Benefit of having horse pro schooled...

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Decision_Tree

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Hello All-

I am considering getting my horse schooled by my instructor to help get him out of the bad habits which are partly due to me! He doesnt go off the leg when being schooled and turns into a lazy bum and can be unreactive but out hacking and jumping he is a different chap all together. I know its part down to me as in my lessons we work on me not niggling him and being clearer with my requests.

Would having him schooled say two/three a week for a month then with a lesson every second week with me be enough to be a benefit to improve him/us as a combination? then contining my lessons over the summer with same instructor? I cant ride mid week due to my work so this would fit into to my routine well. I would hack him and then school him with my instructor there to prevent me undo-ing her good work. My main objective is go get him working off the leg more and to improve my aids.

ty. :)
 
I think it would definitely help- sometimes you just need something to break the cycle and if you are having lessons as well it would ensure you maintain the improvement :)
 
I used to get my instructor to sit on my horse for 15 mins at the start of a lesson - the 'instructor' effect would last me 2 weeks before my naughty habits got in the way again. You might want to try her just riding him at the start of your lesson and see how you get on before you commit to a more expensive plan. My horse was the same as yours a bit lazy.
 
If you find the right person, it can work wonders and is definitely money well spent. What you'll get now is a whole slew of people replying saying that they just wouldn't get the same sense of achievement if they got help from someone better than them/bought a schoolmaster/hadn't done it all blindfolded in a field with no arena whilst people randomly took potshots at them and they had a broken arm....ignore them because in the long run you'll end up having more fun with your horse, and once the bad habits are broken, you'll learn so fast how to keep them gone because you'll know what you are aiming for, so it will also improve your riding loads too. ;)
 
I had my extremely spooky and responsive horse schooled by a pro dressage rider.
My problems changed to having a spooky, sharp and responsive horse where I was hoping to have one who was still responsive but not so spooky and definitely not sharp.
Sharp and spooky wasn't a good combination :(.

In hindsight, I should have had a 'normal' instructor school him rather than a pure dressage person.

So, in answer to your question, yes, I think it can be advantageous especially if you get the right person :).
 
I think if you have the opportunity then you should take it, especially if you are going to fit lessons round the schooling as well. A friend of mine who helps me with Fleur in between regular lessons rode her on Friday for 10 minutes as she was behind my leg coming to the fence, what a difference when I got back on, I felt much more confident as she was taking me in. I would love my regular coach to ride her, but he's way too tall.
 
Having my horse pro-schooled was the best thing I ever did.

A couple of instructors had worked with him telling me he had behavioural issues when schooled but neither got a tune out of him and although he wasn't dangerous (just very spooky and sharp), I'd completely lost my confidence when schooling him.

I had mine schooled once or twice a week then had a lesson on him myself and the sharp, very spooky behaviour disappeared and he became responsive and just a bit quirky and I was taught how to deal with the behaviour and get the best out of him as well as being able to see just how talented he was with the correct rider.

For me it was definitely money well spent.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I just want to ensure that my plan would work and seemed sensible. I want to build on the success I have had so far with my horse and current instructor and thought this was a good way of doing it. Im lucky as my instructor works with lots of different horse types and in lots of different areas and she is also tall like myself so ideal really.

SpottedCat - thanks for your points and support, I know there will be people who say that about achievement but at end of the day I am an amature rider wanting to have as fun much as possible! Bad habits are easier to sort with help, and from experience its better to ask for help that struggle on without.
 
SpottedCat said:
What you'll get now is a whole slew of people replying saying that they just wouldn't get the same sense of achievement if they got help from someone better than them/bought a schoolmaster/hadn't done it all blindfolded in a field with no arena whilst people randomly took potshots at them and they had a broken arm...
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LOL -- so true!

Totally agree though, it's going to work wonders so definitely the right choice.
 
I've found it extremely useful. I have sent off the horses to my instructor for 2-3 weeks intensive training to sort out specific problems, and she would sit on them on a regular basis instead of my usual lesson. I also found it extremely helpful to ride right after her as I got a completely different feeling from the horses and it gave me something to aspire to.
 
SpottedCat said:
What you'll get now is a whole slew of people replying saying that they just wouldn't get the same sense of achievement if they got help from someone better than them/bought a schoolmaster/hadn't done it all blindfolded in a field with no arena whilst people randomly took potshots at them and they had a broken arm....ignore them because in the long run you'll end up having more fun with your horse, and once the bad habits are broken, you'll learn so fast how to keep them gone because you'll know what you are aiming for, so it will also improve your riding loads too. ;)
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Haha, would these be the same people who say that someone doing well on a schoolmaster can't POSSIBLY get the same pleasure out of it as if they'd produced the horse from scratch... hmmm, but if the schoolmaster takes them up a level and they do well and have fun, so what?!

OP, sounds like a really good idea, especially as your time is so limited due to work. sometimes it can be like the blind leading the blind with a horse who doesn't quite get it (or has developed cheeky evasions), if the horse gets a bit more education then he'll respond correctly to the right aids, which is a really great start!
 
kerilli said:
Haha, would these be the same people who say that someone doing well on a schoolmaster can't POSSIBLY get the same pleasure out of it as if they'd produced the horse from scratch... hmmm, but if the schoolmaster takes them up a level and they do well and have fun, so what?!

OP, sounds like a really good idea, especially as your time is so limited due to work. sometimes it can be like the blind leading the blind with a horse who doesn't quite get it (or has developed cheeky evasions), if the horse gets a bit more education then he'll respond correctly to the right aids, which is a really great start!
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Agree with this 110% !
 
It would do the world of good for my horse if I could get an instructor to sit on him, though no instructors I have had will! When he's good he's very good but when he's naughty- well...
 
I'm having Pinky schooled by my Instructor at the moment and its going really well. The first week she was ridden twice then I had a lesson, I then rode her for a week while my Instructor was away on holiday and Pink was a revelation, everything was just clearer, simpler and easier. Instructor has ridden since and is back out on Thursday for a top up before I have another lesson. I can't wait to see Pink being ridden Thurs and even more looking forward to sitting on her on Friday to feel the effects.

I think the big thing is making sure horse is schooled by someone who understands the job your horse has to do for you and will school it appropriately. My Instructor knows us both and is working with us to get us both to the same place at the same time and make it all as simple as possible for us both.

Personally I don't care if people look down at me for it - my horse is more horse then I ever planned to own and without the help it probably wouldnt have gone well - but I have a happy, nicely schooled horse I understand, understands me and that I can do all the things I want to do with without any big dramas and make me smile like an idiot - and I have learned loads that I can apply to my other horses. Whats so wrong with that? :)

Go for it and enjoy!
 
Eight weeks ago i took on a youngster that had basically been backed and then chucked in a field for 8 months and forgotten about. Like you, my work commitments don't let me ride much during the week at this time of year so plan A was to pay for him to be hacked during the week and i would start his school education ar weekends as i could. Well, plan A lasted a week and after he'd scared the ***** out of all the yard girls, a new approach was required. Plan B was to hand him over to our tame professional event rider who would school him twice a week during the week with him being lunged on other days and with me schooling and / or hacking at the weekends. Now i've never had anyone ride my horses for me in the past so it was a difficult decision to make...but i have to say it has been the best decision of my life. My opinionated, spooky, sharp baby has gone from not being able to walk in a straight line to being a really nice dressage prospect, wprking straight and light and already do some simple lateral work...and all in the space of just 5 or 6 weeks. The difference between a pro and me is that she will happily spend an hour or more working on the basic things like a halt to walk transition. The horse has big attitude...and had thrown his toys out of the pram big stylee...but she just carries on calmly until he gets it. I'd have given up and tried something different after five minutes or so :-O i'm having a lesson with her on friday evening so that i can hopefully complement the work she is doing with him and i think it is important to work together when you are effectively sharing the education of the horse. Mixed and confusing signals won't help anyone. Educate the rider as well as the horse lol!

We can't all produce horses as well as the pro's do...at the end of the day, as an amateur, i want to have my fun riding a well-schooled, well-mannered horse who can be competitive at the level i want to compete at...if having someone else help with the groundwork gets the horse there quicker then sobeit...it's money well spent imo.

For what it's worth, i reckon having him ridden twice a week for 6 weeks has probably saved me 6 months in terms of where we would be if i had had to do it alone...and besides, i couldn't have done it on my own anyway as i work 12-14 hour days during the week.

I hope you see similar results with yours :-)
 
Isn't it kinder anyway, to have a horse schooled correctly before trying to master things which elude us? I have a horse on loan who is a bit of a schoolmaster for showing. He's very bright but can be a little stubborn and set in his ways. I try to leg yield, for example on one rein and it's fine. Leg yield the other rein we block eachother something fierce. RI gets on, makes the whole process crystal clear to the horse and when I ask, albeit somewhat ropey horse goes "ooooooh, THAT's what you want" and it's all win-win! Rather than me for weeks/months getting frustrated, him getting frustrated with me and going round in a vicious circle.

I'm not suggesting that anyone is as numpty as me, but even better riders than myself (there's a lot out there) will find that someone more advanced than themselves and can take the time to do it right can make life easier not just for the rider, but for the horse as well.
 
I have considered having my horse schooled but my biggest fear is that the pro will be able to get him to do x, y and z and then I won't be able to! However, you seem to have a good set up, and are probably more competent than me so go for it :D
 
Wolfie said:
I have considered having my horse schooled but my biggest fear is that the pro will be able to get him to do x, y and z and then I won't be able to! However, you seem to have a good set up, and are probably more competent than me so go for it :D
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I would argue that's not good/suitable schooling then. ;) If you get someone to help you they should HELP you, which means not only teaching the horse but helping you ride it better. It doesn't even have to be a formal lesson situation, just that they should be schooling the horse with you in mind and able to translate what they've learned about the horse in a useful way to you. As an old boss of mine used to remind me, "Who cares if YOU can ride it?" :D

Personally, I think if you go to someone for help they SHOULD be able to ride your horse better than you (the situation and relationship is a bit different for an advanced rider/older coach and not pertinent to this conversation). What's the point of paying them if they can't? As I said to someone yesterday, "You ride MAYBE your horse and perhaps a friends, five times a week. I rode five TODAY." ;) And I've done that for large periods on my life, sometimes more like 10 a day. Mostly within a very specialised skill set. And I'm not that great, just practised at certain skills. ;) But it's fairly obvious I'm going to have a lot more specialised information at my disposal than someone who hasn't logged those miles.

And I learned exactly the same way. My coach(es) sorted my horse out, put me back on, I felt a glimmer of what I needed before it all fell apart, rinse, repeat. And it's the same for EVERY pro I've known - we have ALL learned correct feel from a horse someone else has made. Possibly, sometimes, from a very naturally talented horse, but even then, I bet the vast majority, while they may have had their obvious success with the great talent, learned from other horses, perhaps not as talented but well schooled. It's "communal knowledge". Even now, when that's not usually the case, I learn from horses that other people have schooled and/or which have natural aptitudes or weaknesses and apply the information I already have. Knowledge doesn't come out of the blue, it's ALWAYS passed on by someone, somehow.

And, as another coach used to say, "Don't try to make every mistake yourself. It's much cheaper and easier to learn from other people's mistakes." ;)
 
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Tarrsteps - that's a fair point. In reality I probably should have started with a used horse rather than the one I bought, so it has been the blind leading the blind!
 
My instructor (BHSI) and owner of the yard I keep my horse at now schools my horse once a week for me. I also have a lesson once a week with her. This has made a massive difference and I am really pleased with it. I have always produced youngsters from just backed to 7-8yrs and then sold them- mainly for finacial reasons. However, I just love my present horse to bits and have decided I want to be able to progress further with my own riding than I have been able to do previously. This has left me with the problem that instead of (sort of) knowing what I am doing, I now don't, as he goes better than any horse I have had before :) At least with my instructor, she knows exactly what she wants, can feel when she gets it, and knows how to achieve it, so she can teach him much more effectively than I can. She then teaches me how to also try and achieve this and understands exactly what I am feeling and the problems I am having. This has taken us from slow but steady progress to huge strides forward :):):) Would definitely recommend!
 
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