any horsey people?

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that's straightforward, no fuss extremely basic riding on a school horse. completely different to anyone who competes or trains their own horse.

unless you had superb natural ability, that wouldnt be enough to keep you out of trouble on the average horse, let alone a young, nervous or difficult horse

but, it is awesome you got to give it a try in a nice safe situation i hate that some people "gave it a try" on some mate's horse, got bucked off and are now terrified and think all horses are evil.

i've ridden for around 22 of my 23 years, received instruction for most of it, and i know if i live to be 100 i will never know all there is to know about horse riding in my chosen disciplines alone

I wasn't allowed to have my own horse
No one in my family likes horses except for one cousin and he wasn't allowed to have one, either. It's not an exaggeration. I come from a family of people who don't like horses and they can't understand why anyone would want a huge animal that takes so much food and is capable of biting and kicking.
So, I rode horses at stables close to an area lake. Trail horses that were already trained. I would have relished hanging out with a trainer and learning more advanced skills. I didn't get the opportunity because my mom didn't like horses in the first place. The only reason I got to go at all was because a psychologist talked her into taking me as a reward for doing chores around the house. My mom tried to make me clean the entire house but the psychologist suggested it would be easier for me to take care or one room, her the other. She gave me the choice between kitchen or living room. I chose kitchen because it's smaller. That's the only reason I got to spend time with horses, only because of the psychologist.
As for it being a "safe" situation, I often rode horses that gave other people problems on trails that extended pretty far out into the woods with plenty of venison and turkeys surrounded by a huge lake and lots of cliffs. Okay, maybe not cliffs...
I might have had enough interest and natural ability to do okay. I was always so happy to go horseback riding! It was literally the only thing I looked forward to in life and nobody seemed to want me to be involved in it except for one professional. Even my cousin got to ride more since my Aunt and Uncle lived in the country and there were more horses around. I was a natural at horseback riding and understanding horses even though I didn't have a lot of experience. It must be innate

*Hands up*
You could be me talking a few weeks back, I was complaining to a horsey friend that my instructor thinks SHOUTING LOUDER at me is all that is required, rather than provide an actual explanation of what she requires me to do. As other posters have said, once a detailed, coherent instruction is provided, I can follow that.

What I can't do is interpret their terms without being given the translation as to what they mean, e.g. 'Use your leg aid' means pressing your lower leg on the horses flank in a firm nudge. It took a while for me to work this out, why did they not just explain at the start of the lessons?

One particular instructor is the worst culprit, others seem to be better at explaining. It probably doesn't help that I just can't process verbal instructions when i've got too many things to think about - having someone shout at you for not understanding a simple instruction was a good prompt for me to think that maybe I *did* have some AS-type traits after all !

I enjoy the riding and managed to go out on a few hacks recently, only narrowly escaping low-hanging branches in my first canter in many years. That was on a narrow bank woodland path, so beautiful if challenging for my ability level. Just before Christmas we rode around the country lanes in the deep snow, all the nearby valleys covered over in white drifts and trees frosted up, lights gleaming out from the cottages on the lanes... that reminded me why I put up with shouty teachers.

Thanks for the horsey topic.

yeah you'd be surprised, some people can have little to with horses and be brilliant, others can work hard for years and never achieve the same relationship

do you plan to do some more now you're older? i find my horse very therapeutic, they are great listeners, even if you dont have anything to say. there's something extremely calming bout grooming a horse or cleaning a yard. even if you dont want your own, some places would be happy to have someone help out (not sure about where you are, but here in australia there's "riding for the disabled", which is mostly run by volunteers, so sometimes they need help exercising horses or cleaning, feeding, grooming etc)

on that note, how many people here are in australia? do you compete? my have crossed paths at some point...

I used to go riding every week for a couple of years.
The horse I mostly used I think Loved me more than its owner, a girl who used to shout at it to get it to do things, I would just ask it nicely and it would do it.
This horse would come across a field to meet me when I called it, it would lick my neck, (very itchy afterwards?).
Whatever height the professional girls would jump, I would match, not from my own ability, butI figuered if the horse could do it, all I had to do was position myself correctly and let him.

Heres me in the red cap about to go hacking on one of the other horses. NAMBO ON A HORSE

A good rider can hear his horse speak to him, a great rider can hear his horse whisper, but a bad rider won't hear his horse even if it screams at him.

There will always be a place in my heart for horses, they have given people civilization, practically! If I had land and a lot of income I would have a facility to keep them, a stable to house them in so I can be with them everyday working with them.
Right now I have a new puppy and have been busy training him. He already knows basic stuff like sit and I've trained him to leave stuff alone that isn't his. He has his own chew toys and he places them carefully in his bed, keeping them together in one place. It's so cute!
I have another dog and he's the size of a small pony. Cleaning the yard after he goes is sorta like cleaning up after a small horse
I'm trying to train my puppy to recognize "nodding" and the word "yes". He still likes to chew on my hands and fingers so when he grabs a finger I make sure I move it gently, so his head starts to nod. Then, I say "yes" in a puppy friendly voice. I've noticed, sometimes, when I say "yes" he nods his head some. I also taught him a "hello" wave using his front paw. He waves to me when I wake up in the morning. I say "hello" in that same puppy friendly way and it makes him really happy.