers down for her because if she pulled them down he didn't like her pulling?? On the very bottom hole they didn't lie flat, but it was an ok length. I rode him a bit longer but I didn't feel safe and told her it didn't feel right. I got off, he rubbed/itched his face on me pushing me a little and I tried to lead him, which was also a struggle, he didn't want to walk straight or nicely with me.
She told one of the other two women there to ride him, who they said was the one who normally rode him. He did the face rub/push thing to her before she got on. She got on him and he seemed better with her riding but she had a schooling whip and she was whipping him every second or two, I could hear the snapping constantly. I commented on it and the woman said she hates people who kick and tells people to "tickle" them instead with the whip.
Finally, my partner tried a short walk on him. They told him to not use the reins, to keep his hands still on the pommel, to not pull at all and to kick him on. They told him to look left to get him to turn left, not to use his hands. He said it felt strange and not like we're being taught to ride.
We left, trying to be polite. After we drove away I broke down in tears. They had looked at me like I was the worst rider ever, like I had failed to ride the easiest horse ever and I could just see their judgement. They were probably ridiculing me after we left. I was completely honest with them about our riding experience, I told them I had just started riding again after not riding for years and that my partner was new to riding. They knew our situation, I told them on the phone and when we got there.
The thing is I have felt confident in lessons. The horse I have been riding has felt good and I have been walking, trotting, cantering, trotting over poles, around cones and in circles. Everything has been going well. I have felt comfortable, apart from getting achey and a bit out of breath from all the trotting, which I think is normal, especially given my health situation. Riding this cob felt unsafe, uncomfortable and wrong. My partner said my riding looks fluid during lessons but didn't on this horse we went to see. My confidence has really been knocked and I don't know how I feel about going for my lesson this weekend.
A couple of other things. My partner said that when this cob was walking his back feet were catching his front. Also, I know he has been for sale for a while. He also didn't seem all that friendly despite them saying he was great.
Can anyone help me understand what happened and why it went so wrong? Thank you for reading.
