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WooHoo! Hope everything falls into place for you! I think this sounds like a great place to help you get back into the saddle. Keep us updated!

3 lessons in, so far so good! Love the instructor and the farm is absolutely gorgeous. The horse I ride is a big bitch but there's no fun in riding a dead head gelding. It's fun to change up from morgans to a dressage horse I have to keep kicking to keep going, I've been getting pretty tired during rides just keeping my horse trotting. Taking lessons once a week, every Thursday morning

The horse I ride is a big bitch but there's no fun in riding a dead head gelding.

That one sentence brought back so many memories of my "fun" times with horses I have ridden in the past. As long as its an appropriate level difficult horse they can indeed fun and enhance learning but I find nothing fun about newbies being assigned difficult horses like I was in the past. You sound like you have ridden in the past so I don't know your level or skill set but it can be fun working with a difficult horse yourself and over coming those obstacles as goals.

The worst horses I have ever ridden were horses in lesson barns supposedly new riders learned on. Some good but some so bad it was discouraging. Ugh. Now there is a difference between difficult horses and horses that should not ever be put with a beginner with what they pull. I've given up trying to learn to ride from other people and with their barns horses or the trainer themselves.

I've tried 4 barns.

1st barn, 1st ride, the horse nearly bucked me off. I stayed on, but yeah, no thanks. Beginners do not need to be on a horse that is known to buck, ever. I did not go back. Years later I find out, looking at feedback of the place, I was not the only one that happened too, one newbie rider reportedly broke their arm from her horse bucking.

2nd barn. The moment you enter the horses stall I was assigned, he turns into your worst horsie nightmare, ears pinned back and snaking his head around me to bite me, teeth showing. Tries to bite while grooming, tacking ect. He has issues. Refuses to trot in the arena. Very sour horse, used to getting his own way and no discipline. Instructors instructions are to kick harder and that is most I got out of 5 weeks of lesson riding. No other instruction at all what so ever. Horses with issues like these do not need to be assigned to beginners who do not know what they are doing ever. period. Its enough to turn someone off. I did not go back.

Those first two experiences are enough to turn any newbie off permanently and horses like those have no place for new riders. But I am persistent.

3rd barn was not bad actually, but they did have restrictions out the wazoo like wearing a helmet the moment you enter the barn, even when grooming/bathing a horse. They were expensive though, $50 per lesson. The lesson horse was nice and level appropriate. Instructor was knowledgeable as far as learning to post went but I don't know how to put it....not very personable, distant. I took lessons with them for a little while until I went back to college and stopped. They were too competitive oriented for me, it was their main goal, and did not do western riding like I really wanted. I have no interest learning to jump.

4th barn. While the horses were level appropriate for the riders, I found some of the things she did with the horses inappropriate. Like aggressive see-sawing of the horses mouth as punishment for pulling the reins through the riders hands among other things. Kept their show horses confined in stalls all the time. I never saw them out of the stall unless someone was riding them. Even had a stallion at the barn, always confined to stall or small round pen outside. Ironically I bought my first horse from her.

I will say that the best teacher is just time spent in the saddle, yourself and the horse. Leasing a horse might be a good way to get that done.

I will also say that in my opinion, the rider and horse improve together when the rider takes a more active approach with the horse, such has correcting behavior, but this is not possible for the majority of people since most people do not own the horses they ride nor do the instructors teach riders how to correct the behavior. Newbies also don't know how and are not taught, well unless you count smacking the horse. This is how some horses get away with so much and turn sour, the riders have no idea how to discipline the horse so the horse learns to win or in my opinion both horse and rider lose.

The horse in your lesson should trot and keep trotting until you ask her to do otherwise if you are a newbie. With new and returning riders horses like this cheats the rider out of time and money. Rider should be concentrating on seat, legs, reins ect, not keeping the horse moving by continuous kicking. It just irks me so much hearing about horses like that with new riders, watching small kids ride unruly ponies is even worse. ugh.

However, after having said that, a more experienced rider that can take a more active approach with the horse can certainly learn a lot with a horse like this.

Do you know how to round pen or lunge a horse?

Good grief that is a gorgeous place and I can not believe the price, thats a good price for such a beautiful place. Minimum here starts at $600 for full care...that does not include extra stuff like fans in the summer either. Beautiful horses. I want to board my horses there! XD

And yeah, your place sounds alot better than most of the places I went to. At the second barn, after I got to the arena, I had no idea where the instructor went. Hardly saw her, off talking, or doing something else. And that's great when you surprised your trainer and sounds like you got a ton more instruction in your first lessons than I ever got from my tour of 4 barns. lol

If you do lease a horse from them, definitely post pictures!

I've been riding on my own for the past two years, so extremely little formal instruction for me. lol

Question, when taking formal lessons, when do they introduce using your legs or cues like that?

OMG! I am spazzing out once I read they have Tekes there. I love Tekes! This is one of my goal horses to own eventually. I have a short list of horses I want to own for various reasons. I adore Friesians as well.

Definitely take pics of Friesians and pics of Tekes too lol. I have seen some warmblood Teke crosses and I love them.

Good luck getting to lease a horse! Do you aim to jump or dressage or just riding for now?