Bad riding habits (we has them) ?

Question

Ok so once you get out from under your instructor's watchful eye what are your bad habits ?

I am terrible for riding one-handed and just resting my left hand on my leg - I have worn holes in jeans doing that and now my "good" jodhs are showing the strain too !

Also I smoke - bad enough but I smoke on horseback too ( and can hand- roll a cig while riding )

I twist to the left a bit (due to bad leg ) and put uneven pressure in the stirrups but I'm working on that !

Phoning and texting whilst riding down the road is none too good either.

Which of your faults would make your instructor wince ?

Answer 1

I always lean too far forward, and let my horse get away with stuff that he shouldn't.

Answer 2

i have bad habbits cause sometimes i dont keep my hands quite and they flop around but im trying not to and im doing well!!!!! my intrustor would be mad if he saw me :) lol

Answer 3

I don't arch my back enough when I two point over the jump!!! When I first started jumping, my two point was horrible!! The horse I learned on didn't really jump, he heaved himself over the jumps. So, my two point was to lean way back right in front of the jump, then fling myself forward. Terrible, terrible two point habit. So, over the next couple years I've had to completely change the way I two point!!!

When I'm untacking after a long, hard, hot lesson, I tend to leave my pony just standing there, not hooked up to the crossties. She's half dead from the lesson (she's really tired) so she's not going anywhere!!! My trainers have never caught me untacking while the horse wasn't attached to a lead rope or crossties, but if they did, I'd probably be in HUUUUUUUUGE trouble!!!

Answer 4

yeah i text or phone when im out hacking

and sometimes ride one handed depending on the horse

cant keep my heels down

ride with extremely short stirrups...i do ride thoroughbreds tho to be fair!

lean forwards

jumping position i dont fold i just stand up

twist my hands inwards instead of having my thumb on top

i always wear my hat though!! wouldnt dream of not!!

Answer 5

I don't push my heels down properly, and let my toes drift outwards.

I use the cantle a little bit too much when mounting.

I mount using a gate, wall, hedge, large rock etc. as a mounting block.

I unbuckle my helmet during cool down, i keep it on but its not fastened.

I also do one handed riding.

I spend far too long fixing my stirrups. In lessons i do that quite quickly, but on my own i faff about with it.

And when hacking i look over hedges and stuff.

If my instructor knew any of that she'd kill me. But fortunately she doesn't know.

Answer 6

I have a huge problem in my dressage lesson with using my heel instead of the side of the foot for cues. I also tend to be too stiff and sometimes i try to force the head framing position, when in reality it is supposed to be really gentle. :) i have lots of riding habits lol. that is when my instructor is there...

when she isnt, i will go without a helmet for a few minutes and ride over to the tack post. Or i stand on my horse, hehe she would freak if she saw that, i will also wear shorts, and flat shoes. I will also talk on my cell phone, or not really focus on riding and toalk to my friends while in the saddle :D hope she doesnt find out...

Answer 7

When I cut I lean forward and get too 'athletic' [as my trainer puts it].

Answer 8

My worst habit ( and yes, I know better ) -

I don't like to wear a helmet!

Other bad ones:

I tend to be a bit one sided (right side)

I'm a bit dyslexic, so as a kid, I can't tell you how many courses I rode in reverse.....so embarrassing!

It took me years to correct that!

Answer 9

i used to push my leg forward

Answer 10

Uh you shouldn't smoke while riding.

Answer 11

Don't have an instructor, never have, so I'm sure people would find a lot of bad habits I don't see.  But at my age I don't care.  I don't show so....If I ride like a sack of taters with legs & still get through my ride with my horses & I still alive & unmamed, there ya go!!!

I have never worn a helmet, still don't.

My right leg is bowed a bit, so my toe points in when riding.

I use roping reins, so I ride one handed (my left).  Actually it's more like I ride one fingered, left middle.

My right hand is either dangling at my right leg, but more often it is behind me, between my lower back/butt & the cantle.

These are habits one picks up from years & years of riding well broke Quarter Horses where nothing ever surprises them anymore.  Most you could even shoot a gun off of & they barely twiched an ear (tampons in the ears for earplugs).  Dad & grandad believed in well trainded horses that were versatile, smart, tough & gentle.  Guess thats why foundation blood is still so important to me today. That there might be another bad habit, HA HA!!

**EDIT**

OOPPSS!!! forgot about the riding in tennis shoes thing.  Thanks BB!

*EDIT*

Saw that did ya?   Sloopy PottyFace

Answer 12

lol, good question, I'm bad at keeping my heels down, toes up... for only a few seconds, then I forget, and they start to go flat. And sometimes I remember again, so I keep my heels down, and then, once again... I forget lol.

Answer 13

I have a habit of putting more weight on my left side; (bad back)..even though I'm right handed and my right leg is stronger than my left.  I did smoke but caught the wrath of my neurosurgeon so I had to quit prior to major surgery.

Great question and great answers....most are too funny!!

Answer 14

You have the stile of the old west in you.Manny here in the U.S. would commend you on your ability to role a cigarette as you ride.Can you throw a lassol as you ride,and lassol a calf as well?

Answer 15

Do you drive a car or ride a m/cycle?  We all get a few bad habites after the "final test" from instructors. Would you even consider texting/phoning whilst driving? - NO. Rolling a ciggy whilst driving - NO. A horse is a living creature and can, at any given time, rear, shy, bolt or stop suddenly..... Be a responsible rider and consider every other road user..... Ride how you have been taught for the safety of everyone....including your horse and yourself.

Answer 16

I do speed events, so I'm constantly leaning forward, when I need to sit on my but. And I jiggle the reins when I want my horse to back up, not constant pressure. But I wear my helmet!

Answer 17

lol!!! ok my hands do a weird thing when i jump, i used to get yelled at all the time for that!!! they kinda come right out to the side.. i dunno what thats about!! oh and i have a really bad habit of shutting my eyes when i jump!!! i also slouch when i can get away with it.. and i probably have a zillion other bad habits..but since i haven't rode properly for ages, i can't remember!!! funny question!! lol!! xx

Answer 18

hmm. Cantering around on my big 16h appy with no halter, bridle, saddle nothhing. ooh and i dont think i was wearing a helmet. i couldt stop him! my friend who was on the ground tried but, err she nearly go squished.

oh and on my new horse i cantered her up my road (on the footpath) with no helmet, just halter n leadrope.pure magic though

hehe

Answer 19

i'm bad when i'm cantering i tend to pump with my left leg!  working on that

Answer 20

i always hunch my shoulders up and tense up when im riding.

when im riding my connemara she is VERY forward going and because i tend to lean forward in canter she thinks i mean GO FASTER so starts galloping off with me through the fields.

not good.

whilst hacking i have the tendency to day dream and when riding my thoroughbred its bad because she is abit spooky.

i spend more time sitting on the floor rather than on her!

Answer 21

Deb, you make me laugh every time!  Picturing the ciggie roll...

I don't have an instructor, but I have plenty of bad habits...it took forever for me to learn to relax the leg on my TWH.  (Squeezing means go faster)

I'm unbalanced in my legs due to permanent nerve damage on the right.

But the worst is probably letting the Cap'n swim around in my diet Coke.

Answer 22

I'm with BlackB, I ride in tennis shoes!! I smoke on the horse, too, but lefties.... My mom was my instructor. She stoped about 16 yrs ago..... Well it never has stopped!! LOL Then you say that is it terrible for riding one handed, thats all I do. It just sounds funny! I know the english thing. LOL

Answer 23

I also ride one handed and text & phone on horseback... but my instructor is worse than me for that!!! lol!!

What really makes him wince is that I am not disciplined enough and tend to have a "that will do attitude"!!! He told me off for hacking out with friends the day before my last competition instead of schooling.... but my argument is that my horse was sour when  first got him so I don't want to overdo it!!! lol!!!!  

My other vice is cantering up all the grass verges (not people's lawns though!!!)

Answer 24

i lean forward to much my intructor tells me to " feel like shes pulling on my hair , pulling me back" its feels awrful but im actually sitting up straight!!!

umm problably jumping bareback alone. not good i just found out at my club that u have to be 18 to ride alone, well atleast ppl have offered to be my "guardians" when their there, great club i got to t hats for sure

i hate back protectors, the y feel like they limit my movement but they are life savers in some circumstances.

oh and i have to find a trainer now because my horse has learnt to walk all over me, im a shy person so i need some backbone with him

Answer 25

For me, its probably smoking my pipe while riding.

Answer 26

omg...wat a great question...mine are the two...and mostly always..hehe one is the hill down toes up...i forget that lol and the other is on canter i put my reins up too high and my horse gets stressed...

Answer 27

Oh we sound about the same as far as habits go except I kicked smoking some years back....I used to do it to prove a horse was steady,you know find my tobacco and my papers roll it it all up find my matches all while the horse stood steady.Well that's how i justified it any how

Answer 28

i am constantly leaning foward in two point position, especially in canter, my horse is a lazy old thing so i feel the need to do that, but my instructor goes crazy :)

and i also lean when i am turning which is really bad cuz the horse gets all choppy when turning but hey! no ones perfect !!

Answer 29

Im forever texting and chatting on my phone when Im riding!!! (Not my fault my friends have bad timing!! lol!!)

Im not sure what you describe can really be called habits so much as flaws as I dont think they actually intefere with your riding ability - but h**l when people spend a lot of time on a horse then they're bound to get a bit sloppy and forget the golden rules!!

xx

Answer 30

I am bed for no wearing hat!

Answer 31

Im bad at forgetting how to ride. I know more than most about horses and how they think and the proper way to ride but sometimes I throw all that away in order to just "look" like a good rider. Like I will just W/T/C and just focus on my leg being still and my upper body at the perfect angle make sure my half seat is perfect and I'm not posting too high, that stuff. And that is not really classified as riding so I have to work on making sure the horse comes first and I can worry about how I look later.