Can I have a little moan please? and some advice if you have it.

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SouthWestWhippet

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Just getting it off my chest really.

In Oct my YO said that if I wanted to work for him part time, he would find me some teaching and riding hours. So I arranged to go part time in my office job and started working for him as well. It all started well... I was doing lots of riding and a fair amount of teaching. Then I had my accident and was unable to ride for about 2.5 months. I carried on teaching and also, after about 1.5mnths started helping on the yards as they were mental busy, it being winter and all.

then the yard girl left and wasn't replaced which left me and the YO doing pretty much all the mucking out etc (talking 20+ horses here and me working 2 morns and 1afternoon a week plus Saturday). I wasn't getting any riding at all really, just mucking out and teaching. I didn't complain at all because I could see that we were short staffed and I just pitched in and got on with it as is my way.

However, when my YO said he had found a new yard girl about 3 weeks ago I did say 'excellent, that will take the pressure off us... and will I be able to start doing a bit more riding again?'. He said 'yes, of course, you've only been mucking out cos we were so short staffed'. Which I agreed with and got back to work.

However, since our new girl has started (and I stress at this point that she is really lovely and this moan is NOTHING about her) she has been doing lots of riding and I've been carrying on doing the mucking out. When there are horses to be shown or tried out, he only asks her. When he goes away, he'll leave a list of horses for her to ride but just a list of clients for me to teach.

I'm a decent ish rider - not amazing but better than some people who he asks to ride his horses. The new girl is of a similar standard to me although she is probably more confident (I lost a lot of confidence after my accident). But she has seen me ride my horse and asked me yesterday why I never rode anything.

I feel a bit let down really because I had a well paid job which I reduced in order to do more riding and take the rest of my BHS exams to get my AI... but the riding job I was promised has turned into a mucking out job which isn't giving me the experience I wanted/needed.

so I guess my dilema is this. I don't want to be one of those people that quits cos they aren't getting to ride enough... but I feel as if I took one job and ended up with another one that I didn't want - the 'on the yards' job. My boss isn't the sort of person who listens very well, he is likely to dismiss me out of hand so I don't really know what to do.

Anyway, thanks to anyone that got this far. If you've been in a similar situation and have some advise feel free to share,
 
This happened me in one of the sj yards I used to work at ... In the end up I left cause the yo wasnt willing to listen to what I had to say ...I mean everyone starts somewhere but I had been cleaning stables out since I was bloody 12 and needed to obviously move on ... Im talking about riding stallions and sj horses . He wasnt willing to see me ride when he said he was going to ...I was there for about 6 weeks and in that time he never bothered his arse to ask to see me ride . In the end I left .


Sorry not got much advice but if your yo isnt prepared to listen well then I would be out of there .
 
I think you have to go and talk to the YO and explain exactly what you said in your post. I suspect the YO has got used to you doing the mucking out (its very convenient for them) and they probably promised the new girl lots of riding. You need to remind them again that while you dont mind doing some of the mucking out you really need to be doing more of the ridden work. I am quite sure that they will not want to lose you and will be ready to compromise. Good luck and let us know how it goes
 
It sounds like the y.o needs a little organising, could you not try and pitch in with him in the mornings and get your name of the list of rides. I would tell him, that you are desperate to ride etc. If you are getting the bulk of the lessons, this says quite a lot of how he thinks of you, obviously trusts you with clients and knows you are really good at your job.
 
Tell him WHY you reduced your hours at your job, and that the whole reason that you did it for isnt even happening! ie the riding.

Tell him you want to at least share the riing with the new girl, whats the worst that can happen!!
 
thanks everyone for the advice... I think the concensus is to talk to my YO about it.

I'll have a word with him on Monday morning and see if he has any particular reason why he doesn't want me riding or if it is just that it is easier to keep me doing the job I've been doing and get the new girl to ride.

As I said, she is lovely so I don't think there will be any issue between her and me. She, herself, was complaining that the YO had her riding over her lunch break rather than ask me to do it LOL! I think she would be relieved to have some of the pressure off.
 
If you want to get your BHS exams then I would go to a yard that specialises in doing these courses. The BHS will give youa list of the equine centres in your area that does them.

Once you have your BHS exams then at least you have got the qualifications to teach etc.
 
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