Does it make sense to only have riding lessons once or twice a month and otherwise ride alone?
Hello, horses/riding have been my great passion for 20 years (I'm 25 now), but unfortunately I'm not blessed with a lot of money.
From 2005 to 2018, I rode once or twice a week in riding lessons and competed in dressage at E-level and show jumping, originally up to about 115m. However, I haven't jumped since 2015, as I didn't have the opportunity to jump on school horses after that, and I've only ridden dressage since then.
Then, due to time constraints and frustration with poor riding schools, I didn't ride at all in 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, I started a RB on a PRE mare with health issues and a 30-year-old Thoroughbred mare. The former died last year, and the latter retired completely in January. I mostly rode alone and occasionally had lessons with the owner's trainer when she couldn't make it.
Since February, I've had a riding license on a friend's Isi. I can ride the pony cross-country and also do dressage in an arena. He's well-trained for an Isi, but he doesn't have much "go." The owner and stable team are excellent, and I like the horse's character. Lessons are not possible.
I've been so dissatisfied with my riding lately. No lessons, no warmbloods/thoroughbreds (I can understand others' love for the Isi 0 breed), and I haven't been able to do any jumping for 10 years.
But I currently have a maximum of €80/month. Do you think it would be better to look for a new riding instructor with a maximum of €80 on a warmblood, but then only ride for myself and no lessons? Or should I keep my current riding instructor (I currently pay €0 and in return I help out in the stable) and then also have jumping lessons 1-2 times a month, or a couple of dressage lessons and then jumping at a riding school on school horses? The question is, does it make sense to have lessons only 1-2 times a month (but then I would still have dressage on the Isi once a week at the same time without lessons), or can I just leave it and get a new riding instructor without lessons? And would a riding school be willing to do that, or would they say I have to come every week.
What would you do?
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There's something to do if you're able to work after class. For many years, I've only had lessons every 2 weeks, because I'm on the ground and my trainer wasn't more often in our area.
Aaaber, I always rode the same horse, mine.
I'm here with the others: I don't think Isis will make you happy in the long term. Look around for another horse, which fits better.
I am also full of the fact that dressage is now the basis. This is less about lessons, more km of communication, which is especially elementary when jumping.
Yeah, basically, that makes sense. Mostly, if you ride on your own and further refine/finish what you did in class.
Anyway, I've read out now that you're mainly about jumping – that's probably not going to be too late with the Isi.
Another short set for dressage: this is the basis! If you don't, you'll break horses. The dressage makes the balance, the suppleness, the strength, the speed, which riding horses and especially also spring horses need. And for the rider just when jumping is THE means of communication with the horse.
If you don't mind, I'll continue riding dressage until I can afford more riding lessons. That's it. For the first time, I need dressage lessons to set me back to warm blood. Even the VB (flat corridors) and the PRE (reit sofa, iron in the tray) were different.
I've never just jumped in the past.
But great that you are the assessment that it is not pointless to have 2 riding hours a month and then to practice the rest of the month itself.
So first of all, if the Icelandic horses don't lie to you, and if you have to ask the pony, I'd probably also look for something else. Dressage riding in the long term without teaching is uninteresting anyway, especially since your training seems quite questionable. Riding on E level and jumping 1.15 does not fit together. Sounds irresponsible.
So I'd definitely take care of reasonable dressage lessons. Once is better than no time.
No one knows what it looks like in the local riding schools in your area. But sometimes it is possible to introduce yourself as a “stopgap” by asking again and again (especially when vacations are), whether someone else fails and so sporadically gets one or other riding lesson.
Or you're lucky that you'll find a warm-or full blood, whose owner doesn't pay for the money, but who's just happy when you move the horse reliably (and get away) and invest your money in lessons on this horse.
in short: in order to get clarity what you want to do, you have to explore your possibilities properly.
Dressage is generally uninteresting for me whether with riding lessons or without. I never had the claim to be particularly good. I have a good seat, most horses can ride quite properly in the normal train figures and in the basic gears. I can do something like leg sores in step and trot, fore and backhand. And more I don't want to reach in the dressage. I was more and more the jumper and had luck getting lessons with a former professional and being allowed to jump his middle-class horses (which for 700000€ of course not 🙈).
That's why you're right and I really should get away from the Isis because that's not what I'm looking for in the long term.
The possibility of free RB plus lessons would of course be jackpot. Misting etc. is not a problem either. At the last stable I even cleaned windows and planted hedges for riding hours 🙃
With us, unfortunately, there are many bad valleys. I've discovered a place where might fit. Maybe I have to give up a search ad.
Sorry, but if the dressage doesn't sit, you shouldn't jump. And yes, to do that. I can't jump a horse if I'm not able to do its step length correctly before jumping off, or to have its line exactly where I need it. And yes, you can't do that without proper dressing.
In addition, no horse stays healthy when jumping if there is not enough gymnast and yes, correct dressage is absolutely necessary.
Why now so aggressive against lynnmary? And why exaggerate? Sorry, but you're not 13 anymore.
You wrote yourself that you ride on E level. Of course, no one here saw you ride, but if you judge yourself, what do you expect?
And apologise – but if you jump to L – level (DU speaks of 1.15 m!) you should also be able to ride on A, better L – level dressage. From M – Dressage, let alone Piaffe, no one ever spoke. 🤗
If you want, we also like to try to explain to you what it has on itself 😉
Do you know what show jumpers usually do 5-6 days a week? You train dressage work! It is therefore in fact unrealistic to participate in jumping hours at 1-2 riding hours a month. In order to jump to more than E level, you should also be able to gymnastize the horse accordingly in order, for example, to not just brake a horny horse, but to be able to record it correctly. The E dressage rider usually does not really understand the difference yet, let alone that he could implement it.
All right? Unpack peace pipe? 😉
Have you ever seen me ride? Of course, I could ride correct lines and learned to ride the jumps so that the crotch length fits, the horse jumps off correctly and lands in the right gallop. Do I have to be able to ride an L dressage or more?
If I could jump on schoolhorses, I would probably first make individual jumps/spinning gymnastics and maybe call an e-cours. You want me to wait until I can ride an M dressage to jump?
Clearly it is important to ride parallel dressage and I have always done this in the past and try to explore how it can go. I wrote in the EP that I had to take a few dressage hours first. But still I don't have to be able to pee to jump.
And with a school horse it is not in my hand what is done outside my hours with the horse. Of course, I look at the selection of a riding school that fits. If the horses are not properly held and ridden I don't sit on it. Take a look and take a look at the stable and then do it only an hour when everything fits.
Thank you.
Isis can also be very good in dressage if you can also train them accordingly and work on them regularly. Why should "school not be possible"? The only reason is that she doesn't want the owner. In that case, you should look for another RB because with an owner who doesn't want you to continue to train yourself and the horse… I don't know.
Otherwise, look for a trainer who comes to you. And yes, if he only comes twice a month, then you just get ahead at the snail pace. But one develops at least rarely backwards.
The same applies even if you take fewer lessons than you do.
The stable where I am now is a private stable where approx. 1x per month a mobile Isi trainer arrives at which all adjusters ride. Sometimes it gets even more rare. I can only ride with this coach because the owner has been riding with her for years and trained the horse with her. She doesn't want another riding instructor to talk about what I understand.
Since this trainer only comes so rarely the owner always rides when she is there and does not want the horse to run 2x a day and the trainer would also have no time for an additional person.
Once, I was ridden in class with this woman because she came where the owner was accidentally on vacation.
This was a catastrophe for my view (I am English rider and not an Isi-rider) and does not require any repetition. She wanted me to ride the whole hour with extremely long reins without any hints, I should only drive with the bark and not with the leg and the bows she has set me so long that this length would not have been possible for me. I usually watch when the other classes have even if I can't ride myself and the picture was similar.
All requests were answered with “that we make Isi Reiter like that, that is normal”.
In itself, I don't think it's so bad when I ride on a RB once a week and only 2x/month in class. How fast I learn is secondary. I can ride the basics on my own and otherwise I don't see it as a race. I don't even ride tournaments and I don't have money or talent to be good at some point. Besides, I'm only 25 and if my living conditions change, I can take lessons every week.
That sounds quite strange. I am also “English” on my way, but I am open to other riding methods. My visits to Icelandic farms usually did not give such an extremely strange lead. It doesn't surprise me if your pony is rather unmotivated, with this self-willing training method. Unmotivated If I were a rider in such circumstances – and would be more suitable for me.
That's what I've been doing for 20 years. But many English riders actually ride with significantly shorter ironing. But just as the coach wants it doesn't work 🙃
The owner of my RB is significantly bigger than me and the rides strangely even with ironing that are a single hole longer than mine.
Ankles, depending on anatomy a maximum of one hole longer, have the straps at the correct dressage seat. Even shorter then for the light seat (spinning, terrain…)
Find another RB
There's nothing like you.
No, it wasn't a long-lasting cloth. It's just for a couple of kicks usually.
And I was also riding English in the one with the longest temples because I am so used to it. The tread of the bracket Max. on the ankle. Others ride there with significantly shorter ironing and even longer than I do not actually go. As the trainer wanted, I barely got to the footsteps. Of course, I can also easily wear without ironing and the eternal and three days on the piece but I should ride with ironing and not lose it. I really had to stretch my toes down to get to the temples at all.
My RB doesn't wear on the riding ground. Hey just tumbles. So what I'd do with other horses in the trot I'm gonna do with him in the tölt. The riding teacher also meant not to wear him.
The light truss without a bow should NOT lead to clamping the knees… even if it is such a puffy solution
It should actually convey to the whip student that he should not get active at all and therefore does not need anything he can get up from.
you should come up by yourself from the horse movement.
What makes the rider active is to sit back correctly instead of dropping down and yes, that goes without a bow and even without turning the knees into a laundry glow.
That the temples are longer is clear. But if you don't have them for light wear, you could also ride without riding…and the light truss without a bow is no longer done today because it is completely counterproductive. In the past, this was only such a nuisance that leads to the clamping of the knees, which in turn prevents the looseness of horse and rider.
The reins are not present in the Tölt only if you have already arrived at the "stuffing". But I don't read the approach between the lines.
And yes, the stirrups are somewhat longer than the average English rider is used. But contact is still there. But whoever can't easily wear light without a stirrup… he can't wear light.
It's the other extreme.
I was allowed to try the Tölten (also worked) after I was able to show chewing exercises on the standing horse, nicely riddled corners and a horse with leg-smooths that was tied to the hand. The Tölt was triggered similarly to the assembled Trot. From that point of view, I do not see how this can be done with missing reins. But good if people are happy… let them do. You don't have to mix everywhere. 😉
Yeah, I don't know what they're doing. With the Isis you often have people who either only ride out or only ride on the oval track in their special courses without gymnastizing the horse. But that explains why neither horse nor I am very motivated. The riding teacher is almost worse than the olives 🤪
Well, look at how hard you do what you're supposed to do as a homework from the riding class. You get slower, but if you don't have more money, what do you want to do?
Within the scope of his possibilities, you should look at what is feasible and whether you have to jump forcibly or whether it may be just dressage classes