Finding a Teacher - fed up of not knowing how to ride properly!

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midi

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Hi this is going to be really long and idiotic

Hmf I feel awful about my riding - I've been riding on and off since I was about 5 years old? I'm now 20 but my ability might as well suggest I've only ridden a handful of times.
Through out my life I've been at riding schools with your typical ploddy unresponsive horses and being asked to trot to the back bit of a fancy circle, canter in a corner and perhaps pop over a small jump. These repetitive lessons and frustration with unresponsive, bored horses has been one of the reasons I would quit for months or years on end.

Then last year(?) local riding school just down my road was offering lessons so I thought I'd give riding ago again and wow I was hooked. The horses were beautifully schooled was literally a totally new experience to what I had been used too and I learnt so much in so little time was really a total whole new world to me.
But in reality they where basics I should of learnt years ago - then the school changed hands and as far as I know no longer offers lessons or has the same people there.

My last few lessons there I was introduced how to soften the reins and get the horse on the bit all completely new to me! All these basic things I hear about collection,half-halts,leg yields, impulsion. I know nothing about - and I'm pretty angry tbh from my own ignorance that I spent all those years spending money on lessons that was honestly get on a horse and trot around for an hour - hoping that one day I would learn something ha!

So yeah its been a year? couple years ? since I've had any lessons and I've been riding a family friends horse which has definitely improved my riding posture and general confidence - but now I've hit a wall with what I can do and I really want to start learning how to actually ride and school a horse, specially as I'm starting to look and plan for my own horse and I also want to improve my riding with the horse I ride atm because I'm a bore to her!

So fff apologies for rambling but how do I go about trying to find a riding school / Instructor who will actually teach me what I want to learn rather than scam me of a fortune for sitting on a horse? What do I ask them- Will you Teach me flatwork? What is the word for such lessons ?
I'm looking for somewhere in southeast kent if anyone can recommend anywhere/anyone? ;_;

tl;dr

Fed up that I've spent years riding yet can't do anything and never even been taught basics,need decent instructor or riding school? whats the name of such lessons so I know if they can offer it rather than make me trot round a school for an hour? help I'm a noob wah wah.
 
Trial and error?

If youre riding a horse for someone, id ask her first as i think that she must know of the local school that could help you. Trainer wise, unless youre having lessons on this horse you are riding, you really want to be riding a schoolmaster to learn the basics on and then think about gettinga personal trainer!

Good luck and enjoy though!!!
 
I don't think my messages/inbox works on here blueneonrainbow :(


@Samantha008: Oh I don't want lessons on the horse I ride currently shes not even schooled to do such things shes a hack/driving pony - Or a personal trainer unless they have horses I can ride.
Just looking for a school/instructor who are knowledgeable and area good teacher - I've tried trial and error but its expensive not knowing whats going to happen and to find out its just like the past! My friend doesn't really know of anyone either.

I just dunno how I should ask schools if the lessons they include cover the sort of things I want to learn if you know what I mean.
Is there a collective term for it? or should I just say Hi can you teach me how to ride collected and what not? ahhh I'm so stupid :(
 
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Could you join a local Riding Club? If you have transport, most do plenty of training and its a great way to meet people.
Find a local freelance instructor who will come and teach you on your friends horse.
Or find a GOOD local riding school and have private lessons,although this will be expensive.
I dont know your area so cant recommend anyone.
 
I think you could learn alot on your current horse, without having to go to a riding school, even if she is not a 'schoolmistress' and well schooled, if you get a good instructor.
 
Think I understand what you mean. How about looking for for a good classical instructor who teaches on their own schoolmaster horses. Emphasis on classical!

Have you heard of the TTT (Teachers of Tomorrow Trust, based in Shamley Green, Surrey) - they may be able to point you in the direction of a local associate instructor. TTT have a website BTW.

I'm in Sussex and could also recommend an excellent instructor who is not associated with the TTT, who teaches on his own schoolmaster horses - depends if you are prepared to travel. PM me if you want more information.
 
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This is all too common an experience, I'm afraid. I have lost track of the number of riding school and BHS taught people that have come to me for lessons, having spent a fortune for years and learnt next to nothing. In a nutshell, I have come to the conclusion that many instructors are just too lazy to teach students how to ride properly. By that, I mean, how to school a horse correctly. Students are not taught the basic principal of how a horse should work 'over the back' into light self carriage. Students are instead taught to shorten their reins and use their legs to push the horse into a heavy unyeilding contact. It's horrible. The result is a rider tipping forward over the horse with straight arms and reins only around a foot long. Urgh! Makes my blood boil.

To be fair, though, you need a horse that is not being ridden by too many beginners and that has a basic level of schooling. You then need an excellent instructor, and these are very hard to find. But you are ahead of most people already, because you are AWARE of the problem. That will stand you in good stead for finding a good intructor. Tell prospective instructors you are looking to learn how to school a horse correctly so that it is supple and working over its back into a light contact. Tell them that this is your priority. Good luck
 
I was a little similar to you in that i felt i had hit a rut and i couldn't recreate what i had felt like as a naturally athletic teenager riding ponies!

I found a brilliant instructor who is a ride with your mind coach and a biomechanics coach. She totally flipped my riding world on it's head. I found i learnt more about how to influence the horse using my body posture and weight, and learn from the horses response whether i had got it right or not.

Good riding after all is just being in tune with the horse, is it not? And being a rider that the horse enjoys carrying.

Try a little reading and experimenting. Maybe read up on leg yields, aids and how the horse should respond, then try it out on a hack. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The instructer can then fine tune your 'feel' when you do find one. Just remember though, sometimes less is more. A horse will often respond better to a subtle shift in weight than it will a boot in the ribs. Good luck and have fun with it, thats why we all do it remember :).

Trina x
 
sent a pm dorito - not sure if it worked though I swear the messaging system isn't working at the moment.

@Wagtail: I've literally never been taught anything - was literally kick to go faster and pull reins to go slower ha whilst doing circles round a sand school utterly pointless! I wish I could find a instructor like the last school I went too its such a shame it closed down / lost contact with the instructor as she was a brilliant teacher. I think everything I have learnt has been only from the past 2 years - the short time at the school before closed and the riding I'm doing now on my own.

I would like to learn on a properly schooled horse tbh so s/he can teach me! & I really want somthing more forward going if you know what I mean.
At the last school I rode a gorgeous schoolmistress and then a 5 year old dressage pony - spooky as hell he was but I learnt so much from both of them.

The horse I ride at the moment for my friend/auntie has only been taught very basics and driving and I honestly don't think she would be suitable to learn on - specially as shes going to start to be rebroken for driving it would be too much for her - plus shes very lazy I don't think she would be amused!

@trina: I've been reading a site called the art of classical riding which has been helpful - though I find it hard learning things from words very much a visual/work through it kind of person - But I'm gonna try print some things off and experiment hehe.
I guess I kind of get down cause I feel like I'm missing out ! I see people half my age riding beautifully - I'm jealous, I want to learn so badly! I wish I had the talent for it also.

@blueneonrainbow: I'm in the Tenterden/Ashford Area x
 
I came to riding in my late 20s, and I felt exactly the same as you. I couldnt find any riding schools locally with anything more than plods to ride, so I went and bought my own. After a few lessons with a decent instructor on a willing horse, I felt quite mad that I had wasted time at the riding school. Dont beat yourself up too much. You`ve got years ahead of you to learn to ride.
 
Having been a riding school owner myself I find it so frustrating that there are schools that are so slapdash about their teaching.

I initially learned at a wide range of schools - some left you to fend for yourself with a bored teenager calling out instructions to end up in a fantastic school where I actually learnt on the first lesson about diagonals!

I like my school horses/ponies to be free moving, and for riders to enjoy their lessons and to learn something or improve every ride. I hate seeing riders having to kick the life out of a pony to get it to go - learning to ride shouold initially be about getting your position correct, learning to sit still in harmony with the pony and to be able to apply the correct aids in the correct manner.

Then when you have that phase sorted you can start riding the not so well behaved. In general it took as much as a year to bring a new pony on to the point where they were a useful member of the school.

I kept an eye on my instructors and made sure they actually taught and didn't just tell the rider to 'Trot On' - they were to teach, "Prepare to trot. Check & Correct your position (instructor reminds the rider of how they should be sitting), Shorten your reins because the pony lifts it's head when it goes into trot, tap with both legs and trot on." Rider being taught! When you young riders can recite back to you the aids for each movement without umming and arring you know you are actually teaching them. It's surprising that even whe you are examining 'B' certificate riders for Pony Club the number that have to think first before telling you the aids for a movement.

Ideally for you the best thing is to find a BHS centre that trains riders for at least Intermediate Teaching/Stage IV or higher. You are then likely to get instructors and horses that are able to teach you more.

It fun learning as an older rider as you can mentally handle the knowledge more easily and are more aware of what you are feeling.
 
I had a similar experience and if you want lessons on school horses I would suggest looking for your nearest where to train centre. If they are training instructors they should have better horses and instruction. The place I was having lessons offered stage three exams so they had horses that were capable of going on the bit and lateral work. You will find details on the bhs website.

You could also try lessons with a freelance on the horse you ride now. I'd post your location and see if anyone can recommend you someone good.
 
I'd contact Dove Stables near Droitwich, and try to arrange a few days there. They specialise in helping people like you by firstly ensuring their position is correct, then teaching you how to influence your horse to get results.
They have schoolmaster horses are very reasonably priced and Sam is a great instructor. Several people I know who event use him to refine their riding and you need more than just the one off type of lesson, book in for three days of lessons and you will soon make progress.
The biggest obstacle to improving is firstly understanding that before you can make a horse do anything, you have to be able to sit on it without doing anything.. That comes before all the rest. If my suggestion is too distant for you find someone to give you lunge lessons until you reach that point. I'd also recommend Talland, as they teach on the same lines, and have nice schoolmasters, though it is a bit daunting riding in with lots of others, with Sam you are one to one with no distractions.
 
Just spotted you are in Kent, I know a great freelance in that area who used to teach me and manage the riding school where I had lessons.
 
midi said:
Oh I don't want lessons on the horse I ride currently shes not even schooled to do such things shes a hack/driving pony - Or a personal trainer unless they have horses I can ride.
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i wouldnt rule out lessons on the horse you ride atm, even as just a hack she should still know enough of the basics to be able to do them when you ask properly and therefore teach you and then you two can progress together one that is mastered. If you have lessons on the horse you ride regularly, it will be much more rewarding than getting it right on a perfectly schooled horse and not being able to reproduce it on anything else. Also, with your horse, you get to practise it every time you ride knowing exactly what she can/cant do or understand. If she can do it in the lesson but wont do it on a hack you know you are asking it differently and you can adjust yourself till you get it right.
Can you try down at the riding school to get the contact details of the instrctors that were there before? Make some story up of why you want to get in touch - if they know its for lessons they might not be willing to give you their nmbers as they'll miss out on the work.
 
Well I am a good 30 years older than you, and I agree with you about going for lessons and not learning to ride! What you learned was how to stick on, stop and steer. Which can be good enough for someone who wants to go hunting, for instance, but it isn't equitation.

I was pretty fed up with being hopeless, so I started going to different instructors and was amazed and appalled at what I didn't know. And to think I have been through Pony Club, Riding Club, gone eventing and dressage and there were fundamental things I had never been taught. I wasn't the only one, either, as at some of these lessons and clinics there was a clamour from other riders of "why didn't anyone every tell me that."
I am at the stage now of realising what I don't know, but it is all a bit late for me as I and horse progress towards middle age.

Too many instructors can tell you what to do, but cruically not how to do it, and something that they find instinctive and easy often cannot be well explained. Like the story of a high level German rider/instructor who came to the UK to teach the top dressage riders and ended up screaming at them "Ride better, ride better" - but he couldn't explain what he wanted. (This was a long, long time ago, no reflection on current dressage riders).

However, at 20 you have years before you to learn. I think trying the "Classical" school of riding is a good idea. Before going for lessons have a chat with the instructor to say what you want to get out of the lessons. Good luck.
 
I know exactly what you've been through! I'd been to various riding schools, some the horses were fab but the teaching was lacking. Then I found where I am now which is also a livery yard where I keep my new boy. As pathetic as it sounds, a part of me getting my own horse was because I simply wasn't progressing anymore due to lack of something to ride, and so was means for me to get out and do more, and have now found my dream horse and we're getting on very well with a fab instructor! It's all to do with finding the right instructor for you and your horse, who knows what you're both capable of and is good at teaching you in an interesting way and so will really get you to progress at a rate you're comfortable with. I like having my jump and flatwork instructor in one, but I do know people who have a separate trainer for each. I would help with the instructor problem as I am also in Kent, but not in South East Kent! xx
 
I did a lot of my BHS Exams training at Rooting Street Farm at Little Chart nr Ashford. They had nice horses which worked properly and could jump a decent height.

It was a few years ago now, and it looks like its run by someone else now. However its blurb on the BHS Website still lists it as an exam centre, so the instruction should be of a good level. The phone number is 01233 840434

Alternatively look at the list of approved centres on the BHS Website:

https://www.bhs.org.uk/Riding/Find_Where_To_Ride/Find_An_Approved_Centre/Find_a_Riding_Centre.aspx
 
HI Midi,

I've not been there for years but there is/was a stables called Bursted Manor in Bridge, Canterbury. When I was there (hmm, must be 10 yrs ago to be fair), the horses were all very well schooled and many to different levels so you could progress from one horse to another. She had horses who had competed to very high standards which had been gifted to her once competitive life became a little to much for them.

The owner was Pam Toomes (I think that is the correct speling) and she was a fabulous instructor. The horses were all in great condition and the schools were a lovely size, one indoor and one out with a small x country course in the fields.

Well worth looking up and I wish you all the best if she is still in business and you decide to give it a go. She taught me absolutely loads and all in a very easily understood way.

Just googled and they definitely are still very much in business.
 
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Im glad i saw this

i had a 4 year break after i sold my old boy and decided i wanted to get back into it, i had 2lessons and hated it..

so a month later i bought another horse, we were just happy hackers, until my friend asked me if i wanted a lesson at her yard

I was embarrassed, soon realised i know NOTHING!! so i have booked some lessons with Sally Mitchell (west yorkshire if anyone knows her) just lunging and long reining for now as my mare has a foal at foot

I found her on the BHS website but i did read of some who do have there own horses to try :)
 
Got your pm dorito.

@cuppatea: The riding school I used to ride has closed down as far as I'm aware like it was totally sold so I have no idea who owns it now or if horses are even still kept down there.
Its down a long drive / private land so would feel awkward going there to check, another problem was I stopped riding before the place actually closed down - when I tried to book another lesson one day no one would pick up phones/reply to messages. My last lesson there was actually a rather bad one (horse wouldn't stop spooking) so I don't know if by that time they where having problems or they didn't want me there ha!

@Orangehorse: Yeah I think I'll use the term classical riding see if that gets results! x

@KristmasKatt: I'm in the Ashford/Tenterden area x
The only thing Im worried about freelance lesson is it might get too pricey / hiring a school / getting the horse I ride there / actual lesson.

@VioletStripe: Sounds like you and your horse have a great partnership! I'm hoping to get one soon but I want to be a bit more confident with my riding - I'm worried atm I could potentially ruin a horse if its well schooled :(

@Shazza: Thanks for the suggestion I'll give em a ring and for the link really helpful thankyou! x

@Dougalsmum: Thanks for the suggestion I gave em a look on google looks like a really quality place - But I think Its a bit too pricey for me though for something regular -but I'll inquire about price reductions regarding shared lessons.

@jessikaGinger: Yeah embarrassed is a good way to put how I feel!

I'm gonna try ringing round next week at the places I find / places you guys have recommended - hopefully I'll find something! <3
 
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