any horsey people?

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I don't know about in the USA but there is A LOT of snobbery in riding schools in the UK. The first one I went to when I was 10, kept putting me on a stallion who obviously didn't like being ridden. When my mum complained, they just shrugged her off but when one of the other kids' parents complained about something it was sorted immediately. We were a working class family and had saved for months for the lessons whereas for the others, it was like pocket change!

I don't think that it was fair for them to keep forcing the poor horse to have me on it's back when it blatantly would rather be a field horse! Does anyone else think it is cruel to keep forcing a horse to be ridden if it has been untameable for a long time?

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

When I was a lot younger, I used to ride. I don't think I was ever the one to suggest it as an activity, but my one friend in high school, and later, my first husband, were both enthusiasts, so I've done it quite a lot.

I've never had a riding lesson. I can see how it would be difficult to learn that way ~ I tend to be very uncoordinated, and I have a hard time learning physical activities, unless they happen to come naturally.

I've never felt quite in control of a horse, which might be different if I'd taken some lessons. ~~ But on the other hand, I feel like no one is ever completely in control of the horse they're riding. I have a few close friends who ride all the time, and they have all been hurt by their own horses, or very familiar horses (i.e. boarders) ~ Sometimes badly hurt.

A long time ago, waiting with a few others for the rest of the group to catch up, the horse I was sitting on suddenly took off into the woods (meanwhile, the other two horses calmly kept their places) & she ran directly under a low hanging tree branch. It was all so sudden, I got hit by the branch & it almost pushed me to the ground.

The thing is, that could have happened to anyone, even someone who had taken lessons & was very experienced. Horses are just unpredictable, and you risk getting hurt every time you get on one. I know that's true of a car also ~ but my car is less likely to get spooked and lurch off without warning, and if it does, at least I have it around me.

Even still, I think lessons would be really helpful, with the right teacher. My youngest child recently began taking lessons. I always stay and watch, and I must say, I'm amazed. His teacher is incredibly good, very patient, very knowledgeable, great with horses and great with kids. I'm not saying she's going to make my son completely accident-proofed, but he has already learned so many things I never knew when I was riding, & he has only been taking lessons for a few months. I kind of feel jealous, sometimes, when I'm watching them. I never met a riding teacher like her when I was a kid. I know I could still take lessons, but I took a short trail ride with his teacher not long ago. It was fun, but I don't think I'll do it again unless I need to ..... I'm not willing to fall off, though a few decades ago, I thought it was worth taking the chance.

thanks for all the replies. it's nice to know i'm not the only one who struggles to understand.

ive tried many different instructors, some have been better than others, but at the end of the day i generally feel i wasted my time. often instructors will say the same thing, but it doesnt seem to get through to me. i guess i just have to keep trying? and i will try explaining to them about how i feel too.

Neigh!

I am a horse person! But, it's been long (too long) since I've been on one. When I was a teenager (actually starting around 11 I think) I used to have riding lessons. I did find it difficult to understand what my teacher was asking me to do sometimes. She also assigned me books on various techniques which helped somewhat in terms of knowing what she was referring to. However, I'm not sure the way my lessons went is the way you are talking about. She was not a formal instructor (though she later went on to do some stuff with Pony Club, I think), and when I was there I was here only student. I would go to her farm and work and take care of the horses, clean up, etc and do horse and farm-related chores and learn about them, and then I would ride with instruction. She called in an apprenticeship in horsewomanship. Actually, a lot of the occasions where I did something Asperger's related and/or embarrassing that are fixed in my memory were in her company. Maybe because I did like her and wanted to keep doing the horse stuff, or because at that point in my life I hadn't been extensively in the company of adults outside my family for long periods of time, so she commented on things that I wasn't aware of, and sometimes I didn't know when she was joking or being sarcastic (which I think I have improved on). I would get rather stressed when I would do something that she found bizarre or stupid or not follow directions properly, though she was a nice person. I wanted to do well but there were a lot of "clueless" moments that really stand out in my mind.

A lot of times she would expect me to do things that she hadn't specifically told me to do previously, which baffled me at the time. For instance if I arrived and she wasn't there she expected me to do some needed chores, etc basically look at what needed to be done and do it. Instead, I would sit there waiting sometimes for hours. (Once we established things that I should do by default, or she left lists, this was clear). She asked me about a lot of my behavior which she thought was odd, but she didn't have children and wasn't around them much so maybe she chalked it up to inexperience. I remember her asking why I always looked at the ground when I walked. Or when she would make jokes that I didn't get and I wouldn't react right. Or, my problems with recognizing people and getting lost. I remember several times when I was washing the horse and she would comment "don't you just love it when the water ran down your arm into your armpit" (a yucky feeling). At first when she asked if I liked this, I said not really or something. But then she acted like she did, and so I would agree, to be companionable. I realize now that she was being facetious and probably thought it strange and funny that I would react that way, but really I was often confused by what she would tell me and in trying to tread lightly, probably came off even weirder.

Honestly, I don't think I ever got to be a good rider (I would still like to have one of my own someday) but I enjoyed being around the horses, and she would also take me along to events to act as groom.

I have a horese in my backyard. I started him under saddle myself. I took years of lunge line lessons (this is where the instructor leads the horse with a lunge line while I learned to keep my balance and use appropriate cues). That seemed to be the only way I could learn to ride but it worked. Not only did I start my horse but we went on to competition.

I wish I had a horse and could ride. I like horses.

I began having riding lessons when I was 12 years old - with some Haflinger horses. <3
One year later I did some Western riding with the horses of a friend of my grandpa.
After our move in 1992 I continued riding in the classical way but not with much success.
Some months later, when I had turned 15, I found a place to help some Icelanders with their horses in exchange for riding lessons. I think that was the best time in my riding career. (I quit one year later though because I was becoming anxious about my future at school - I had the chance to go to a college instead of seeking employment at 16 - my parents didn't trust me to succeed back then just like they do now.)

No, I was never able to follow the instructions as easily as others.
And I quite liked the Icelandic horses for being small enough to get on their back easily.

So, if I could ride again, I'd definitely prefer a horse up to 1,50m - Haflingers or Iceland horses or maybe other gaited horses.

Well, Frisian horses are looking great too. <3

Anybody doing some carriage work with horses?

sounds like a sh*t instructor.

before you try another one, try talking to them, let them know you're having trouble

my mum was a great (dressage) instructor, but not for me. she'd say something, assuming i knew exactly what she meant. she'd explain it, and then get frustrated because i did it straight away instead when she thought i should do it. or i kept doing it long after i should have stopped because she didnt say to stop

she'd get frustrated at me and i get mad back at her

outside instructors were easier, most of them assume you dont know and tend to explain it better, and they dont get rude when you get it wrong

not to mention she didnt understand that sometimes, i just wasnt up for a lesson. just because she showed up down the paddock didnt mean i wanted her help. sometimes i just wanted to ride.

i have found i make much, much more progress on my own.

but then, it depends where your learning is up to, and what your ambitions are.

feel free to contact me and ask questions

I don't have a horse but I love them. My aunt has a horse and he is my baby. I envy everyone who has a horse.

I've never ridden a horse, but I've always wanted to.