How many of you started riding after age 40?

[Linda_Merims@ne.3com.com]

Naztari@aol.com wrote:
>
> Here is a question for some of you. My wife has generally been
> afraid of horses. That seems to be changing and she actually
> took her first riding lesson tonight. She was a little
> apprehensive but after a little bit she relaxed some and
> did alright with the lesson. I told her that some of you
> out there had started riding late like her and that before
> long she would be able to ride comfortably if not expertly.
> She was curious to hear some of your stories about how you
> got started after 40.
First, your wife should be commended for having the courage
to start an athletic endeavor that asks for so much coordination
and finesse.  I'm 44 now, but started when I was 10 and I'm
not sure I'd have the courage to begin from scratch!

Helen Crabtree is one of the country's best equitation
instructors.  In her book she actually has a short chapter
on "Instructing the Adult Rider."  She says that four
things she has noticed in her riders that started as
adults are:

 - They are much more aware of the height, and tend to
   be more apprehensive because they have the intelligence
   to understand the risks involved, and the disruption
   an injury would cause to their lives and the lives of
   their family.

 - They tend to be hypercritical of themselves, and this
   gets in the way of their learning.  They think that
   because they understand the *logic* of what they are
   being asked to do, they should just be able to do it,
   and then get very down on themselves when they can't
   perform immediately (like posting, say, or changing a
   diagonal).  She says the best way to deal with this
   is to just explain to them that they will have this
   reaction, and to not expect immediate performance
   from themselves.  They aren't "stupid" or "uncoordinated."
   Just relax and enjoy it, laugh at your mistakes, and let
   it come gradually.  And it will come eventually. (Lord
   knows, it took me long enough to learn how to sit a
   canter!  Months!  I was no "natural"!)

 - Women who have spent a lifetime wearing high heels have
   somewhat contracted achilles tendons.  It can be almost
   impossible for them to assume the classic "heels down"
   pose.  She asks them on the ground to pull their toes
   up to see how flexible they are, and what she can expect.
   If they are stiff, she doesn't waste time and generate
   needless body tension repeatedly insisting on the impossible.
   If she can get a level foot out of them, she's happy.

 - She also recommends using a mounting block (assuming
   the horse is broke to it).  She says it is all hard enough
   without having to suffer the indignity of scrambling
   on board, and that a "leg up" is no solution because
   it requires perfect coordination between leg-er and
   leg-ee that the novice does not have.

And absolutely, wear a helmet!

Best of luck to you both,

Linda B. Merims
lbm@ici.net
Linda_Merims@ne.3com.com
Massachusetts, USA





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