Looking Fine Vs. Being Fine In The Saddle
Posted by millie, Nov 5 2009, 06:52 AM
I have been trying to learn to ride for about 2 years now. It has been a long hard struggle for me and one that has been ever so slow. I have been constantly jealous of people that can just hop on and start riding. I stay in the background and keep wondering why I can't get over what ever feeling or fear I have. I think I have finally found out part of my problem.
My horse is great. He's not spooky, laid back and smart. He's also lazy which is great for a big scaredy cat like me. So the horse isn't the issue. It's always been me and being able to get in the saddle. Getting in the saddle has always been hard, but also staying in the saddle. Once on the horse and in the saddle I have felt out of control and out of sync.
A while back I had a lesson. During that lesson I was squeezing so hard with my legs I had my poor horse confused to the max. That got me to thinking. My instructor knew I was tense in my legs. She didn't know however exactly how bad it was. My jeans are very loose in the leg and by keeping my legs and feet in the right position I was able to hide a great deal of this.
From that lesson I sat down with her and we had a long talk. From her vantage point I was looking fine. We both knew the saddle wasn't ideal, but I was trying to make do. I told her that while I might look fine, I wasn't feeling fine. I felt out of balance and out ouf sync. I felt like I had no control. Out or our talk we figured out I had a huge snowball effect going on. I also figured out that the saddle I have been using is a huge part of the issue.
As a result of that talk I have gone back to the beginning. I mean the baby being led beginning. Both my instructor and I have agreed that at this point it is best for me. I have to get this issue with my legs and over all balance under control. Then the rest can come.
So last week I got in the saddle and she led me around. Of course I tighten my legs, put all my weight in the stirrup and squeeze the snot outta my horse. I catch myself and we start the process of me relaxing my legs. Now the problem is I am clenching my upper body and can't relax. We stop and start relaxation exercises. Ok this is good, but when I try to close my eyes I get dizzy and really do feel like I'm about to fall out of the saddle. Good thing my horse is so calm cause I'm grabbing for things and it's not pretty. Back and forth we go. Move foward, tense up. Stop, relax. This was my whole lesson. As simple and tedious as it was, it was the best lesson I had ever had. I got off Sky so stoked and proud of myself.
Yesterday I took another lesson. I made the comment that I felt like a baby and she told me to shut it. LOL. So we started the process all over again. The good news is that I wasn't tightening my legs and squeezing my horse as bad. Another discovery was made. When I relaxed my legs, my upper body felt like I was being pitched foward.
We already know that my body is not in the right position in the saddle. We already know that I am having balancing issues. I have my new saddle on it's way and for now the most important thing to me is getting on the horses back. Well, that's a good step, but it's also a step back in my confidence.
I struggled the whole time. It was a short lesson and finally I get out of the saddle. My instructor gets in the saddle and imediately sees what a large part of my problem is.
The saddle is old and needs work done on it. She said that it's hard and her legs are not automatically right, like with her saddle. Her legs are dropped a good amount instead of being up a bit. So she is having to work to get her legs right. She can get her legs right, but she can see where it would be a huge issue with me. She moved Sky foward and automatically noticed the being pitched foward sensation. She also could not sit in the correct position in the saddle. So seeing this kinda made me feel better. It wasn't all my lack of balance and the feeling of being out of control wasn't all just me.
I have another lesson today and I am going to use a different saddle. Hopefully I can relax and actually do something besides fight with myself and confuse my poor horse.
The lessons I have learned from this is that I have to be more open about how I feel in the saddle with my instructor. She can't know how I am feeling unless I open my mouth and tell her. While things may look fine from the ground, in the saddle it can be a total disaster.
Getting the right saddle is so very important. It should be a no brainer, but for a new rider it sometimes can be hard to figure out.
Sometimes it's not all me. Sometimes all goes back to the right equipment.
If my center of gravity is off and my balance isn't right then I'm going to struggle and fight.
By not talking candidly with my instructor I was taking blows to my confidence. I was feeling like my lack of progress was due to me being a huge wuss. The more I struggled and tried, the worse I felt about my riding ability. Which is basically nill since I wasn't talking about what I was feeling while in the saddle.
In the end I feel like I am on the right track finally. While I am still chicken, I know that it's not all just me. All of the sensations I have had from the saddle and trying to compensate one part of my body to balance myself out has been one of the main problems I have had. It's a relief to know that it's not all in my mind. That I'm not as lacking as I thought I was.
I am not fooling myself and thinking that when I get my saddle I will automatically be able to get on Sky and ride like a pro. I still have along way to go and a ton to learn. I do know that from this point foward I have a better chance to progress instead of staying in the same scared, tense, out of ballance place I have been in.
I am seeing happy trails in my future 
What Happened Yesterday...
Posted by millie, Oct 1 2009, 08:49 AM
Lately it seems like all I do is go, go, go. Yesterday was no different. I had to run and get a couple things from walmart and get feed. It was the morning so I had to take Mr. Stevie with me. Gave him a shower and stuffed his meds down his throat. Off we went.
First stop was walmart. Stevie is happy and has a little pep in his step. He knows he's going to get a cd, popcorn chicken and a country music magazine. In that order too! We go to the back and he starts his search for the newest bestest cd on the rack. Sometimes that cd is a new release and sometimes it's an oldie but a goodie. I promise I have almost put Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brook's kids through school. Stevie looked and he looked and he looked some more. He has to go through almost all the cd's, going back and forth. Finally I got tired of waiting and we were strapped for time. I told him to go ahead and pick one. He picked Colt Ford. He was happy and we started to the grocery section to finish our shopping. One problem though. as we went around the end of the isle he saw more cd's. He traded Colt Ford for Patty Loveless. No skinn off my teeth so away we went. Finished shopping, got his magazine and then on to get feed.
I took him in the feed store with me. He took his new magazine and the owners of the store and I talked. A husband and wife own and work in the store so as the wife and I were talking, Stevie decided he would sing. His singing is always at the top of his lungs and sounds more like yelling. Out of the blue he just belts out this yell. The husband had started reading the news paper and he almost jumped out of his skin!
Stevie is always good for scaring the crap out of unsuspecting people. He does a great service. He gets people's heart to start pumping and circulating their blood!
I have about 600 pounds of feed in the back of my van and I make a discovery. My van isn't very easy to drive with this much weight in the back! I stop by the barn and drop off 2 bags of feed for Sky and that helped a bit, but not much. I unloaded the van, poured the feed in the feed ben. I then made another discovery. Lifting moving and pouring all that weight is one of the reasons I keep Neal around.
Well, off to do some yard work....
Me And Horses
Posted by millie, Sep 30 2009, 07:28 AM
I have Sky at the barn so I can do some riding and maybe get the guts up to start riding on the trail.
I took my mom out for her birthday yesterday. We had a nice time and when I got back I headed for the barn. It was late so I decided to work with him on showmanship. Both of us are learning new things and it's really fun and exciting.
While in the ring Albie told me that I am supposed to look foward and put some pep in my step. So, I stand up straight, raise my head and say "i'm a supermodel. I'm skinny and I'm gorgous". She about fell over laughing at me. I am anything but those 3, but it sure is fun to pretend!
We have a show coming up the weekend of Oct 24th and 25th. I don't know if we will be ready to compete, but that's ok. I am taking control of him on the ground and hopefully that will help me in the saddle.
It really helps that he is a laid back horse and willing to learn. He really is a good boy and I lucked up the day I bought him. The problem is me. I have let my horses intimidate me for so long that they think they can just push me around. Well, I have finally had enough.
Yesterday he did pretty good. We have a couple things both of us need to work on though. While Albie and I were talking Mr. Sky decided he would put his nose on me. I would correct him cause I know that he can't do that in the ring. He was really trying to win this small battle of wills. I popped the chain a few times and he would quit for a minute. Finally I had to just haul off and give him a whack.
It has always scared me when I went to correct a horse and they would raise their head. The look in their eyes and the fact that they get so much taller than I am, well it's just plain scarey.
I held my ground and he finally stood there like a good boy. I was so proud of myself! Finally we walk to the barn when he decided that he would try to run me over. I popped the chain and made him back up. I used a very stern voice with him and I think it scared the snot out of him. He isn't used this side of me at all. After I backed him up and we started walking again he was the perfect gentleman.
So, I'm riding high on my small accomplishment.
I'm supposed to go tomorrow and ride. We'll see if I have the guts to get in the saddle.....