What went wrong - me, the horse or a bit of both?

Scarlett 001

Scarlett 001

New Member
Sep 16, 2003
4,323
0
0
Well, it has been ages since I posted in this section. My new instructor is so thorough in explanations that I never seem to have any questions to ask. But here is one that I do have...

Today was not the best lesson and I want to learn from what went wrong. Usually the horse I ride, Angel, is a perfect angel. Today when I was tacking up I could tell she was "off" - little things like swishing her tail more than usual, stamping her feet a bit, and it took about three attempts to finally get the bit in her mouth (I always get it first time). Out of character. Physically she seemed ok though.

We started the lesson and Angel was a bit slow, so for the first time I used a stick with her (my instructor prefers not to use sticks, but to work on our aids). I never actually used the whip - it being there was enough. At first I was getting some contact. But towards the end of the lesson she started sticking her nose out and forward and it was next to impossible to get contact. Then at one point in the trot I had zero contact and it upset me I guess, as I started to lean forward and lift my butt out of the saddle in response to my nerves - my instructor of course was trying to get me to sit back and relax. At this point I had zero contact and I was trying to get her to walk while in this tilted position :rolleyes: - and she just would not stop, which made me get anxious and tense up more :( I felt that I had no control of Angel - I know it was my fault as I was still leaning forward and not giving her the right signals to slow down. She kept motoring and it took me half the arena to finally get her out of trot. I hate the feeling of not having control of the horse.

Well, Angel was being used in another lesson after mine and she continued sticking her nose forward and the rider could get no contact. The instructor then checked her over thoroughly and found no problems - and then got on Angel and voila, she instantly framed up perfectly and looked like a dressage champion...

I want to understand these kinds of things better in case this should happen again. Perhaps she is in season and was just less tolerant of beginnerish riders doing annoying things? What might cause her to stick her neck out like that? Any ideas what might have been wrong tonight?
 
I think maybe she was just in a bad mood. Horses go through it sometimes, a lot of those times they just need someone who is experienced in dealing with that sort of thing to get on and tell them to knock it off.

learning to deal with that sort of thing will come in time, you'll learn when the horse really seems to be having a problem or when they are just testing you or don't want to perform. It can be really hard to pull a horse together if they are messing about like that.

Sorry about the crummy lesson though, it doesn't sound like it was much fun at all.
 
Horses have bad days, just as we humans do. It sounds like Angel was just kind of rough today, whatever the reason. Maybe she woke up with a kink in her neck this morning ;) You very perceptivel noticed, before you even got on, that something wasn't quite right today. Sounds like this caused her to not be as receptive to your aids as she has been in the past.

A horse having a rough day may still work well for the person who knows that horse the best. But even owners & horses who are usually in tune can have off days. (Which is to say, as badly as you felt it was going, it could possibly still be worse.)

I haven't noticed many horses having frequent bad days, unless there's something going on with the horse. So you may not run into this again with her :) or if you do it may be rare. If you notice a pattern, though, you could ask the instructor about it.
 
Okay, both of you have made me feel better! :) I suppose this "off" day made me more anxious than usual as my extra solo riding day (i.e., with no instructor present) on Angel begins in just over a week. Not a good time to lose faith in my riding abilities. Luckily there are a couple of lessons before then. What you said also made me realize it was not necessarily all my fault tonight.

Nerves will soon set in soon about another topic. My instructor thinks my seat is quite well balanced now and says I will be ready to begin cantering soon. I have had a pretty lousy time of cantering in the past - never managed to feel in control - so I feel a bit anxious. But between the work we have done on developing a more secure seat, the loads of sitting trot we have done, and the good instructor/horse I am working with, I am hoping that things will work out better in the canter for me this time...
 
Going back to your first question, about the lesson: you said you were tense, and leaning forward - that would make the horse tense, and therefore not want to stop. The leaning forward would have put your weight forward, which would have made her feel unbalanced, so she poked her nose out so she could balance....


As for her being transformed when the instructor got on, well the instructor was balanced, and relaxed - that's how they get to be instructors!

Try experiment with what happens when you relax, your thighs especially, and what happens when you lean forward and when you don't... The horse will always tell you, once you learn to listen. You'll get there.
 
Was she in heat? ;)

Believe it or not, just like humans, horses get "cramps" during estrus too. Since you said it all started from the very beginning, it sounds to me like a heat cycle.

She probably went different for your instructor than for the two students because of the instructor's balance. With two beginners/intermediate riders, your balance was affecting the way the saddle was pressuring on her back, and you might have been tapping onto something that was tender. Plus, the mare probably knows not to act up for the instructor, and the instructor's better balance preventing anything from getting accidentally bumped from weight being thrown around.

Taken it from me, I've ridden plenty of mares! In fact, I am a mare person, and with our broodmare we learned a TON from our vet about heat cycles and why some mares act up (some might NOT be just because they are 'cranky').

Don't be discouraged, though! Sounds like you are making wonderful progress!!! :):):) Cantering will be fine, just relax and trust your instructor.
 
Thanks for thoughts everyone.

LindaAd, the thing is I don't lean forward normally - at least not very much. My instructor really focuses on a dressage seat and if I ever tilt forward in my lesson she is right on it. I only started the leaning in response to the nose poking forward thing. So Angel poked forward first, I lost contact, then I leaned forward as I felt out of control with no contact and was anxious (I can't believe that at my first riding school I always rode with no contact - yikes! it feels awful now!). I am sure that my leaning did exacerbate the problem and I had no hope of maintaining contact or apparently to even get her to stop when asked. Maybe the nose thing is her response to an "off" day, or maybe something else I was doing.

Like you said about instructors, they are well balanced and I guess one should expect a nice response from the horse in that case. But my goodness! It really showed me what a beautiful horse Angel can be when ridden by an expert. It made me feel kind of bad for not giving Angel a chance to really show her stuff!
 
I agree with the mare thing - my mare has been in heat and was very cranky today. Luckily my friend was riding her in the lesson today and I got to ride my nice gelding (Mr Consistency). ...poor friend did not have fun (and she is an extremely experienced rider).

I am wondering how you lost contact when she pushed her nose forward - did you you let the reins slip through your fingers and get longer?

You need to keep your shoulders back and engage your abs so you can maintain your rein length and not get jerked forward by your horse. If she feels like she is going to pull forward,
use your inside leg and seat and push her forward. If she is engaged behind, it will be very difficult for her to go onto her forehand and poke her nose.
 
How was the weather when you rode? My horse is very sensitive to cold and rain and gets agitated and upset in miserable weather (come to think of it so do I ;)). It just seems like it's gotten unseasonably cool here fairly quickly and the horses haven't had a chance to adjust...I know I sure haven't.
 
Update - still confused

Okay, I had another lesson tonight. The first one since my not-so-good lesson on Friday.

Angel did not poke her nose out like last lesson, so things went somewhat better. But I could tell that she just was not all there for me. She was not as happy as she used to always be - her mood was still a bit off. She tripped a few times and seemed a bit on edge. I admit that I was a bit nervous today because of our previous bad lesson, and I had a stressful day at work today - could these things have exacerbated things and led to this lack of connection today? We had such a nice bond forming up until the last two lessons, and now I feel like maybe I am annoying her or something.

This has me a bit rattled, as I am starting the solo riding thing next week (no instructor) and my confidence has gone down. I had strong confidence in her and in the directions my riding was taking up until the last few lessons, and now I feel as if she is a bit more capable of taking off on me or ignoring me that I had thought before. Also her ears seemed a bit more backwards than normal - not flat back but not as neutral as they usually seem - sort of tipped backwards more than usual - what signal does this tell one about a horse's mood?

Maybe I am looking for reassurance here and someone to tell me that this is all very normal and will pass. I would be so disappointed if the great bond we were forming does not return as I was so excited about getting to work with her more. I don't want to go into this with apprehension.

Any thoughts, ideas would be most appreciated. I am kind of confused and anxious. :rolleyes: :(
 
I think its pretty normal to have a few bad rides and feel like you aren't clicking with your horse. It happens to me every so often, its just like...gosh maybe this was a big mistake and we don't get along as well as I thought. This feeling always goes away after a good ride though, btw. And of course the best way to get a good ride is to go in with a positive attitude that the past two rides were just either you or her not really into it, but this week you can both start fresh.

I would definately try to spend a little extra time with Angel before your ride(s) just grooming, walking or talking with her. Hanging out while they eat grass is always good, it gives both you and her some relaxation time together.

I also think the idea you suggested in your other thread about exercises is a good one. It may get her concentrating more on you so she figures out that yes, you are there and you would like her to behave.
 
Thanks for your quick reply ISM. It is reassuring to know you have had this happen and that it does not mean the relationship with Angel has gone permanently sour. I just want things to go well and I hate the feeling I am frustrating her.

A parent watching a lesson tonight mentioned that recently Angel has been used in quite a few lessons and that they even substituted another horse for her in a lesson earlier to give her extra rest. Perhaps it could be that she is getting bored/frustrated being used a bit more than normal (if this is indeed the case - I am not sure). I tried to get on her good side after the lesson tonight and went to the vegetable garden at the stables and picked her some fresh carrots out of the ground - they temporarily cheered her up at any rate!

As you suggested, I will try to start fresh next lesson. I will arrive early to tack her up and have a more leisurely leadup to the lesson.
 
Yikes, sounds like poor Angel is on overload! :(

Instead of treats after your lesson, ask if it's OK to give her a little something before your lesson, something that she might not get from anyone else (there's a HUGE market out there of horse cookies, and the old fashioned peppermint is always a hit). Find something she likes and give her a few while you tack up. This might help brighten her up just before the lesson as she has something positive to look forward to.

Also, in reference the games (I didn't read your other thread, so I am unsure what the exact words were), ask your instructor if you could do something different that day, like in-hand work or walking around obstacles (can get you REALLY good at turning using your seat and eyes rather than reins). It sounds like you are able to take more than one lesson a week (correct me if I am wrong! LOL), so you can spare a lesson every once in a while to just do something fun and relaxing rather than "around and around and around and around...the arena."

Don't let your solo riding be less fun, though! Use it as an opportunity to work on easy stuff, just relax and have fun. You can do in-hand work, obstacles, try some Parelli games, anything away from the norm to get her interested again.

Good luck, and do keep us posted!!!! :)
 
I'd also say if you are getting uptight about the solo lesson (amybe even subconciously) then this is also probably passing onto Angel? Maybe - if it is possible - even postpone the solo time for a little bit until you feel more confident again? Otherwise you could get yourself more and more into a muddle. maybe even see if you could use the solo time to spend time grooming Angel and just spending time with her?
 
Your post about the ears is very interesting because that's exactly what I had to focus on in my last lesson! My horse was very wet and cold and he was quite agitated about everything. Of course that got me all nervous and tense, so thankfully I have a wonderful instructor who detects that and gets us both out of the downward spiral. My horses ears were all perked forward and I was told that means my horse is not listening to me. His attention is focused on everything BUT me (scary door, spooky corner, etc.) She gave me some tips on getting his attention (voice, vibrarting rein, use of inside leg) and as long as his ears are swivelling, or back, or even one forward one back that means he's listening. So perhaps Angel was just listening to you!
 
Have moved past the troubles :)

Just want to report that things are back on track. After two tough lessons, things were much more successful tonight! :)

My instructor said at the last bad lesson that we often learn the most from the lessons in which we struggle. After my great lesson tonight, I am inclined to believe this! I managed to overcome my hesitation and the two tough lessons and have come out the other side - just a fabulous lesson tonight. This lets me know that I can work through things with Angel and that I can also work through my nerves - which I think are important lessons.

A bit about the lesson. Angel and I did the best posting trot we have ever done together (and the best ever for me!) - she was framing up beautifully through the head and we were getting some action from behind, she was moving at a nice pace and rhythm. Felt great! My instructor commented several time how excellent I was doing :D I am now very much looking forward to my first ride alone with Angel on Sunday! I now know I can work through difficulties which has really boosted my confidence.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back