From: Wendy
I am a college student and I can't get out to see my horse every day like I used to. We have both just started working with a new dressage trainer and dressage is very new to both of us. Is it a bad idea to be trying new things when I can only ride once or twice a week?
Hi Wendy! As long as you don't push too hard during your lessons and rides, this is a good time for you and your horse to learn new things. Time off between rides doesn't mean time wasted, or backsliding -- it just means that you'll always have time to think about what you did in the previous session.
This works for your horse too. Your horse may not "think" about the session consciously, but I've often found that many horses exhibit excellent latent learning -- you can begin work on something new, go away for a few days, come back, try again, and find that the horse does it easily and may even have taken it a step beyond the point at which you left off!
And there may be a real advantage to your situation: if your horse gets any small injury, perhaps a strain or a sore back, during one ride, it will have a couple of days to relax and recover in turnout before the next session.
As long as the sessions are pleasant, you and your horse enjoy each other, and your horse has exercise (turnout?) on the other days, your schedule shouldn't get in the way of your progress. You won't build habits and reflexes (in yourself or the horse) as quickly as you would if you could ride every day, but there's no reason that you can't both make steady progress. If you have a good dressage trainer, the training will be geared to the horse's physical and mental development in any case, and you won't be pushed too fast or feel that you're "getting behind." Many good riders began by riding once a week, in a lesson, over a period or a year or several years. If you and your instructor both understand the situation, and agree about your goals and the program that will help you achieve them, you should be fine.
Jessica
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