I'm not sure if I did the right thing

[starcrossed]

I was riding a thoroughbred mare today for the first time (and this was a riding school mare, FYI and I'm a novice but clue #1 she was spooky was she was being ridden in a standing martingale.) First she spooked at a yellow part of a jump and I stayed on, but then coming past it again she bucked me off. It was a relatively soft fall but I didn't

Comments

[pekover]

I'm not sure of the connection between a standing martingale and being spooky - aren't martingales generally used to influence the head carriage?

In terms of your other doubts - I'd say that if you feel you were outhorsed, you did the right thing in asking for a different one. There's no point in being foolish about it. If you're worried about the safety of the school, I'd speak to the instructor - was the mare expected to be this difficult, or was it a surprise? did the instructor agree with your decision to try another horse? etc.

I'm an intermediate rider, and I've found that there are some horses that I get along well with, and others that I don't. My instructor has pointed out that I tend to muscle my way around horses, riding quite forcefully (lots of seat, lots of contact, expectation of near-instant obedience) - there's horses that respond fine to that, and others that get VERY worked up. It's a bit of a challenge, because obviously in order to improve as a rider, I need to be able to customize my style to the horse that I'm riding, and I won't be able to do that if I keep working only on horses that do well with my current style. So, long story short, possibly this mare isn't a problem horse usually, but there was something about the way the two of you interacted that led to a problem.

If your instructor doesn't seem sensitive to that sort of issue, maybe there's a problem with the school. But otherwise, I'd say we all fall off sometimes, and it doesn't mean the school is unsafe just because it was your turn to fall!

[starcrossed]

They said she does often spook. I just felt kinda outhorsed being a novice rider (and quite nervous/tense.)

[lyonesse]

tell your instructor this, and ask for just reliable horses for now, and see what they say. this should be an easily-accomodated request.

good luck and have fun! :)

[jacketeer]

Seconded! Let them know you're feeling anxious about taking on more difficult horses, and you'd like to stick with those you'll feel comfortable and safe on for now. There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking it slow.

[creseis_acicula]

exactly, if you're not comfortable, you're not going to learn very well. And you stiffen up, which can create a dangerous situation.

[buymeaclue]

I'm not sure of the connection between a standing martingale and being spooky - aren't martingales generally used to influence the head carriage?

A martingale as properly deployed in the jumping sports (I can't speak for saddleseat or the western disciplines) is a safety precaution. Protects the rider's face and prevents the horse from getting so far above the bit as to become unrideable.

If it's adjusted short enough to influence head carriage in a meaningful way, it's adjusted too short.

OP, removing yourself from a situation in which you feel unsafe--not just challenged, but actively unsafe--is always the right choice. There's no reason at all that a mare or a Thoroughbred can't be a perfectly nice beginner school horse, given the right Thoroughbred and/or the right mare, but if you didn't feel like you could control this particular critter and your instructor wasn't able to help you work through it, then yeah, asking for something more conducive to learning what you need to learn right now is legit.