"experienced" rider my whatsit! *mini rant*

Fuzznugget

Fuzznugget

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2 October 2010
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gloucestershirehorseriders.webs.com
Why is it that when your horse is advertised as needing a confident and experienced rider because it is a VERY hot TB who is VERY strong and needs bringing on with schooling, the majority of people who respond are no more than novice at best? And they're the ones who are surprised when the horse does exactly what it said on the tin. :rolleyes: So glad I found the perfect loan home for him, where he will go be an event horse and have all that boundless energy utilised by a fabulous rider! :D
 
A friend of mine advertised a pony for sale with a very similar description. A lady came to view, having had extensive telephone conversations with my friend, discussing the hotness of the pony, and the experience/capabilities of the child. Mother gave child a leg up, and her next words were "Now, pick up the reins like I showed you." :eek::eek:
Response from friend was "Can you please get off my pony? NOW!"
 
Ginger_Nut said:
Had to kiss a lot of frogs before finding the prince!
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:D

Yes, it is frustrating and potentially dangerous whan people totally over estimate their riding ability.

I've had an offer from a riding school novice rider to ride my filly for me, she isn't even backed yet! I'm not going to take up the offer, but I will decline kindly. ;)
 
IT seems daft really when most horses are advertised as absolute gent or bombproof or not mareish.
If my horses last owner had been honest and put in the advert that the horse was a total pyscho i would never have evan gone to look!
hey ho it all worked out in the end!
 
Same happens at my yard, but not with buying, just riding!

"Oh yea, I'm a good rider, I can canter, gallop and everything!"

One of the nicest horses had a slight spook (not big, just a few steps to the side) and she had to get off.
Deary me!

Glad you found a good home in the end :)
 
Why do people do this???! I never understand why people over estimate their skills... u r setting yourself up to look like an utter idiot!!!
 
Same thing happened when I advertised our cob for bringing back into work and a free ride. I quite clearly stated he would need a confident experienced person to get him back into it, ended up with an awful lot of 12yr olds enquiring (Fair enough if they have the experience but I worry whether they have the strength for him if he went on one) and someone absolutely desperate for a ride, can't long rein or lunge (although she claims she has ridden on the lunge - result!) Is she really that desperate for the ride that she'll risk injuring herself if he was to have a tizzy...:confused:

Just to add, cob isn't known to be a complete maniac, I just think he'll object a bit to being brought back into work!
 
I had a lady on the phone 4 times (wasting an hour and a half) with me convincing her that my ex p2p mareish 7 year old full up 16.1 NOT novince ride NOT first horse (exactly what the Ad said) was NOT the right first horse for a 14 year old who had ridden a cob once a week at a school. 'but she can canter' was one line she used and my favourite was 'but she has such a nice face for hugs and kisses' my response was that she might have a lovely face but if she tried to give stroppy mare hugs and snuggles, her daughters face may not look the same again... Doesn't matter what's in the ad if you have a pretty picture!! :D
 
Over estimating YOUR OWN skill is one thing, it's the mothers that are more than happy to put Darling daughter on a green 4 year old pony after only 4 lessons that terrified me when loaning out Sid.:eek:
 
They do not understand that sitting on a rocking horse is not the same as a real animal.
I could easily sort out the wheat from the chaff by asking how many jumping competitions they have won, but that would not exclude Mekinka, " UK Champion Junior Rider" who cant ride a sitting trot or stop hanging on to my pony's mouth. Sister draws a line in the sand and says "take off here".
I lent them my pony for a few days, got a text message, pony is lame, he is in his stable. Oh by the way, he was fine two hours before that as I rode him bareback up the lane!! Never been lame in three years I have owned him, IDIOTS They wanted to buy him for £1K, "for showing", rubbish, they wanted to lame my horse then sell him on for what he was worth, about 3K!!!
 
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Because by the time u are any cop as a rider u realise how much there is left to learn. When ur novice u think walk trot canter 1 foot cross pole is everything so u can do everything.

Had very experienced riding school rider on my mare the other day used to riding the 'naughty' ones etc. Rode her on so hard through seat poor pony was quite uncomfortable and kicked every stride while rising despite pony belting round as fast as possible without cantering. I don't normally let people ride pony, I remember why now lol. Lovely girl and highly recommended though to give her credit she took my constructive comments well and really tried to adjust her riding when asked.
 
I was totally disgusted when a senior BHS instructor told his charges the the most important thing was to impress the client by their riding, some of the girls could barely ride, but if I am looking for a good rider, I know that it is the horse I look at first, the rider second.
I once heard an owner complain that the girl who was on his horse [a nutter] should not be there, Head Lad told him she was the best rider in the yard, but he could take the horse for schooling elsewhere if he wanted to, owner made no further comment.
 
its infuriating! Im always 100% truthful when finding a home for a horse/pony, I was trying to find a home for a 13.2hh ex games pony on behalf of a friend who was hot, high energy, very sensitive and extremely quick to respond. you could ride her with cotton thread if you wanted too, I put all over the advert, not a novice ride, needs calm, quiet, confident person, not a first pony, Second pony only and above, to experienced rider only...

and i got two separate people who came for a viewing who said they were very experienced and turns out they wanted her for a first pony, i had said over the phone in great detail how quirky she was, how high energy she was, and i got 'yeah she sounds great such and such has been riding ponies like that for years', when they had only had lessons and couldn't even tack up. They never even got on. They were so tense just stood on the yard she wouldnt have given them anything if they got on her like that.

Sigh

Why be truthful sellers if the buyers just waste your time like that?

I have her now, i bought her as she would have ended up in horse heaven and she is just wasted in a field. But after all that of mither she can stay with me, obviously nobody wants a little hot headed madam but me rofl xD
 
We had a guy come to ride one of ours. "very experianced, has ridden alot abroad". He took 3 attempts taking a run up and throwing himself at the side of the horse, until my husband asked "excuse me sir, what are you doing to my horse"? he replied "I'm mounting him"!

pml. Think he'd been watching too many old western films.:rolleyes:
 
Well, I'm trying to buy a horse suitable for a novice and have been totally honest about my ability - or lack of it - and have so far seen horses advertised as suitable for novice 100% this, 100% that which are anything but, so its not just the buyers that are dishonest! Even one that had supposedly never bucked which proceeded to try to throw off my sister, then charged off with her!!
 
I think I have just been the victim of this. Ages and ages of phonecalls, e-mails, pictures etc, advertised as not suitable for novice, needs bringing on etc etc etc, hacks in company but not good on his own, so can I box him up, take him 20 miles to a school hes never seen, having not left the farm since I've had him, so he can have a 30 min lesson on him?? On his own.

PS, I can't tack him up because I get muddled up with the bit............:mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
when i got my loan i was told about 2 people that got on her before me, now im no carl hester but i was fine compared to the two previous people

the first was a 9 year old who had only just learnt to canter, my loan squealed when going into canter and she cried

the second kept giving her confusing signals so she bombed of with her (they still wanted her, owner was like ffs no chance)
 
1Lucie said:
Why do people do this???! I never understand why people over estimate their skills... u r setting yourself up to look like an utter idiot!!!
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People tend to overestimate their own abilities in many ways. For example, most drivers believe that they are above average; same thing for IQ. One popular explanation for this phenomenon is that it protects peoples' mental health (by helping them to avoid confronting their own shortcomings). However, this is not the only interpretation.

Overestimation of ones own abilities is particularly prevalent in novices (in all areas not just riding):

Spotsrock said:
Because by the time u are any cop as a rider u realise how much there is left to learn. When ur novice u think walk trot canter 1 foot cross pole is everything so u can do everything.
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If you are a novice you sometimes know so little that it is impossible for you to know how little you know. The following research paper might be of interest:

http://www.holub.com/goodies/Ehrlinger_et_al_2008.pdf
 
I was thinking about this today. I would imagine people over estimate their abilities as once they get to jumping 2ft on riding school plod, they then get bored with their lessons and move on and decide they need their own horse. People just get a false impression of theirselves as they've ridden every horse at the riding school which clearly makes them a fabulous rider when in fact they are a novice.
 
Glad you found your rider. I understand your frustration, but it works both ways.

I have made the mistake of describing myself as an intermediate rider before. When I said this I meant by non competitive riding school /leisure riding standards – can walk, trot, canter, gallop, cope with spooks, sit most little bucks (unless they are full on broncos), napping , mini rears etc but definitely not advanced. I can jump small stuff but prefer flatwork if I am honest (too middle aged and chicken about coming off!). I have also ridden 'in the real world' i.e. across lots rough terrain - moorland - steep hills, cantered under low trees etc.

On several occasions have repeatedly been given the horse that is stated on the website as being ‘reserved for more experienced riders’. At more than one establishment. Every time I am truly flattered! I appreciate that despite this it still means ‘novice’ by wider standards but I do think there is a difference between a complete beginner and the level I ride at now . Hence I used the term intermediate recently (I don’t anymore BTW)

Despite the possibly poor vocabulary choice, most people got what I meant. If anything I downplayed my experience and made it quite clear I am not advanced / expert at all, and very much a ‘happy hacker’ type and described the kind of stuff I have done.

Anyway when we (hubby and I) were looking to buy our first horses, after a long chat on the phone about our abilities (and no exaggeration on my part) we went to see one that was the ‘perfect adult beginner horse’ . Hmmmmmm

I got on and he was very strong, head tossy and nappy. He tried to bolt several times with me in trot and canter (and also my hubby and another much more experienced rider – wasn’t just me!) I relaxed , stayed calm and managed to keep him together but no way should he ever have been described as a beginner’s horse IMO.

We felt that what they were actually looking for was a ‘beginner buyer’ as (despite our lack of experience) we quickly spotted he had lots of medical issues including what looked like string halt, bad allergies, poor feet and was short of breath (probably from the allergies) and not to mention vastly overpriced. He felt very uncomfortable in trot so I think there were physical issues going on. Anyway the lady selling him felt we ‘were well suited’ it was clear she was desperate to sell him. But we politely declined.....

I have never described my riding as 'fabulous' or advanced but i do get very enthusiastic about riding (thought I would never ride again after a back injury so every time I get in he saddle now I smile) which might be misconstrued by some as my rating myself. This couldn't be further from the truth!

I also really respect when experienced people ask the right questions to help judge my ability before I get on the horse. As others have said, us novices, don't know everything so we look to you experts to guide us.

Asking what level someone rides at is always going to be tricky to someone like me who probably doesn't appreciate the wider spectrum because until recently I only really hacked or rode in a school. Most of us really welcome the honesty and advice though :)
 
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nicelittle said:
Well, I'm trying to buy a horse suitable for a novice and have been totally honest about my ability - or lack of it - and have so far seen horses advertised as suitable for novice 100% this, 100% that which are anything but, so its not just the buyers that are dishonest! Even one that had supposedly never bucked which proceeded to try to throw off my sister, then charged off with her!!
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I know they were probably lying but my friend tried to sell her pony, a wonderful beginners ride who she had well and truely outgrown, and she did this when a girl came to try her! We still have no idea why, and the owners were mortified! But just bear in mind that if people have had a horse a long time the horse may not be used to change- its not always dishonesty.
 
It really frightens me how people over estimate they ablity, will never forget the working pupil at event yard I worked at telling boss(olympic event rider) that she would school his 4star horses for him to improve their dressage!!!(boss didn't take to kindly to this offer:D) she didn't last too long!!
When I went to ireland to ride racehorses, I said I was below average defo didn't big myself up, and thankgod I did!!! (the irish will and do ride ANYTHING)
 
I once advertised (very honestly) a hot, hard work horse and had someone numptys ring. One parent rang for a young girl coming off her first pony and a lady rang wanting a school master to get back into riding!!! Utterly unbelievable, thankfully I screened everyone v carefully before letting them come see him, I'm sure I offended a few but better than an accident. Has was v talented so maybe glory hunters??
 
It works both ways. I know some good riders who would never compete because they think they're rubbish, when the real rubbish riders have no hesitation at all! I've also met a lot of horsey people who think that their horse is not a novice ride when it is with a more confident and experienced rider..
 
Honey08 said:
It works both ways. I know some good riders who would never compete because they think they're rubbish, when the real rubbish riders have no hesitation at all! I've also met a lot of horsey people who think that their horse is not a novice ride when it is with a more confident and experienced rider..
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Exactly!

IMO the best place to spot novice riders is in local sj classes.
Many people seem to think that having a badly behaved horse makes them look like good riders, if only they could see themselves as others see them!
 
Pearlsasinger said:
IMO the best place to spot novice riders is in local sj classes.
Many people seem to think that having a badly behaved horse makes them look like good riders, if only they could see themselves as others see them!
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Exactly. IMO the mark of a good rider is a well behaved, well mannered horse. Mostly because that makes me feel less incompetent, since we're pretty talentless in most competitive disciplines ;)


O wad some Power the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as ithers see us!
 
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