Difference between riding school horses and privately owned

My riding school horses were kept as well schooled as possible, so much so that the local Pony Club hired them to represent them in Area comps.
A lot depends on their work load and also how quick whoever is teaching is to ensure they don't get away with ignoring signals.
The biggest difference really is they soon suss out someone's riding capabilities, ie will they make me stand when they get on, will they not back up ignoring a squeeze with their whip, and once that first five mins is over that horse has you sized up totally and will remain so for the rest of your lesson. Watch them change the second the instructor mounts, they know full well there are some who they have to please..
You need to refine your riding by going to specific places that offer schoolmaster lessons, such as Dovecote Stables where they import trained horses for you to learn on. Or Talland where they have a vast range of horses, my daughter enjoyed a super lesson on an Advanced horse there a few years back, and if a riding school horse can teach you how to ride three time changes it's certainly not fed up!
We find people buy our youngsters mostly because they haven't ridden such responsive willing horses previously; it's not magic it's just showing them what you want and expanding on it when training them that makes them a pleasure to ride.
By far the biggest thing holding people back riding is an attitude of mind, if in your head you are quite positive the horse will do something, 99% of the time it does!
 
henryhorn said:
My riding school horses were kept as well schooled as possible, so much so that the local Pony Club hired them to represent them in Area comps.
A lot depends on their work load and also how quick whoever is teaching is to ensure they don't get away with ignoring signals.
The biggest difference really is they soon suss out someone's riding capabilities, ie will they make me stand when they get on, will they not back up ignoring a squeeze with their whip, and once that first five mins is over that horse has you sized up totally and will remain so for the rest of your lesson. Watch them change the second the instructor mounts, they know full well there are some who they have to please..
You need to refine your riding by going to specific places that offer schoolmaster lessons, such as Dovecote Stables where they import trained horses for you to learn on. Or Talland where they have a vast range of horses, my daughter enjoyed a super lesson on an Advanced horse there a few years back, and if a riding school horse can teach you how to ride three time changes it's certainly not fed up!
We find people buy our youngsters mostly because they haven't ridden such responsive willing horses previously; it's not magic it's just showing them what you want and expanding on it when training them that makes them a pleasure to ride.
By far the biggest thing holding people back riding is an attitude of mind, if in your head you are quite positive the horse will do something, 99% of the time it does!
Click to expand...

great post, i totally agree :)
 
I think it really depends on the establishment and their way of working their horses. I used to go to a place where the poor horses worked all hours and took all comers (including very large beginners :() and they were all pretty dead to the leg. They looked miserable. This place charged top whack, too!

I've also been for a lesson on a £100,000 schoolmaster - WOW! That 45 minutes was a total eye opener! I'm saving up to go again one day! ;)

My current yard, though is the best of all worlds, I think. The school ponies and horses are of different character and ability and the YO/Instructor is excellent at matching them to the rider. She will tend to put a rider on a particular horse until they really get to grips with it and then move them on, so you are always improving and challenged. All of the horses used for lessons are privately owned working livery - I think this is what makes the difference. They have schooling from their owners as well as being used for lessons and none are over used by beginners.

It seems to work well for us. It also means that my own horse is ridden when I can't get there. I know she only puts experienced/good riders on him, so he has improved by leaps and bounds! :D
 
I know I learned a *heck* of a lot from the riding school horses I used to ride. Because you have to RIDE them! Fair enough I now get a lot from riding higher level 'schoolmasters' but I always feel thankful for my rs days as I can get a tune out of (almost) anything.. Luckily as I am a shortarse I had the opportunity to ride a wide range of horses and ponies from 12.2hh up to 17hh+ which I think has also helped.

The horses where I keep my boy on diy are 'only' trekkers but are all superbly well schooled; the benefits of having a classical dressage instructor as a yard owner I suppose. :)
 
As an ex riding school owner I thought I'd have my say.

It really depends on what the school owner believes to be the right type of horse for the school.

Mine were all free moving, well schooled and easy for the rider to control. At a big riding centre run by a BHSI I had a lesson and found the horse to be unresponsive and dull. Her reasoning - They need to be quiet, rider has to learn how to ride.

My reasoning behind having free moving horses/ponies. The rider can learn to sit correctly, apply the aids quietly and correctly with a prompt response. They learn to sit still and be tidy riders. Once they have learnt to ride THEN they can ride the awkward sluggy horses but will be able to do so in an elegant effective manner. The school has produce two riders who have passed Pony CLub 'A' with honours.

Interestingly many of the horses were TB's of the track and ponies often came from the meat man. They would spend the first 6 months being ridden by the instructors and more experienced clients. Those that were sensible and obedient stayed and those that would not be suitble were sold on.

My horses regularly beat privately owned horses in open competitions and one went to UK as a 2* Eventor.

The school horses were far fitter than many privately owned horses and had better manners.

My horses were my livleyhood and as such were treated like gold dust.
 
My boy was in a trekking centre before I had him, and was driven before that, so had never seen the inside of a school before I had him! Poor lad, he could just about manage to put one foot in front of another, but had never jumped or been ridden in an outline.

So I sent him away to equestrian college for a couple of years as I wanted him to have some basic schooling, and didn't have the time, experience or facilities myself.

He came back a different horse! Schooled and nicely forward going, and responsive. So well worth doing. He's now back home with me at my yard and is a totally different ride to when I bought him.
 
I too have mixed riding school experiences. The riding school I used to go before getting my own was well run and the horses were happy and healthy. They had a small number of more forward gong horses that more experienced riders were put on and these were a pleasure to ride but I used to dread the weeks when it was my turn to end up on one of the plonkers! I understand that a good rider can make these horses perform but tbh I'm not that good! All that would happen was that I would go home frustrated and down heartened wishing I hadn't wasted my money! It has given me a major prejudice against coloured cobs which will probably never leave!

My pony now lives at different riding school/ livery yard and I often take group lessons with the riding school clients as I always enjoyed these kind of lessons. I really wish I had been riding at this school as almost all their horses look forward going and fun to ride. I don't really see the point in learning to ride difficult unresponsive horses as this is the total opposite of any horse I would ever buy!
 
I completely agree it depends where you go I suppose. Where my boys went to we could have gone local but the school was excellent, we travelled a way. They always gave the horses a rest and the horses not only went round and round in circles all day but they were involved in pony club and run camps etc for children and adults. Some of the parents could be a pain as when they were learning to jump they sometimes failed to understand that the horse was not a machine and were very impatient if in the first 15 mins their child wasnt flying over jumps etc etc. They also run the share a pony scheme which I know made the owner laugh as no one wanted to turn up on Christmas day etc etc The only thing that was a shame was hacking seems to be a big problem due to litigation (with children). It seems unless you own a pony to find a riding school that will take a child hacking is nigh impossible! Also the school tried to get the children to ride different horses but you would get people who had their favourites. The school was right to try to do this! I think there is a difference personally.

My pony was an abandoned livery and got used in the riding school and the previous owner thought he had taken the mick out of the children. He could be very numb on the aids etc and stubborn if he wanted to be! But he definitely had it all there. I also agree that when my son rode in the first 5 mins the riding school horses a few would test out the child and if they could get away with it they would be incharge for the rest of the lesson. One in particular you could visibly see it was sussing out my son. But the school was excellent.
What I am saying I think there is a difference and the horses can go stale I suppose.

My son rode a friends private home bred pony club pony and it was very revealing, he was cantering towards the end of her menage(brick wall) and we were calling out "turn, turn turn" as the pony headed straight for the wall as it had not been instructed to turn! It wasnt being naughty but run out on him as he was so use to the horses going round and round in circles all day!! Fully understand the riding schools do need reliability safe etc. I often wonder how their behaviour would change if they went out on a hack.
 
I manage a riding school. We have lots of horses of all shapes and sizes for all abilities. I can get on every one from the smallest to the largest, put it on the bridle, get the horse to move forward and sideways off my leg and jump a course of fences with no trouble.
However, the horse will go as it is ridden. If a novice rider gets on the horse will respond accordingly. The riding school horse is a true reflection on your own riding ability.
Its not just school horses, pop up Carl Hesters yard and have a sit on one of his, I can assure you that you will look just as daft as you did on the so called useless school horse. You will not be able to ride it.
Our school horses are kept schooled by the staff and compete in open competition ( and are often placed!) however they won't just take you round. You have to ride the horse.
 
Shilasdair said:
They are just horses, for devil's sake. They don't 'refuse to do things' - YOU are not asking them properly.
Learn how to ask properly, instead of flouncing home when some effort is required, and you might find you develop a relationship with the horse (yes, you can develop a relationship in the space of one hour's lesson) rather than a battle.
S :D
Click to expand...

This is worth reading again^^
I have an ex riding school pony who was good at getting behind the bit and going backwards so was sold on (he eventually came to me for free) if you showed him a whip you wouldn't see his backside for dust! Riders need to be able to get a tune out of any horse and that takes effort and patience and leaving your ego at the school gate.
Most of the local schools here have working liveries, it's the only way they can survive.
 
I owe everything to riding such a variety of school horses (and more recently some school ponies who have completely changed my riding). Totally agree with Shils and the like - riding school horses show up you as a rider from the moment you sit in the saddle. That's why they can teach so much.

Interesingly, for those who blame the RS horses they know - some of the most successful riders on university riding club teams, ( where the inter-uni competitions under BUCS are done on horses you don't know ) are not the one horse owners, but those who have only ridden riding school type horses. Why? Because they can literally get on anything and assess them in 5 mins.
 
I recently started lessons at a riding school for the first time in years and I've found the experience very rewarding. My RI's horses are all schooled for dressage up to a high level (in my first lesson I nearly crashed my pony into a wall when the 8 yr old who was sharing my lesson started doing piaffe on her horse :eek:). I don't find the horse I ride as responsive as my mare at home, but he is one of those horses who responds to good riding. Basically, if you do it right he will go well, but if you aren't doing it right he'll just ignore you. So he's a very very good teacher, because he won't put up with bad riding!
 
I've never had my own horse and always had to make do with RS horses, but I feel I've learnt so much from them, and still do. Yes I've had my share of dead-to-the-leg horses. But at one of my RS they mostly kept Arabs, and rescue cases, all of which were hugely different to ride.
In fact some of them were ex-racers who most definately hadn't been retrained for use in an RS and before I moved I was using an imported Arab ex-Racer and we were working on reschooling her.
Eventually one day, I want my own horse but at the moment I feel like I'm still learning a huge amount from RS horses, despite having ridden for many years.
My new school has some horses working at Medium Dressage, my goal is to be able to learn to jump X-country and be considered good enough to ride a test on that horse and then I'll consider myself good enough to get my own horse and know how to ride it. :cool:

Just to deviate the post slightly, would you guys consider a working livery with your RS? Its one of the conditions of keeping a horse at my new school - being based in London and a non-driver - makes it hard for me to keep a horse somewhere cheaper or nearer/further away.
Its not an option now (I'm considering an MSc) but would surrendering a horse for up to 10 hours a week for RS use be considered by some of you owners to be too much to keep that bond and freshness with your horse/pony? :confused:
 
Karran said:
Just to deviate the post slightly, would you guys consider a working livery with your RS? Its one of the conditions of keeping a horse at my new school - being based in London and a non-driver - makes it hard for me to keep a horse somewhere cheaper or nearer/further away.
Its not an option now (I'm considering an MSc) but would surrendering a horse for up to 10 hours a week for RS use be considered by some of you owners to be too much to keep that bond and freshness with your horse/pony? :confused:
Click to expand...

I would as the working liverys at my yard are treated very well and are very fit. However, only if I was sick or pregnant or something that would mean that I basically couldn't keep up my horses exercise. I like to ride most days and I wouldn't want to share!
 
Shilasdair said:
They are just horses, for devil's sake. They don't 'refuse to do things' - YOU are not asking them properly.
Learn how to ask properly, instead of flouncing home when some effort is required, and you might find you develop a relationship with the horse (yes, you can develop a relationship in the space of one hour's lesson) rather than a battle.
S :D
Click to expand...

This reminds me of a quote from my RI:

If you ask for something and you get the wrong response you either asked the question wrong or asked the wrong question. So true, but like all things horses, easier said than done. :p

I do believe that no horse is dead to the leg and with a few quick and easy exercises a horse can become more responsive.
 
personally i think it depends on the riding school. mine that was was at before i brough my horse had ponys who would use there back ends and have a beautiful neck line and horses who at 6 would have a light mouths and lovly bends.

theres are the solid reliable horses who would just plod along being unresponsive but when the teaches got on them for a bit of schooling for the horses they would light up and carry out beautiful leg yeilds and flying changes. yes they had retired burghley horses in the school but they schooled them all to reach there potential
 
I think a lot depends on the horse. My mare is an ex riding school horse. She was expelled because after so many years in the school she became intolerant of novice riders and would buck them off if they yanked her mouth,used the whip or gave the wrong aids. After early teething problems she has become the most fantastic horse and a great schoolmistress for me. I HAVE to ride 'properly' if I want to stay on board. She is very sensitive to leg and seat aids and will change direction and pace with these alone, in fact she gets shirty if the reins are used at all !! It was a long time before I learned enough to appreciate her but it still fills me with wonder when I simply 'lift my ricage, lighten the seat' and she drops instantly from canter to trot or from trot to walk or from walk to halt. I'm her sole rider and I think she likes that, we've built up a strong relationship and understand each other.
 
I am a firm believer that any horse can teach you something, though you may need a good instructor to help you learn the lesson. I own a very sensitive PRE but I also have lessons with my RI at a local RS (funnily enough, the one that charlie76 runs). My RI makes sure that anything that I'm learning on my own horse is reinforced by what I learn on the RS horses. Many of these horses have a far greater toolset of tricks and resistances, which in turn ensures I have a good toolkit to get the best out of any horse I ride, and hopefully how to pick the right tool to use! I'm expected to achieve as a minimum good suppleness, rhythm and contact (and therefore responsiveness) on any horse and I'm yet to ride a horse on which this isn't possible.

I have to pick up on something mentioned by another poster, that new horses would be ridden by instructors and more experienced clients. I have to say that this really annoyed me at a school I used to ride at as I would very often get a "new" horse and couldn't help feeling that I was paying to learn, yet I was effectively educating their horses (particularly as a lot of the newbies were unschooled cobs from Appleby!!). It's great occasionally to sharpen your skills but not week after week ;)
 
So people are saying that complete novices should be riding horses that respond to your every move and request? Cue a lot of riders on the floor on their first lesson never wanting to see a horse again let alone ride one. Agree with shils
 
Also, i have mainly ridden at a rs for 12 years and not to blow my own horn but i can ride lots of different horses and get them working well and when on private yards get asked to school horses for people. Agree that you should be able to ride almost anything to be considered a half decent rider.
 
As I also own and run a riding school I would like to point out to readers a few truths!

1) Many people perceive they can ride better than they actually can
2) Most people blame the horse first and are not aware of their own lack of knowledge to the application of the correct aids
3) Many riders are not aware that riding is a technical sport as well as a physical one.

All my horses and ponies that work here at my RS alongside me are schooled once a week by myself ( Competes own horse at Medium Dressage, has evented to intermediate level, competed at Endurance racing, Golden Horseshoe, Red Dragon ride etc, and showjumped ) they all hunt at least twice during the season time and weather allowing, do RC and PC camps and rallies, 10 out the 17 horses heres compete at affiliated either BD or BE and nine of them have points on their cards, and two will be aimed at BS later this year.

we have five horses that will give lunge lessons perfectly and all are safe to hack out. But this all takes time and money.

So in my honest opinion then there should be no different between a private owned horse and a working/ RS horse.

We as riders have a responsibilty to the horse we are riding to be the best we can - regardless of the level of rider we are.

I still have training once a week and I have been riding for 40 years.

Do not be quick to judge against RS - we offer a very valuable service, in very difficult times with blames and claims, high insurance and Health & safety regs.

Would half of you be riders or horse owners without starting out at a local RS and with those horses and ponies that were prepared to put up with your mistakes and accidental commication problems ? Probably not.
 
I hope all of these defensive posts about riding schools aren't directed to me as the OP. I have ridden at riding schools all my life on a vast range of horses and do think it gives you huge experience. All the horses I have loved have been at riding schools!

Just that I was very struck over the last couple of weeks at how straightforward and easy the privately owned horses I have tried out have been. Maybe this is because I am an experienced rider and have usually ridden the problem school horses. And yes, it has been a very good grounding for owning my own horse and I do think it has made me very easily pleased as well.
 
indie999 said:
the school tried to get the children to ride different horses but you would get people who had their favourites.
Click to expand...

This was one thing I totally prevented from happening. Poines were swapped around week by week, so riders knew they would not get the same pony two weeks in a row. The only time they could book their favourite was when we had courses over several days or the times we went on camp.

Riding different types of ponies widens the riders experience and knowledge and makes them far better riders.
 
As someone who has spent many years as a regular riding school client I agree with Shils and Charlie76.

Those people moaning about not being able to get the rubbish school horse to canter should look at their riding first. They are the type of people us regulars used to have a good giggle at. We used to get people who were preparing for their exams come into our group so they could practice at the exam centre on the horses that are used in the exams. They would arrive with tales of what they do with their own horse and then proceed to be unable to get the "stupid ploddy school horse" to do anything. Little did they know said horse is often used in these situations because he weighs people up well and does not perform unless asked correctly. He does a super dressage test if asked properly and can be light and lovely or a complete kick along. He does flying changes, half pass, etc but if you treat him like a riding school plod you'll struggle to get him to walk a straight line!
 
bluewhippet said:
Just that I was very struck over the last couple of weeks at how straightforward and easy the privately owned horses I have tried out have been. Maybe this is because I am an experienced rider and have usually ridden the problem school horses. And yes, it has been a very good grounding for owning my own horse and I do think it has made me very easily pleased as well.
Click to expand...

I was the exact same, I also read the threads about the difficulty people were having finding their perfect horse and wondered how they found it so hard? Is it just that they are looking for a perfect animal that doesn't exist, after all they are animals!
I went to view one pony, had him two months now and he is totally perfect to me. I thought perhaps it was luck but maybe I'm just more forgiving of quirks after all the years of riding school horses. Or maybe I'm just so thankful to finally have my own after dreaming my childhood, teenage and early adult years away!
 
Couldn't agree more RDO. I am just not knowing what to do with myself waiting for my first horse to arrive. I can't believe it!
 
not all riding schools are that bad, you get some that the horses never see a field to graze in that they only see their stable or the inside of a school, but there are others that the horses do actually get well looked after, as for horses being unresponsive, yes the riding school horses can be but when they are getting kicked in the ribs every two seconds i think any one would be pretty numb after getting that done for a few hours everyday.

I own an ex riding school horse, i bought him at 3yrs old, he'd been used in the RS for a year, clients rode him and he went common riding as a 2 yr old, he was a very placid chilled horse then, now 3 years later, he's the complete opposite, loves to work, rather highly strung spooky etc, i also got told he would never jump as he was rubbish at jumping in the lessons.. he was 2 now 6 he's a bit of a machine when it comes to xc.

Everyone has different opinions of riding schools, i got brought up on one basically, mum was best friends with the owners and all my ponies were liveried there, I was taught how to sit on a horse, and now im not bothered what i ride, and can take whatever they throw at me ( almost ) it just depends on how the places are run
 
My last horse and the one I share now where ex riding school, both where in nice riding schools and had been well treated. The only thing I would say is that they definately enjoyed moving to a very quiet field and having less people handling them and less expected of them.

I'd never admit to being a good rider, I can ride and I love to learn and certainly for me I've learnt more by having private lessons on the horse I share but that's just me xx
 
bluewhippet said:
Couldn't agree more RDO. I am just not knowing what to do with myself waiting for my first horse to arrive. I can't believe it!
Click to expand...

Mine took a month to come after I bought it as I had to wait for the transport company to make a trip to Northern Ireland from Scotland in that time I managed to drive my family, friends and colleagues totally mad with the pony talk!
 
I believe there's a lot to be learned from RS ponies - some of the smartest creatures I've known. Riding lots of different horses of various shapes, temperaments, sizes and preferences as to how they're ridden has made me a better, more aware, more adaptable rider.

We also have an absolute pig of a pony, Guinness. "If you can ride Guinness, you can ride anything!" I've done transition-perfect dressage on him and flown over outdoor courses. I've seen people whip and kick him like a pinata to get him to move and he's stood stock-still: I've been able to squeeze and he's gone. 'Leg dead' horses, with correct riding and backing up of leg aids with the crop are smart enough to listen to those who ask their questions firmly, clearly and accurately in my experience.

A girl who leases one of the expensive sport horses at the yard was given Guinness to take to the beach yesterday. The YM had to 'rescue her' as she literally couldn't get Guinness moved to get him home (and had huge trouble getting him out of the yard at all). It's satisfying as a rider to know that I can get her responsive, squeeze only horse to work, and the stubbornest creature I've ever met...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top