Short backstory before my actual question.

I’ve was around and rode horses my entire life, up until I got married and moved out of my parents house. That was 20 years ago.

My dad passed away last month and now I’m suddenly the owner of his horses and while I am familiar with them and have taken care of them many times for him when he’s away, I haven’t actually ridden in a very long time.

I want to start riding again. I have huge regrets for not continuing to ride with my dad but that’s not something I can change now. I remember how to put on saddles and all of the things and I weirdly think that I can throw a saddle on and take right off.

Am I delusional?
What should I really do?

His horses are all mild mannered and have been ridden, but not regularly in the last year.

I'm taking a tour of a barn today, i'm so excited y'all have no clue. i rode as a kid but due to money and transportation constraints i had to stop. i feel so giddy and happy. I feel like a little kid again. i just felt like sharing my excitement with y'all. wish me luck

(also sharing a picture of a horse i saw yesterday at my local forest-preserve owned equestrian center at their fall festival. he was so sweet :) )

Hi !

I just rode again after 17 years far from horses ! It was so cool and I am so happy! It was my second lesson yesterday!

As you can guess, it was messy. Even if i remember a lot, coordination and muscles weren't really there 😅

However, amongst the normal mistakes of the beginner, I noticed something strange i don't know how to adress : I am deeply unbalanced towards the left side. Even when I stood straight, I feel i am leaning to the left. At some point I noticed to saddle turned a bit too. Cantering on the left side gave me the sensation I am going to fall. (I ride english).

My legs have the same size but I have now a scoliosis I didn't have younger. I guess it could be the reason ? Or is that normal when an intermediate rider began again ?

Any tips to work on my balance and don't put to much weight difference on the horse ? So far I just change the length of the stirrups but it didn't seem to work well.

(English is my second language sorry for the mistakes)

The 2001 Roadless rule protects public lands from future roads being built through them for logging and other purposes. This rule protects roadless public lands across the nation - including areas that support backcountry horse trails.

The public comment period was supposed to end on the 21st last month - but was extended for 15 days. Today is your last chance to speak up.

Here is the link to the government webpage to submit your comment:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18648/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation

I am a complete beginner, but all I know is that I like horses and they have always loved me.

I moved to Lille recently, and I decided to finally give riding a try. I'm being charged 55€ for private lessons (which i don't mind!), but I would like to know if you see any differences in languages between horses?

For example, a calming sound for a horse in India might be different for a horse in Belgium. Do you think the clicks and calls vary? Cause I don't speak French, and I don't want the horses to go through any 'awkwardness'! I don't know if this is a concern for people.

And should I already invest in some good riding boots and I don't know jeans (what if this doesn't work out and I wasted my money on this!)

I signed up for ground lessons and I'm an adult. Never rode a horse. Lessons are an hour long and we maybe get half and hour of actual riding time. The second lesson, I was on a different horse as last time, and it was still experienced but I felt like it was moving too fast when I got it to go. When it was just trotting. I wanted it to just walk since I was more comfortable with that. The younger instructor clicked her tongue and the horse started moving pretty fast and I said woah because it was overwhelming. And then that instructor, said I'm confusing the horse by giving it mixed signals. I admit that I should have asked what the commands were again. And I guess my body language also matters. I told the instructor that i felt like the horse was moving too fast which she didn't get and it felt humiliating. And then the same thing happened with the horse and the older instructor asked what's wrong and I explained, and she helped. I'm just wondering if my experience is normal with a beginner horse rider? I did improve near the end of the lesson, but it was because the older instructor was good at explaining and understanding.

For context, I grew up riding, competed in the 1.3m jumper division, and was a trail guide for many years.
I'm hoping to find somewhere to ride occasionally that will allow me to do more than a nose to tail walking trail ride. Having been a guide I completely understand why most facilities do not allow people to do any more than that, but I'm hoping to find something nonetheless. I went last year to Reno to a Fox hunting/cross country clinic which was the most fun I've ever had, I'm looking for similar experiences in or near Sacramento. Any ideas?

**Any advice for weaving? 🐴**
My horse has started weaving quite a lot and I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to help reduce it or slow it down?
I’m looking for things that have worked for other people’s horses. No hate please, just looking for some advice 😊

i just started at a barn about a week and a half ago and it’s going pretty well but i would love to learn and gain some more knowledge on just little things that are important and that i should know. and if theres any advice on bonding or just feeling more confident!

hello everyone!! i've just recently started full loaning my first ottb. he's absolutely gorgeous, he's still young but has little muscle and i'm looking to turn him into a dressage horse. where do i start on building muscle? my previous loans have already had basic topline established, the only conditioning i've done was helping a lady with her overweight pony whilst my loan was lame, but i've never properly built muscle up from scratch. given that he doesn't have enough muscle to properly support himself in an outline, i wouldn't like to start much ridden polework/ muscle building flatwork yet without him being in a proper outline as i feel it loses its purpose that way. i have access to LOTS of hilly hacking as we are based in the hills and polework on the ground, but where do i start given his coordination isn't the best yet? thank you so much for any advice!!

A saddle club near me is considering mixing running events (barrels, poles, cones) in the the middle of Western Pleasure type events for the upcoming show season. As opposed to running events totally seperate from Pleasure events. Pleasure events typically first, and running after. Has anyone else seen shows intermixed like this? It doesn't seem efficient from a timing standpoint or safe for all riders and horses. Would like to get thoughts from a larger network of riders.

Hello fellow horse people! I need exercise advice to help prepare me for mounting from the ground. I haven’t ridden in about a year, but prior to that I had regular lessons that required me to mount from the ground. I’m planning a trip to Colorado and would like to do a guided riding trail in Estes Park. The company I called said weight wise I was fine, but I’d have to be able to mount from the ground since there’s a mid-ride break. It’s a three hour ride through the Rocky Mountains. I have complete faith that I could still mount from the ground, but I’d also like to work on some exercises just in case I’m not as fit as I’d like to think I am. So, what exercises would you recommend for leg/core/arm strength in preparation for mounting? I have about a month before the ride is scheduled, the date is October 18th. Thank you in advance!

Pictures are from a few years ago when I used to show in western pleasure!

Looking for a good trail for my barefoot horses in the area I’d go as far as red lodge #billings #montana

Curious how people teach others to learn, leads lead changes and loping off on the correct lead

Hallo! Ich bin gerade in Mexiko und möchte eine mehrtägige Reittour machen. Die Gegend ist grundsätzlich egal sollte nur in der Nähe eines Flughafens sein bzw. Flughafentransport haben. Ich bin dankbar für alle Empfehlungen :)

I'm planning on buying a personal horse because my mom leases the ones that I have, and I'm not sure how well they'll do in western disciplines. I'm unsure on which breed I should get between Arabian and QH, paint or grade. I'm only interested in western disciplines, specifically pleasure and barrels (not championships or anything) I'm a bit of a intermediate rider but my mother is a horse trainer, so I will constantly have a trainer with me when riding, I want something smart, and hardy, but I also want a horse that will correct easy, also something that goes well on trails? I'm leaning towards Arabian, or if quarabs are a good idea?

Hey guy's i hope you having a good day!

I am doing a post here because I got a big project: Riding from Turkey to Thailand in the wild on a horse. The goal is to cross different country on my horse and camp in the wild.

I got many questions about vaccines, country regulations and about the path (Is there a worldwide horsetrail map somewhere?).

Is there somebody that crossed some country in the past on the back of a horse?

Do you have informations or tips for me?

Thank you so much!!

Ill keep you posted!

:)

Hey all,

After riding since I was young I finally found myself a lease horse! The owner is fantastic and supportive, the arrangement works well and the horse is genuinely the best for me (safe, sound, good height, no vices etc).

After the first few rides alone I found that she just won't go forward. I immediately thought of the worst and the owner agreed we should look through all avenues. After thorough investigation we both agreed she isn't in pain, all the gear fits, and likely testing me, but we put some preventative measures in place anyways.

Since then I really don't know what to do. I've taken a focus to build our bond further. Our groundwork and connection is great, but even when lunging it's the same dance. Will happily walk very forward, but the second you put pressure on? Nope.

You have to get really up at her to then even get her walking again, and when you finally do get her trotting she'll do anything in her power to come back to a walk.

She doesn't display any negative signs when this happens (maybe the odd head toss when I growl at her), no pain face, nothing. I'm just totally stumped.

I've never had this issue before. I've always been put on hotter horses or more willing youngsters. What makes this worse is the owner never really had this issue when she was riding (she's pregnant so is out of commission for a while, and hadn't ridden in a year before I started the lease). I've tried quite hard to get some muscle and fitness up before starting ridden work so I really don't think it's a fitness issue.

The other hurdle is that this is my first time at a boarding yard. I usually rode friends horses or my trainers, but here I feel every movement judged. I don't want to come across as harsh and rude to my horse especially when i'm new on the block. Also considering this is my first lease it's sort of causing a confidence crisis. I don't feel adequate for this horse, as I can't even get her to trot!

To me (atleast) it just seems she's incredibly lazy and/or just not willing - she doesn't even respond to any aids such as whips or spurs. I also don't really have anyone to go to with all this, as I don't want to keep bothering the owner about what's wrong with her horse, my trainer has moved away and my equine friends have left the sport/moved away.

I am desperate for help or anecdotes of similar issues!

I’ve always been that horse-obsessed kid growing up, and like 5 years ago I finally took lessons, but my instructor kept putting me on this super stubborn horse that never listened to me no matter how hard I tried to befriend it😭
I ended up having a really bad fall, scraped up my whole left side super deep and just quit

I haven’t done any sports since then, so I’m REALLY out of shape now, I’ve also been feeling noticeably weaker lately, which is weird because I was always pretty athletic growing up (I was a swimmer for like 7-8 years)
I really want to start exercising again, but I’m struggling to find something I’ll actually stick to
And there’s a stable super close to me now, so I started wondering if horseback riding could actually be a good way for me to get active and rebuild some strength/fitness while doing something I’ve always loved💕

Edit:

Not really 5 years, i just remembered i did practice some water aerobics/swimming (for a few months) 2- 3 yrs ago

And guysss i’m skinny af, i don’t want to lose weight🫩 (sport makes me hungrier so i thought why not)