Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[.Scarlet.]

@Toucan- that's not bad advice!! Lol. Well I had lesson #1 yesterday and now I have lesson #2 tonight. We worked on having me relax and not move in my two point position. I'm one of those people who feels I have to jump with the horse. Apparently you don't and it's been blowing my mind since my college coach has been teaching me this lol.

It's also been confirmed I lean. I don't feel like I'm leaning and no one has ever said anything before, but I put too much weight into my left stirrup so doing a lot of two point over poles yesterday. I have to consciously think about it and I feel so off balance, but i'll nail it into my brain soon enough! My lesson did go really well though! We did trot poles, then trot a rail and canter away. And I improved. Then we turned it into a cross rail and cantered. I just want to jump off their back. I don't know why, but I do XD But I started to relax finally. I probably won't be on Saturday though. I don't care about my leads, I don't care about anything but remembering my course and getting over the jumps, lol. My coach told me if I'm not comfortable, she won't care if I just pull up and walk out, which puts me at ease a bit. No one expects much on their first IHSA fences trip because you don't get to practice with the horse, you don't know the horse, nothing. So if I can make it around and continue breathing, we'll be good.

[LuciferMorningstar]

I have a question: I've been riding for about 7 years now, and I don't have a horse, but my parents want to pull me from riding. I have EDD, so riding is a really good therapy for it, but mu parents think it is to time consuming and it shouldn't count as my sport. How can I convince them to let me continue riding and convince them its a sport? I can't say "You try it and tell me weather or not its a sport". I don't own a horse, I only lease, but the horse I lease means everything in the world to me and is the biggest sanctuary I have

[Hime]

@Toucan: So far no. But I won't be picking the final name before the foal is born anyway, so I have months to think about possibilities.
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Free lunged Heta last Sunday. She had quite lot off fun cantering and bucking around. ^^ Definetly seemed like she needed to do some running around as she's been getting very little excercise with me being sick and all. Unfortunately I had to put her itch hood back on, since she has been rubbing her face so much there's bald spot and her ears are bit sensitive at the moment. :\ The mud is also terrible in the paddock at the moment, I don't think it's been this bad in some years, since you have 0 chance of getting through the gate without sinking your feet in the mud so that the whole foot part of the shoe is covered. XP On good note the mares now have straw bedding in their shelter and I think Heta's really loving it as I found her sleeping on it on Sunday. :3

Only month to go till christmas holiday, and it's a long one too, so hopefully pony will be getting some more attention. Then it's soon time to stop riding and just watch the belly grow... Time really seems to fly these days.

[silky.moth.is.gone]

Hey, I just found this chat. My mum has been asking lately about whether i'd like to go to horse riding classes but I have Aspergers Syndrome, (a form of autism) which means im quite anxious and unpredictable at times. I really do want to go to horse riding classes and I do love horses, I have since I was young, it's just im not to sure I should ride a full sized horse due to me being quite anxious about large horses.

Does anyone have any suggestions that could help me?

[Kestrell]

@Silky
If you are as anxious as you say around full sized horses there are a few things that you can do. The first, you can take a few lessons on the ground (not actually getting on the horse). During these, you can learn how to groom, what different pieces of tack are called, and how you should act around horses.

The second, you can start riding a pony (but only if you are not too big!!). They are smaller than horses but often act just like their larger cousins.

The third, you can start out on a horse. Most of the horses used in lesson programs are amazing! If you do take lessons, your instructor should be putting you on a horse for beginners, not one who will take off with you on its' back. But explain to your instructor how you feel, he/ she cannot read your mind!

[Hime]

Hey, I just found this chat. My mum has been asking lately about whether i'd like to go to horse riding classes but I have Aspergers Syndrome, (a form of autism) which means im quite anxious and unpredictable at times. I really do want to go to horse riding classes and I do love horses, I have since I was young, it's just im not to sure I should ride a full sized horse due to me being quite anxious about large horses.

Does anyone have any suggestions that could help me?

I would definetly give it a go. ^^ I know horses have been used as therapy animals for people with such issues, so maybe they can actually help you manage the anxiety as well. If you feel nervous about riding then maybe you just hang around the horses and maybe groom them little to gain some confidence and learn how to handle them and how they behave/react. Horses don't really like anxious people or sudden moves, but certain horses tolerate them better than others, which is why it's important that the stable knows you condition so that they can pair you up with a calm horse.
If you are worried about the size and it makes you even more anxious, there are large ponies that even a medium sized adult can ride and also Icelandic horses, which are small like medium to large ponies but again adults can ride them as they are strong. So if you just find the right stable with the right kind of horse, I don't really see why you couldn't ride.
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SNOW! First snow fell during last Friday at school and then during last night at home. There's very little snow really at home/stable, but at school there was near 30cm by Friday midnight. So far it looks like it's sticking... Luckily though the arena was not yet frozen/slippery, so I did some free lunging again. Heta doesn't have her winter shoes on yet though, so I might not be able to excersise her much if it snows some more and ground gets icy. >_< But I do think she's due shoing soon-ish anyway... But naturally if it really does snow, lesson horses' are top priority in terms of getting the winter shoes on. Though they are having 2 week break on lessons starting next week, since R is about to have a baby and L obviously needs to able to be there for her.

[Rising]

Hey, I just found this chat. My mum has been asking lately about whether i'd like to go to horse riding classes but I have Aspergers Syndrome, (a form of autism) which means im quite anxious and unpredictable at times. I really do want to go to horse riding classes and I do love horses, I have since I was young, it's just im not to sure I should ride a full sized horse due to me being quite anxious about large horses.

Does anyone have any suggestions that could help me?

I know anxious feelings can be irrational and perhaps my saying this won't help, but the size of the horse really doesn't make them any more dangerous or hard to control. Horses and ponies all have their own personalities and any horse that is considered suitable for beginners is judged on temperament, not size. There are small ponies that pull like trains and can hardly be stopped and there are enormous horses that are absolutely "push-button" and do everything you ask of them immediately. Of course there are plenty of lovely well-behaved ponies as well and plenty of difficult horses, but the size of the horse doesn't affect its personality.
It's actually safer to be on a horse that's slightly too big for you than one that's slightly too small for you. There's more horse to sit on so you're less likely to fall off, not more. In addition the bigger horses have longer strides so their movement feels less bouncy.

I'm going to say you should go for it. I volunteer for riding for the disabled and am around a lot of riders with autism and Aspergers - and I can't think of anyone who hasn't benefitted from it and enjoyed it. I've seen plenty of really nervous riders as well and they almost always find the fear is worse than the reality, and start to relax after the first 10-15 minutes approximately.

[Dizzy socks]

Aero, the new boy, meeting Saff. He's a 16hh KWPN x Selle francais, that I'm hoping to event a bit next year. He's been angelic so far.

[LuciferMorningstar]

I have a question: I've been riding for about 7 years now, and I don't have a horse, but my parents want to pull me from riding. I have EDD, so riding is a really good therapy for it, but mu parents think it is to time consuming and it shouldn't count as my sport. How can I convince them to let me continue riding and convince them its a sport? I can't say "You try it and tell me weather or not its a sport". I don't own a horse, I only lease, but the horse I lease means everything in the world to me and is the biggest sanctuary I have

Don't mean to be a bother, but if no one would mind answering this that would be amazing!

[.Scarlet.]

@captain swan- I mean, you have to find a way to prove to them that this is what you love, you need it in your life. I'm in college and still ride. My dad has seen me fall multiple times and always wanted me off the horse the second it occurred. He doesn't support me and my riding as much as my mom, but neither of them are that into it. You have to prove to them how much you love it. When my mom and dad used to pay for my weekly lessons, I would thank them every night after my lesson. My mom was usually the only one that came to them, seeing as bad things happened when my dad came along more often then not, lol. But you need to find a way to tell them that you love it and can't do without it. I work as much as I can to pay for lessons during college and when I'm home for breaks. I know if you're younger, that's not as much of an option, unless you worked things out with your parents. Like chores goes towards riding? If you love it enough, you will find whatever you can do to stay with it. Sit down with your parents and ask, what can I do so that you will let me continue to lease/ride? I am willing to do anything to get there.

Update: GUYS! I had my last IHSA show weekend of the semester. And my first EVER showing over fences! Unfortunately, I drew the WORST horse both days for it. So my coach got me a different horse, but I wasn't allowed to place since she changed my horse. But we weren't going home without me jumping! His name was Avis, he was a 17 something hand bay who is calm as a cucumber. But, he's usually ridden in spurs and thankfully, my old instructor and old lease horse taught me how much leg I can really have. I remembered my course and he took good care of me! My coach told me I would have placed had she not had to change my horse, but who wants a bad trip on their first? Not me! My team and coach were very happy with my ride, and so am I. I honestly don't remember much except look at a line going down the diagonal, lol. First time over fences, everything moves so fast, even if you're horse isn't going that fast. But I am on cloud nine! I handled my emotions well and conquered my first course! Saturday I drew a pony on the flat, which sucks when you're 5 foot 10, but my leg didn't look long on her and we actually got 5th out of 10 riders! She was super comfy and fun And then on Sunday after fences, I rode a horse named Frankie, who is a huge goof black horse. But, he framed up super nice and we did pretty good, got 6th. Ya know, for just moving to novice after the 2nd show, I think I'm doing pretty good. Especially when there are usually at least 8 riders in my class. I really love IHSA showing, it challenges you so much, but it's so much fun! I wish I had pictures of all these horses though, the horses at this barn are fantastic, they show all the time and know their stuff.
Thanks for reading! Hope I wasn't too boring, haha.

I almost forgot! I did some photos of my friend and her horse, Bindi, a horse I ride in lessons sometimes. And I want to show you guys! Photography is a little side hobby I do on occasion. They turned out pretty well to me and I used them for my photography class. Actually, they're some of my favorite pictures I've ever taken haha



The rest are in here:
https://goo.gl/photos/jSzcFkEYQ1wfHk1b9