Taking Winter Off // Photo Dump

At the barn I ride at, we have an indoor arena, but they use it to store horses overnight so it's usually gross and not great to ride in. So, I took the winter off of riding. {Last time I rode was Dec 12th I believe} I cannot wait to get back in the saddle, it's been wayyyy too long.

Also, I don't own my own horse so I bounce between different horses and riding styles, so I'm not sure what to do for my first lesson/ride back xD Should I lurch right back into jumping, or take it easy with some western or dressage?

Anyone else take months off of riding for one reason or another? How bad was it to go back and work again? xD I haven't taken a long break like this since I started years ago, so I'm kindof nervous to go back.. I wasn't an A+ rider to start, so what am I at after a longggg break ;P

Anddddd Random GIFs Cause why not xD

Mason's Cute Horsie Nose ♥

Can't keep that butt in the saddle

Bouncy Jayy can't jump
Yay! Jumpy Jayy
Jayy only listens when it's convenient for him
Jayy's my Favorite btw

The secret is, I didn't ask for that canter

Edit: Sorry for Imgur not letting me direct link .-.

Last edited on 2017-03-17 at 17:49:41 by Lucifer

Hey, I took a few months off riding last year to get on with some other things in life and because my absolutely awesome pony was sold. It is strange getting back into the saddle after time off, heres a few things i remember;

- It all comes straight back to you. Horse riding isn't something you forget over a few months, you'll be surprised how natural it feels to be back in the saddle.

- You feel SO unfit! At least I did, the muscles you use for horse riding are not muscles you use in normal everyday life so it takes a while to get those muscles back into the swing of it.
- Your horse can be very different if they haven't been ridden much over the winter like a totally different animal because they might have lost muscle and fitness too.

It's good to go in from the bottom again and just hack out and do a bit of dressage or whatever before you start jumping again. You have to kind of build it back up a bit.

Hope this helps a bit XD

I'd just work on flatwork for now. Dressage is very complex and not even close to flatwork. Like Tiger said, start from the ground up. It'll be better for you and the horse. With horses, it'll take some time before all your horsey muscles come back to you. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is your riding abilities!
Good luck,
Liesie