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Re: [RC] need help - riding a trotting horse - desertrydr1Hi Beth,
You are right on the mark there. I started trail riding at 40, then started endurance riding (actually mostly LD's). My first mare was kind of a nut, because she had to teach me how to ride. She was very responsive, an alpha mare and in pain from poor saddle fit and unskilled hands, legs and seat. I started endurance conditioning without being able to post the trot. Her gaits aren't very regular because she was always trying to break from a trot into a gallop and run like the wind. I still have her, she's 22. She was retired from LDs, where I managed to overcondition her and let her "run her own race". Wish I knew then what I know now.
My second horse was her Anglo-Arab daughter. I started her under saddle myself, after the older mare taught me everything she could. Then, when the filly could work at a walk and trot and some canter for an hour without getting tired, I started taking her for dressage lessons. She had beautiful smooth gaits, and a wonderful trot. I took at least a few lessons on her every year. I always joke about taking my 6 lessons for the year. It seems like something always happened that I wouldn't get to take more than that, injuries to me or the horse, time off to have a baby (her not me). The difference was that the younger mare was working to develop her full potential, while the older mare was never given that opportunity--to be schooled under the direction of a professional. If you can't post a trot, you would definitly benefit you to have at least a few lessons. You can learn so much from someone who is a good instructor. Some dressage instructors are very good. I'm blessed to have mine--the same one over about 8 or 9 years. She is certified and is teaching me and the horse how to most effectively communicate, not how to look pretty crammed into a "frame". I would consider taking lessons on the older mare, but she hates arena work so much, I kinda figure she deserves to have fun if she's gonna be ridden. I have two babies coming up, a Shagya filly coming 3, and then a 2-yr old gelding out of my younger mare and a Shagya stallion. As soon as the babies can handle the work under saddle, I'll start each of them in lessons. Probably my standard 6 lessons a year, but we learn a lot, and the communication is better. jeri
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