feeling useless !!

P

pennyh

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 April 2007
Messages
762
Visit site
this is not a moan or feeling sorry for myself type post , i'm hoping that other have been in a similar position to me & can tell me what they did & how things worked out

so , i own a lovely horse , he's handsome , well mannered , very easy to do , not had a days lameness , well behaved at comps , very safe & sane , he's such a sweetie & the nicest horse i've ever owned

he's got talent too , BUT we've been going nowhere for the past 6 months (i've had him 15 months) , i have weekly lessons & work hard on schooling but competing wise (dressage) we just can't get past early 60's , he should be a 70% horse , so last week i went to a clinic with a different instructor , horse went the best i had ever got him to ( went even better for the instructor who reconed he would go advanced & even offered to buy him!) & next day we achieved a marked improvement in our test score & placed 2nd ( best mark & placing we've had to date)

this wk diff clinic , diff instructor , achieved little , dressage score back to the usual

i just feel like i'm getting nowhere & working hard to do so!, i wouldn't even say that its that i don't get on with the horse , i enjoy riding him , but seeing what someone else got from him i'm starting to wonder would i be better off letting him go to someone else who can do him justice & get myself something easier that i don't get frustrated with??? i'm kind of very loathed to as i know he is a great horse & it would be a real missed oppertunity for me , but if i can't push his buttons its holding both of us back?

I'm not a complete numpty , i have competed up to BD elementary on a horse that i got there myself with the help of my regular instructor , the horse i'm struggling with i bought so i could progress to medium & hopefully beyond

has anyone been in a similar position & let the horse go or persevered? & can tell me there story as i'm feeling so deflated & unsure which way to go
frown.gif
 
Don't give up! Get a different trainer & get going!!

I do know where you're coming from - my horse's siblings are competing internationally whereas he's stuck with me.
shocked.gif
wink.gif
Your horse sounds happy & loved, & he would prob be happier with you than being ruthlessly pushed as hard as he could go with someone else? (Sweeping generalisation, but I hope you can see where I'm coming from.)

Please, please stick at it... you CAN do it!
 
[ QUOTE ]
so last week i went to a clinic with a different instructor , horse went the best i had ever got him to ( went even better for the instructor who reconed he would go advanced & even offered to buy him!) & next day we achieved a marked improvement in our test score & placed 2nd ( best mark & placing we've had to date)

this wk diff clinic , diff instructor , achieved little , dressage score back to the usual


[/ QUOTE ]

This should tell you all you need to know. Some instructors are better with one type of horse than another. Just because you acheived results on previous horse does not mean the instructor is right for this one.

Keep at it but find an instructor that works for the new horse.
 
I think you should get a new instructor too.

I felt the same as you, nice horse but never getting anywhere (especially with the dressage!). I always got in the 50's apart from the odd time we would get early 60's but always out of the placings
frown.gif
.
I had lessons with lots of different instructors and I just put it down to me or my horse not having the right brain for dressage, and no-one who taught me seemed particularly inspired by us. I just thought we were good for jumping and that was it.

Anyhow I started with a new dressage instructor. I dont know what she does differently but whatever it is it works. My horse now adores dressage and im enjoying it more and more. We get high 60's/70's and are now consistently placed top 3, so much so my instructor says we are soon ready for BD and that we have the potential to win. The improvement in us both is staggering. Everyone stares at my horse in the warm up and comments on how obedient, pretty and talented she is
smile.gif
and i get 'very well ridden' on my sheets. My horses ears are pricked throughout and im shocked by how much my new instructor has changed my riding and my attitude and the effect that has had on my horse.

If I was you I would make an effort to go back to the different instructor and use her. You obviously clicked and the changes she made to you both in one session was so pronounced that you got placed the next time. I dont think you should give up on your horse you just need some help from the right person.
 
Agree with the instructor line. I changed instructors and my percntages went from 58% to 70%.
If you can find a regular one you like and get on with then its onwards and uopwards. Good luck.
 
mmm , my regular instructor got me & the previous ned from 55%'s unaff prelim to elemen BD & is really good , but maybe just not suiting the new combination

i have managed to book another clinic with the instructor who got us going great on the first clinic , if that goes well i think it looks like you are all right & a change is in order........will then have to try pursude the new instructor to take me on as a private client if it goes well
blush.gif


so i won't write us off as a combination just yet
grin.gif


thanks guys for the sucess stories
smile.gif
 
I have seen several combinations of horse and rider transformed when they get an instructor that they 'click' with - when you go back to the person who really worked, emphasise to them how much they helped you and what a difference it made, how ambitious it made you feel etc... Often instructors are more likely to take you on if they think that you are really going to try and work at it and have the dedication to progress. That is by far the most satisfying part of teaching!! If they can't take you on, for distance or time reasons or whatever, maybe ask them for a recommednation of someone else who could. Don't forget it reflects very well on them too, especially if you mention them in your interview for Horse and Hound when you win!!!!!!!!
Give whoever you decide to go to a few weeks to get to know you and your horse too, sometimes it just 'clicks' first time, but it can be a more gradual process too...
 
thanks sportsmanb , thats goos advice , i am really keen & i know that the clinic trainer has trained combinations that have competed BD regionals & nationals, i'd love to be one of them! i think i have the horsepower , just need help to harness it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top