I don't mean quit riding altogether. But I have been riding for 12 years - I'm 55 now. I have never been athletically inclined (coordinated with large muscle groups) plus had a nightmare of a horse for 4 years and almost quit riding. For the past 3 years, I've had a horse that likes to work for me. But it has taken me a long, long time to get really good at walk, trot and canter. I've done English pleasure, intro dressage, and lately hunter/jumper equitation. I've started with crossrails and low fences (18").This month my horse is getting jumping training, mainly to get him going calmly over the little stuff. I think that is all I will make my goal. Used to be 3' fences, then 2'3" but I am tired of trying, taking lessons, training and always striving but going at a snail's pace. I am not comfortable cantering crossrails, after the last several months of lessons (on and off with crossrails in the lessons).

I've done alot of trail riding and really enjoy that. There isn't much by way of trails where I board. I have a trailer but it is really hard to find someone to go with me to trail ride. There are trail riding groups, but - well, let's just say I don't feel most of them have safety in mind.

So I am greatly decreasing my jumping goals. I'll continue this year and see how I do, and go as far as I can. I may part-lease my horse to someone who likes to jump as he loves it. I might go back to dressage and show him in that discipline instead of making H/J my show goal. I've always dreamed about cross country but don't know if I have that kind of courage, even for the beginner course. My horse can be very forward and has alot of energy to contain.

Anyway, thanks for listening!

Has anyone else out there changed his/her goals a their journey quickly headed toward older age issues?

 I haven't changed goals due to age...yet!  However part of the issue seems to be that what you enjoy most, trail rides, isn't readily available.  You signed your post MorganRider so I'm curious, are you involved in a Morgan Club?  I have a 13 year old Morgan gelding and this year we have gotten more involved in the breed club.  The club does monthly trail rides and just this past weekend we participated in a Lewis & Clark festival & parade with the group.  It was the first time I've been in that environment with my gelding but we did some desensitizing to work up to it and he was quite confident.  I guess my point is that it's helpful to have others to do horsey things with, it's just a task sometimes finding the right group.  I don't jump and have no interest doing so...my "older" body doesn't bounce so well!!  Like you however, I like dressage and the challenge it presents even though I too move at a snails pace.  We have also worked hard at Natural Horsemanship. That has been a challenge too but lots of fun.  We're part of a Natural Horseman group too and participate in play days with others.  Sometimes it's just okay to have fun and not work so hard to meet a goal.

 I think goals should be flexible.

It sounds like yours are, but it sounds like you might be constrained a bit by the prospect of showing?

I realize that I come from a different perspective, but I don't want to show. It isn't something that I am interested in right now. (Part of the issue is that I work all weekend, every weekend; but I could probably find a job where that wasn't the case if I was so inclined. Right now, it is a nice excuse when people start pushing me towards the show ring).  I may change my mind in the future, but for now I just ride for pleasure. I take lessons to make myself a better rider. 

At times, it has been hard for me to find a trainer/instructor that is comfortable with that. It seems like many of them need to have that competative goal for their students; without it, they had a hard time devising lessons and figuring out what to do with me. Luckily, right now I have found an instructor that doesn't have a problem with my plans. My last instructor kept pushing me to do dressage, and to enter local shows.  My current instructor is fine with my goals. She knows that I want to learn to jump, but that my ultimate goal is to be a better rider. Some days, we work on some of my horses' issues. Some days, we do dressage. Some days, we work on jumping over cavelettis. 

I don't care if she wants me to act  like I'm preparing for a show -- I think that is part of learning to do things correctly. For example, sometimes she has me work on the dressage tests.  That's fine with me, and we can do it until my horse and I get it right. When she feels as though we are ready to move on, we do. 

The advantage to this way of thinking is that  I don't have to worry about fitting into a certain H/J group. I have not yet progressed to jumping at the canter (have only been back to taking lessons for a little over a month, and my canter has always been an issue). Some days, we work on jumping at the trot. Other days, we work on my canter. Right now, we are just jumping cavelettis. How high to I want to go? As high as my horse and I can take us. I have no idea right now what that will be. Right now, my goal is to learn to jump (at the canter) over something higher than a caveletti ;). Once I get to that point, I'll set a higher goal. 

I know that some people need  to have that competitive goal to work towards. I think that it is OK if you feel that way, but your post seems to indicate otherwise. It sounds like you are frustrated at not being able to find  a goal that you are happy with and can work towards.  There is more to enjoying owning a horse than just competition vs. trail riding. I know how boring it can be to just ride around a round pen or an arena without a goal to work on. That's why I enjoy our dressage lessons (even though I really don't like dressage). I can work on that kind of stuff on my own (too wimpy to work on jumping on my own).

I wouldn't really say that I've changed my goals due to being older. I'm in my mid-30s, and have probably become more aggressive as I've gotten older (and more confident). I'm single, though; so the need to be careful less I hurt myself to the point where I can't work is always in the back of my mind. 

Hope that helps some. It just sounds like you are frustrated at trying to find a goal that will work for you. 

 There is a Morgan club, but they don't trail ride. There are a few individuals I can trail ride with but it's hard to get together with most of them. I will just have to be content with the few off-farm trail rides I can get to each year.

 

As far as goals go, it helps me to become a better rider to work on equitation. I do enjoy that. I had always wanted to show, wanted to be a complete horsewoman by owning my own trailer. I have that now, and have been to a few shows. I enjoy more laid back shows - schooling types - and they are further away than the ones the barn goes to (2 hour drive one way). But that's life. After I posted the above comments, I realized that I needed to take the pressure off myself to canter a 2' foot fence this year because my horse and I do have the capability already - just keep taking a weekly lesson and let it come when it gets here. My previous horse almost totally destroyed my confidence. I sold her 4 years ago but my old mind replays that tape every now and then. But I'll keep going, and if I jump more than a crossrail, great. If not, I'll go trail riding! I really do enjoy it all.

I feel like I go at a snail's pace too, it was so much easier when I was a little kid..  I think dressage takes everyone nearly a lifetime.  I'm 25 and started seriously taking dressage lessons and riding right after I finished college 4 years ago.  I'm still struggling with the canter transition!  My trainer I grew up with gets frustrated because she says my seat was so much better when I was a kid.  Sometimes I want to give up too!  But when I think about how depressed and miserable I was the years I wasn't riding, I know I just have to keep plugging along!

I do have to have show goals, but I keep them pretty low key.  I would like to get to 2nd level dressage in my lifetime (a stretch I realize, lol) and I want to do some lower level eventing.  4-H shows are super fun, I know I'm a little old for them, but I like just going in and doing a low key dressage test and doing the crossrails classes.  All the kids must think I'm nuts!  I also have nowhere to trailride that I have discovered, and my trainer is always too busy to hack around with me, though we do try to go somewhere fun once a month.  One thing I'd love to do once I get a horse is travel the country riding trails in national parks.  I've visited Gettysburg and Chickamaugua and they have the most amazing trails, but the trail horses there often aren't cared for very well.

There is no other hobby like riding!  With tennis or running its not like you love your tennis rackett or running shoes like you love your horse.  We are so lucky to even be exposed to these animals at all.  I cant count all the times someone has come up to me and said "Oh you ride!  I just love horses but never have had the oppurtunity to do anything with them."

I am just starting to take a bigger interest in dressage.  I just love to ride.  I'm in my late 30's, have no showing goals, but I do take lessons for myself to become a better rider.  I wish there was someone close that did have a trailer and didn't mind a fellow horsey pal tagging along for some trail rides .  Even if I had that, I think I would still be held back because of having young children.  *Some day*.   It's always more fun to ride with someone.  I agree with the poster that said you should have flexible goals...mine seem to change every couple of months.

 I emailed you!

Yes, indeed.  I resumed riding about 5 years ago with a goal of learning dressage and resuming jumping (not competitively, low fences, just for fun).  I bought an old mare first, then a young gelding who was basically green-broke.  He had terrible ground manners and freaked out at being alone in the barn, once running out of a barn with the stall gate around his neck during a dressage clinic.  'Nuff said about that.  Yet, in other respects he was a very good horse, perplexing, but sweet.  He works very well for the police who have him now. 

Three years ago, while riding him at a walk in the arena, he suddenly took off at a dead run.  Not being astute at picking up on horse behavior, I didn't anticipate that was going to happen.  I fell off and fractured a vertebra.  I just resumed riding this year, with some trepidation, my new 19 year-old gelding, a perfect gent.  I am taking lessons from a wonderful instructor who works well with fearful riders. 

Since getting back into riding these past 5 years, I have fractured ribs, a vertebra, and my nose.  I have discovered at 57 that I am not a kid anymore, I am breakable and mortal.  So I have decided that leisurely trail rides on a reliable older horse are for me.  

I'm not saying that should be your goal, just that there is no shame in adjusting your goals, especially if you don't feel comfortable in your current discipline. 

Good luck to you!

 

653439:

I'm 55 now.

I'm 62.

653439:

I have never been athletically inclined

You and me both, sister.

653439:

a nightmare of a horse

Been there! Ten years later, my 18 months with him still affect my confidence.

653439:

But it has taken me a long, long time to get really good at walk, trot and canter.

Yep. Seems like WAY longer than it should have, and sometimes I get jealous of the young kids who seem so natural. But - I was probably like that at their age, and if I'd had the parental support and money that they do, I would have been like them. I'm where I'm at now and need to accept it and build from there. Comparing myself to them is self-defeating.

653439:

Used to be 3' fences, then 2'3" . . .  I am not comfortable cantering crossrails, after the last several months of lessons (on and off with crossrails in the lessons).

This is me exactly!

 

653439:

I've done alot of trail riding and really enjoy that. There isn't much by way of trails where I board. I have a trailer but it is really hard to find someone to go with me to trail ride. There are trail riding groups, but - well, let's just say I don't feel most of them have safety in mind.

Again, been through ALL of this, although I don't have a trailer. My best trail buddy took her horse home from the boarding stable last year and I haven't seen her since. I don't always want to gallop or go for hours.

653439:

I may part-lease my horse to someone who likes to jump as he loves it.

My horse loves to jump too. I let a teenager jump her once a week or so.

653439:

I might go back to dressage and show him in that discipline instead of making H/J my show goal.

I stopped jumping entirely for the past 6 months and resolved not to jump again unless I wanted to so badly that I just couldn't stand it. In the meantime, I worked on dressage and greatly improved my horse's straightness, responsiveness, and athleticism. I've jumped very small jumps about 2 or 3 times in that period, usually when no one is around so it can be my little secret. Being praised for jumping, at this point, is actually stressful for me.

653439:

I've always dreamed about cross country but don't know if I have that kind of courage, even for the beginner course. My horse can be very forward and has alot of energy to contain.

You can do something similar in an arena - just set up more natural types of jumps. Tires and barrels are good to start with. Also, if you do have trails you can go on, walk the trails without your horse and look for places where you can move a dead tree trunk, for instance, into the way. It can be small and just lying on the ground so the height is still low. You can decide whether to leave room on one side to avoid it, or to make it unavoidable, depending on which way you think will be best for you and your horse's mentality. 

653439:

My horse can be very forward and has alot of energy to contain.

This may be the hardest part. You might be happier in the long run with a quieter horse. I know how hard this decision would be. But for me, at my age it's all about what is reasonable to accomplish. I've never shown seriously (for financial reasons) so at my age can I expect to be competitive, especially since the financial reasons are still there? Honestly, no. So that's not the most reasonable goal for me. Is it possible?? Yes. Worth the effort/investment? No. Same with the forward horse. If you were buying a horse today, would you buy this one? Have you ever had a quieter horse, and do you ever wish . . . ? My current horse is my first ever. When I bought her, I told the sellers I wanted a quiet trail horse. She was the first one out of all that I'd tried that I felt comfortable cantering on after 10 minutes. She's lazy, has average gaits that will never impress in dressage, not a "scopy" jumper, not a flashy color - but she is perfect for me and has been such a confidence builder.

Getting older is no fun. Being a perpetual beginner is humbling. I think it all comes down to how you feel when you get on the horse and how you feel when you get off. If you're happy to get on, then you love riding. If you're happy when you get off, then you have a good partnership with your horse. You need both.

I know this is long, but one more thing - In order to improve, you have to do what is hardest. For me, it was getting and knowing my correct leads at the canter. Several lunge lessons and weeks of practice later, I've come a long way. I had good instruction and "homework" which I practiced faithfully. But the very first ingredient was my saying to myself, "I'm going to accomplish this no matter what it takes - multiple lessons per week, every bit of my disposable income for months, no matter, I have to get over this hurdle." So I chose the goal myself, not someone else for me.

Good luck! Ride till you're 90, then learn to drive!

 

 

 My Gracie,

Great words of wisdom! And exaclty what I needed to hear. When I bought my horse (#3), the owner said he was lazy. He was very laid back then. He is in great shape now, and has lots of skills. I can handle his energy on the flat, but he has jumped me out of my stirrups a couple of times. That might be fun for a young person, but that is a big concern for me. So I put him in training with the trainer at the barn, for a month. Not to do any big jumps but so that he would eventually go quiet over crossrails and small fences. which is what is being accomplished.

Meanwhile, I decreased my goals and expectations. If I can canter crossrails confidently by the end of ths year I will be happy. If I can canter an 18" rail by the end of next year, I can die a happy woman. If I want to go further great. If not, I have unmet goals for dressage.

I think you are so right about not competing with young people. They learn so much faster and don't have fears. Also, I have been to a few shows and done well. I have some ribbons (even blue ones) I can hang on the wall. Again, I can die a happy woman.

That is just a phrase of course, as far as I know, I'm going to live on and keep riding. But it is so ENCOURAGING to hear from others who are in their middle + years and it's okay to just be who you are and ride at your own level because in the end, it really doesn't matter. Just ride, and have fun with your horse. I'm sure I will be able to enjoy my horse, even his energy has been fun at times (just not over fences). I don't need to stress myself out for any reason. I will be looking for someone to part-lease him which will help financially and give him an opportunity to jump to his heart's delight. I bet he will like dressage also, he likes to work hard. Just don't forget the cookies afterward!

Thanks again.

I began riding when I retired from teaching at age 60.  After some "groundwork" training and riding lessons, I brought a horse who nearly did me in.  She was a "bolter" and I never did learn to stop her properly.  After being thrown with concussion and tail bone injury, my husband encouraged me to try another horse and less demanding riding.  I gave my horse to a natural horseman trainer who rides her and loves her (but still deals with bolting issues she can handle).  I now have a 14-year-old Kentucky Mountain Pleasure Horse that  I rescued from a neglect situation.  After properly feeding and caring for her, I have worked hard with her for a year on ground work, desensitizing and riding. Now, w
e are a great trail-riding team and great buddies.  I feel I can trust her anywhere and she can trust me to take care of her forever.

I wrote before about changing horses because of a "bolting" horse.  Forgot to tell you, I think, that I now have a KY mountain "gaited" horse and I am so happy now that I am older to be riding a gentle-going, smooth going (with no trot) horse.  She has a wonderful smooth canter and a ready transition from the "gait' to the "canter."  So, good luck and don't be afraid to change your goals from jumping to natural horsemanship training which is great fun.  I also enjoy very much riding on a "loose"rein and using mostly leg and body aids.  Perhaps you would enjoy clinics and training to a "new" form of riding.  Jumping certainly gets harder and more unsafe the older we get, I think.  There are many other great fun things you can do with your horse.     Retwalla

 I already do some natural horsemanship and I certainly want to continue riding, not so much on the ground work. I have decided to keep my "jumping" goals very small at least for now. Like 18"! Maybe I'll go higher sometime. Once I took the pressure off myself, I felt alot better approaching jumping in very small steps.

My horse loves to jump, so I can always find a part-leasee to do that with him if I don't go very far with it. I don't have anything like a bolting problem, and my horse is very willing to work for me. I can always work on equitation or dressaage, crossrails, trails, etc. Plenty to do under saddle!

Yes, thank goodness, there is always plenty to do under saddle and plenty to do that is fun on the ground.  One of the things I love best is just walking with my horse, especially when she follows me like my pet dog, walks when I walk, trots when I trot, stops and backs when I do, etc.  I love to walk and play with her.  We do "point to point" where I point and ask her to go, walk with my hand on her back behind her withers and head for a tree or other "object."  Once there, I stop walking and she stops and puts her nose on the object.  Then we start for another object.  Great fun for both of us and seems to help her to "walk straight" in the pasture when riding from "point to point."  Just keeps us from becoming bored.  Of course, we play lots of games under saddle, also.  We are now working to prepare her for "bridleless" riding.  I put the reins over the saddle horn and ride with my hands in proper position as though I were holding reins (or sometimes cross arms with hands on my upper arms and just concentrate on looking and turning my body in direction I want to go).  I also use leg cues, followed by slight rein cue,  f necessary, or if she loses concentration to bring her back to task.  All great fun.  Have fun with your four-legged friend.   Retwalla

 Can you explain more about games? One that I play is to (after it rains) write our initials in big letters in the san. Talk aobut having to use your legs!