I never took lessons. Just bought a horse and started riding. Had to hack about 5 m to meet riding friends but often rode alone

 

You are a brave soul 😅.

 

I rarely rode my own horses alone, only sometimes rode a friend's projects or a personal horse she'd want excercised if she couldn't and when I it became my job and I had to ride or drive alone it became a non issue.

 

At one year you're probably all right to do a bit of this, but best to ask your instructor. What are the horses like there? Are they solid, non-spooky types? Or do they have a lot of, err, quirks? What types of things are you doing in your lessons?

 

The horse I ride is a unicorn, he's very well behaved and unbothered by pretty much anything. However he's a stallion so that just makes me a little uneasy even though he's never shown any issues around mares.

I started out super afraid of horses so we spent a LOT of time just working on my position, seat, jog, and trot. Just recently have started working on the canter.

 

Bought a horse and started riding. I had taken some lessons in my early 20s but took up riding for real at 50. An Australian saddle helped keep my alive while I learned about spooks and bolts.

 

@Morg93: I didn't start riding until I was 40. My question is when you talk riding alone, are you talking staying in an indoor/outdoor arena where the horse you ride is at? I'd imagine you'd be okay at this point, but I'm with @SteadyOn in that I'd check with your trainer. I'd also ask if they would recommend you do it without other horses (may not be possible) in the riding arena at least initially.

 

Yes I am talking about inside the arena only for now. Most of the time there's usually no other riders when I got at most 1 or 2 on a busy day.

 

My sisters and I got our first horses in our early 20's and had some informal lessons from an old cowboy. The barn where we boarded backed up to wild BLM and forestry land and everybody said we shouldn't ride alone up there for safety reasons. So I didn't really go solo until we had to move to another barn a couple years later. The new place had nice wooded acreage with trails that I went around alone on all the time. But we still went out with at least one other person if going off property.

 

Up until the age of 30 I probably wouldn't need all my 20 digits to count the total number of hours I had been on a horse. But I was always athletic and can't remember a time I didn't feel balanced on a horse. I started riding solo as soon as I got my first horse.
But that doesn't help you any.
I don't know if anyone who has never lacked confidence can help a rider who lacks confidence. The only thing I can suggest is look for that feeling of being balanced on the saddle. I never took a riding lesson in my life. When I look at those riders with their heels down and their backs arched, they just don't look balanced to me. Neither do I feel balanced nor relaxed when I adopt that posture. Look at old black and white episodes of Cisco Kid (You Tube). Watch how those guys ride.

 

I didn't ride much until I was 34. My middle daughter and I didn't have much in common and I was searching for a bond with her. She wanted a horse and I was interested in them , so it began. After many years of riding together now she has moved on but, our bond is still there but, she left me with the addiction. Like @ Charro I've never had a lesson, just learned on my own and was naturally athletic. Was never thrown until my last start on a colt at 70 just when I did need to eat dirt. I do most of my riding alone and have for at least 20 years.

 

I hope by "riding alone" you mean to stay close to home or at least let someone know the route your taking so if anything happens people know where to look. Even with cell phones it doesn't mean you'd be able to use it if you're injured. By the time a search party gets together to look for you or track the phone signal it could be too late depending on where you are. This has nothing to do with being confident--just taking some precautions.

Case in point--Four of us went riding up in the hills once and after coming over a ridge one of the ladies looked around and said "Well here's your sister's horse but where is she?" A ways back she'd fallen off and we didn't hear anything--her horse just kept right on following us. So we had to backtrack til we found her. She had fallen and rolled down a hill stopping at the base of a tree. The wind was knocked out of her so she couldn't call for help. Thankfully she was ok but what if she wasn't and we hadn't been there? This was before cell phones and probably wouldn't have had service out there anyway. I could recount many similar stories to this as well.

 

I was talking about going to the barn and riding in the arena without my trainer.

 

For me it’s depended on the horse. The first horse I rode alone was a lease mare in my late 20s. She was a cool cucumber and was a great solo trail horse. My next two leases I wasn’t comfortable enough and stuck to arena riding (which I did solo).

Emma I bought with trail riding solo a requirement.

 

It depends on the horse, and how 'adult' you are. I mean, some folks thing that starting to ride at 30 is 'old'. Some complain that they'll never get good, since they started at 20 instead of the teeny boppers they ride with.

I started at 41, though I had some distant riding experience from young childhood. I had no choice but to hack out alone. Good thing, becuase at the start I had no idea of what challenges might come my way, so I did not fear them.
But, in any case, there are horses that I've ridden in the last 22 years that I would NOT hack out alone . . ever. Others are a snap. just depends on the horse, and where you will ride.

 

Pretty quickly. I thinknI went out w/my trainer.... one time once I was mounted. I DID learn to make sure someone knew where I was going and when I should be back after one experience that made me rethink some things (aka, I scared myself and realized that nobody'd know if I was dead/hurt because I hadnt told anyone). Generally, I PREFER riding alone. My horse(s) deserve my undivided attention and they dont get that when other people are around. That said, I try riding with others about once a year... and then swear it off because "OMG SHUSH. Im trying to work w/my horse!" XD

 

In your case I think it's fantastic and you are going to improve a lot if you have this opportunity, just realizing that the same thing you were practicing in your last lesson isn't as easy without someone guiding you from the ground (ask me how I know [emoji6])
I would be reluctant to recommend it to someone wanting to hack outside an arena alone with only one year of experience, but, again, it's going to depend on circumstances:

• Depending on if it's your horse or not
• Depending if in your previous experience you did the same (and you are going to stay on the same trails) or not
• Of course, it depends on the horse temperament and the rider's also
• Depending on how much traffic there is on the trails...

Anyway, as others have said, it's a good practice to let others know where are you going, just in case something happens and you aren't able to ask for help. I'm not good with that myself I must confess, if I go out alone I do share my location with my husband, but if I'm alone on the arena I don't bother, although in my case there might not be anybody in the barn for a couple of hours at most.

 

It’s weird. I started riding without a trainer (but there were unhorsy people there) recently, and it’s more psychological for me. The fact that I am the most knowledgeable one there put a massive weight on my shoulders. If something goes wrong there is no one to tell me what to do. I get to decide what to do. That was the weirdest thing.
What I did was I said (for example) I need to work on my posture, so I concentrated on that. Otherwise for me it’s like getting dumped in the middle of the ocean when you can’t really swim. After a few rides you will get confidence and have fun!