What is so wrong with my riding?

Well your question got cut off, but it sounds to me that you really aren't doing anything wrong. I feel that your horsey career has been riddled with misfortune and that this is causing you to have a huge loss of confidence, right?

It could be that your horses have been worked a little too hard by you in the past as you progressed up the dressage levels and they had to snap at some point. They could all have been a very temperamental bunch and no matter what you had of done they would always have 'turned against you.' It could have been any thing to be perfectly honest, without knowing these horses we can only guess!

With your new fantastic lease horse, I really think you need to take a break from the stresses of riding and focus on the amazing bits, the problem with the girth could not possible be your fault. Don't just give up on him the minute there is a tiny problem. Get out of the arena and stop focusing on dressage - go for a hack. Try jumping him a bit or have a go at cross country.

After you have remembered what fun riding actually is, then you can go back to serious training, and think logically about any problems you may encounter. Don't just shove the blame on yourself, think things through slowly.

If it happened to one horse I might think it was the horse, but it seems you are working on a little track record, so I would be inclined to think you were at least a little at fault. And while medal winning trainers can be great, they are expensive and know that they will make more money milking people along telling them they are wonderful rather than telling the truth.

You have said you looked at saddle fit, so I will assume you have looked at different bits, girths, and blankets as well. So those probably aren't the problem. Have the horses been tested for ulcers? Since it begins a little after you get them, I wonder if it has to do with a feeding program you put them on that in combination to riding stress may contribute to ulcers or other nutrtional problems.

Based on what you have said, it sounds like something you are doing. What you are doing? I don't know becasue I can see it happening, and even if I could it may be so minor that it is hard to notice from the ground. All I can suggest is backing away from dressage for a short while. See if that makes a difference. No getting the horse into a frame, no patterns. Just some simple riding. Look at it like therapy. If the horse calms down, then gradually build back up to a regular dressage routine and maybe you will stumble on something. If the horse is safe enough right now, try riding bareback and working on your seat.

Part of me thinks it is going to be a downhill spiral for you. You had a bad experience, and now everytime the horse acts up you react as if this horse is going to be the same as the last and you push the situation to that point regardless. Your description of the last situation makes it sound like you are ready to give up on the horse at the first sign of trouble. And the fact that others have come and worked with the horses after you and managed to work through the problems makes me think that they either are riding better or doing a better job keeping the horse in line.

Dressage is difficult. It is hard for a rider to be good at it, and it is hard on the horse. You may find it is not for you. But I think the best thing you could do is back away from it and do some simple pleasure riding and see if there is a difference. But I wouldn't give up riding all togethor.

Maybe you are riding them to hard, or your saddle might not fit right. Try doing join up a few times with your horse, so they will learn to trust you. Then you can work on ground work, once you are satisfied with how your horse is behaving, then try riding them again. But instead of doing dressage all the time, try riding western. or you could even try riding in a plain old english saddle. Don't push your horse to much at first, just do light rides, like trot around the arena three or four times, then canter around the arena once or twice, with loose reins. That way your horse will start to like his job again.

I hope i have helped,

Good Luck

Magic is thinking along the same lines as me!

I think that many dressage horses lead an unnatural life. They rarely get much turn out, are ridden in the arena 99% of the time and rarely ever get to have any fun.

Take the horse out on the trails, give it a good gallop and turn it out for more than an hour and it will be sweetened up.

I know that you said you changed saddles but are you using the same saddle on all these horses? The fact that the one horse went a lot better in the western saddle tells me that the greater weight bearing of the western was more comfortable for it.

I had a horse arrive here that was a real people hater. We had one serious argument whereby I hurt her when she attacked n]me over a gate. She hadn't been ridden in several years but I decided to ride her. One argument where she was rearing rather than going forward. I sat it out and when she was tired and wanted to go on I made her stand until I asked her to go.

This mare had been through the 90 day assessment in Germany, was bought for a LOT of money as a dressage horse but turned nasty and although she went to several top trainers they couldn't get her to do anything much.

Hacking out (she was spookier than one of my TB babies) charging around the countryside and letting her find out that riding could be fun and she was a different horse. I sold her as a show jumper which she really loves.

This is the sort of thing that happens to horses when they just get fed up with the same old routine. It could be that they are going this way and your lack of confidence brings it out faster.

As for the horse getting girthy do not do the girth up to tight, only tighten it when he has warmed up and do it up in increments

Since some of the other people have covered things like saddle fit, connecting, relaxing, etc and you've had your riding looked at then it could be you've had misfortunes with horses or you could be carrying emotional baggage that gets transferred through your riding since horses are incredibly sensitive. It seems like you've covered all the physical but not a lot of the mental. Now I'm going to sound a bit weird, but I'm okay with that. I've spent a lot of time working with "problem horses" and people who dont understand how their horses work off of their feelings. dont give up riding, if you feel you must take a break, then just dont ride, work with them on the ground, play with them, teach them tricks. Bond with them. Anyway, I'd really suggest that you read "riding through worlds" as it's all about connecting with your horse and understanding their different reactions. Some people always stick with the mentality that their horse is not as intuitive or sensitive as they really are, and many of these people are the ones have problems with their horses. It looks as if you really care about your horses future, which is good. I'd also suggest reading "considering the horse or a good horse is never a bad color" as they help you understand, through stories, how horses think and work. I love my rescue horses because you can see their mentality changing and the bond they develop with you is amazing, it's a partnership where both parties get better together. Anyway, I've taken classes on understanding how horses think and how it carries over into how they ride. When a person carries emotional baggage and tries to hide it from their horse it can feel like a ticking time bomb on their back and will make them scared or uncomfortable. I could be completely off, but I figured if not, it could help.

Anyway, if I sounded a bit weird, well, I guess I am, but good luck with your horses and figuring out what's wrong. I just wouldnt advise giving up riding if you love it. clicker training is also a really fun way to interact with horses without being on them all the time.

most people would murder other people to be in your position. i know i would. get over it. either you ride or you dont, its as simple as that.