Bad training experience...

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Dinosaur0676

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Well I'll apologise in advance as this is going to be a bit if a rant!!

So I took my youngster to a training clinic this morning with the intention of building on my confidence as I've had a bit if a break from jumping due to lack of transport.

I went to a clinic with someone who is highly respected in my area (won't name any names as I don't want to be a b***h ) but I made it obudantly clear before we started that the horse was really inexperienced, struggles with appnasphere of anything away from home (previously wouldn't even canter on his first trip to today's venue) and I wanted to build his and my own confidence and rhythm around 85/90cm as that's what were currently jumping!!

Instead of 'training' us to improve our technique and build confidence as I thought you did at a training clinic they made me canter around for half an hour and everytime I jumped a fence it went up two holes in height and the spread got wider. Now my horse can jump so height isn't an issue to him but it was more an outing to jump a course In a nice rhythm and build confidence rather than belting around until the fences are 1.10 and look horrific with fillers and of set poles left right and center!! 90cm is my happy limit, not to small the horse dosnt try but big enough we can really start working on his technique!!

In the end we had a stop at a combination as he lost concentration from pelting round getting excited as the fences got bigger!! We finished on a good note getting round a small course of 8 fences (even though they were 20cm bigger than I wanted) in a nice manner that I felt relatively pleased with. (Not as pleased as if they were smaller as I wouldn't have had any stops and the horse would have kept his manners the whole way through) But I equally don't feel it was something I couldn't have done without the trainer their. We've jumped bigger tracks clear round and at arena hire without anybody their and possibly had a better technique!! So i feel I may have wasted some money!!

Also very annoyed that said trainer did not give me a single positive bit if feedback from the whole session. There were many negatives he gave me to take away one of which being I needed to let my horse stick his head in the air like a camel (exsact words) as he worked too much like a dressage horse!! Now to me nobody aims for there head in the air...I get he dosnt need to be super collected but head in the air is just bad manners and not listening in my view!! Maybe I'm being silly but I've never been told to let a horse work with it's head looking at the clouds!!

Now I feel completely disheartened and like I've gone backwards purely because I've paid to have someone critise me for 30 minutes on something that was actually an improvement on the last outing there!! I genuinely thought training clinics were supposed to be about recognising the positive aspect of your performance and receiving constructive critsm in order to improve. They even addmited to someone with me that some of the jumps had been built with the intention of scaring me!! So it fair to say I will not be training with this person EVER again and I was most pleased when my horse tried to headbutt them as they analysed his bridle!!

On a plus note, we did our first dressage outing yesterday and pulled out two very nice tests. All comments revolving around horses tension which I expected and were very fair for a first outing. Had some really positive feedback on my sheets though and left grinning from ear to ear. Need more people like that around I think!! Plus I've treated him to a nice pair of dead sheep dressage boots to celebrate and say thank you to him as his bandages look quite grubby now!! So I have had a moderately good weekend regardless. Plus my mum has given me a pep talk on today and said how good the horse looked after we'd Gotton over the stop and that I was just being dramatic!! (Quite possible as I am a drama queen)

So all in all just a venty post really to get it off my chest!! Well done if you got this far!! And I do apologise again for being so moany!! I'm not always so grumpy I promise!! ;)
 
If you ask me, your only fault was a poor choice of RI.

It sounds actually as if you are doing very nicely without this numpty of a 'trainer'. Better luck next time you choose a RI.
 
unless you have been to that trainer before then they aren't going to know that you feel the behaviour at the session was an improvement, so it's a bit unfair for you to say that - they can only work with what they see!

The trainer possibly felt that the horse needed to jump out of his confidence zone a bit and therefore when you drop back down to 90cms it will feel easy peasy and horse will improve faster. Trainer may also have felt that you were restricting horse wanted you to release him more before the fence so horse could learn to place himself, and not actually mean let his head in the air completely.
My last horse was never truly on the bit in showjumping but he never chucked his head in the air either - he was at his happiest then and never touched a pole!

But it dosen't sound like you got what you wanted from the lesson and didn't get on well with that style of teaching, so just try another instructor :)
 
So annoying when that happens :( I had that once with a dressage trainer I spent a lot and travelled quite a way and came away with worse problems than I started with.
 
It's annoying when you've paid a lot of money for a lesson and come away feeling worse.

I had an excellent lesson with a coach a few weeks ago and learnt some really brilliant things that I have never properly understood.

I was so excited for the next lesson; it was a disaster!

It was supposedly a jumping lesson but it was only poles on the ground. I don't feel the coach was interested in it and they had a right go at me for continuing an exercise while cutting a corner to avoid the other woman who got in my way while I was doing this exercise. (Alternative was to ride into her!). I felt Gobsmacked because firstly, I had kept out her way very carefully while she did it, and secondly, why was he having a go at me, it wasn't a massive deal "that horse will never canter in a balanced way if you do stupid things like that". All he needed to do was explain to me I should have stopped but instead he shouted and bawled at me. The whole lesson was pathetic and I am still confused as to how the first one was so enlightening!

I decided however good the first one was that I wasn't going to put myself through that again and will stick with the coach I have 3 lessons a month with and come away feeling positive and learning new things with too!
 
One of the worst lessons I've has was with a very respected trainer, I didn't learn anything and lost a lot of money. They insulted me and my horse, and I would never go back to her again.

Use more local cheaper trainers and get far better lessons!
 
Some trainers you get on well with, others you just don't. I wouldn't worry overmuch about it, call it lesson learned and go to a different trainer in the future.

It could be that the trainer feels you're trying to keep too much control/shut down the canter with your reins - although what you've described is a bad way of explaining that to you, and they should have made their intentions clear.
 
You're all being incredibly generous. If I'd told a trainer I wanted to work on confidence (mine and horse's) and they admitted they'd tried to scare me, I'd be livid and reporting them to their professional body. I'd also have stopped the lesson if I wasn't happy with it. Appalling behaviour.
 
wench said:
One of the worst lessons I've has was with a very respected trainer, I didn't learn anything and lost a lot of money. They insulted me and my horse, and I would never go back to her again.

Use more local cheaper trainers and get far better lessons!
Click to expand...

well I don't think that's always the case! I've had many bad lessons from cheaper local trainers!
 
Just an unfortunate outing! Take it with a pinch of salt (like you seem you have done :)) be proud of your ned that took you around a 20cm track higher than you originally signed up for and maybe avoid said trainer next time - I agree you have to use a few before you find out who suits your and your horse.
P.s Congrats on the dressage!
 
Chalk it up to experience and find a trainer that suits you both.

Personally I would have refused to do something that I wasn't happy with, however I am a little headstrong :)

Really well done for your dressage :)
 
Horses for courses,

But equally you can and should speak up- your paying!
You wouldnt try shoes on that didnt fit over and over again!
 
In my opinion if you have specified to an instructor what you would like to work on in a session then that is what they should be concentrating on with you.

On the other hand, regardless of whether your horse was capable of jumping higher, you had said to them that the horse was inexperienced, and that you were there to build your confidence and to settle him at the venue, and to jump your specified height. If the instructor started asking you to do something you didn't want to do, you should have said to them that you were not comfortable and reiterated what you were there to work on that day, it was your choice to continue the session with what they were asking you to do whether you / horse were comfortable with it or not
 
As one of your bog-standard trainers, who likes to spend time getting to know horses and riders I do get disheartened to hear when people go off to 'names', only to have a completely different training method thrown at them, often they don't always understand, and are then sent home to sink or swim.
There are some wonderful trainers and clinics and real light bulb moments, but these tend to be minor changes to what you would normally do, working with you rather than trying to completely re-model you in one session.
I had a deeply disheartening experience with a very well known trainer years ago, and discovered that I was in tears half way through. Having spent all my life working with horses and doing some reasonable things, I got a grip, thanked them and left the arena before my self confidence was completely shredded.
I have since had some fantastic training, which has boosted my morale and helped no end and the experience I had was very salutary in that I realised just how cutting and destructive people can be, even if they don't mean it. I actually think it improved me as a trainer.
So you're not the only one, sounds like you really care what you do with your horse, so you'll be fine. find someone you get on with, have as many lessons as you can afford, and then it'll be grand!
 
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