Hating schooling

[coffeeandabagel]

Ok, so hate is a strong word, but I really really dont like the way schooling males me feel. I end up frustrated and grumpy and very tense, I love lessons but doing it on my own is horrible and I know the horses pick up on it and get stiff, hollow, tank off or generally misbehave.

How have other people overcome this and learnt to love or even just bear schooling?

 

[DabDab]

What is it that makes you tense do you think? Is it just that you have set yourself goals and get frustrated when it is not panning out?

You could try just schooling while out hacking for a bit and see if it helps you translate into the school.

 

[Moomin1]

TBH it's a case of gritting your teeth and getting on with it. One thing that grates on me is people not being bothered to school their horses. People can't expect horses to do a job without them being set up for it correctly.

 

[TarrSteps]

TBH it's a case of gritting your teeth and getting on with it. One thing that grates on me is people not being bothered to school their horses. People can't expect horses to do a job without them being set up for it correctly.

Sorry, I don't agree. Schooling is essentially having a conversation with your horse - some conversations may be more pleasant/demanding/difficult/rewarding/productive than others but they should all be interesting and worthwhile. If you approach "schooling" as something to he "got through" every time I don't see how you would convince a horse is can be a pleasant (which is not the same as easy) and productive experience. Carl Hester's horses don't look like they are suffering the work and all they do is "school".

One thing is to not always use the school (as in the arena) to drill on the horse. You can do all sorts of things in the space - poles, ride bareback, canter sets, walk work etc - it doesn't have to be endless trotting circles. If you only go into the area to have an argument with the horse then it won't take the horse long to start from a resistent position. Balance the things the horse does well with the more difficult aspects, try not to go past the point where the horse is too tired to learn, mix things up.

That is very general advice. For more specific advice consult your instructor. Ask how you can transfer some of the enjoyment you get from lessons to your own work. Get some homework plans you can use as templates for sessions in between your lessons and try to set both short and medium term goals so you can gauge your progress AND know when to ease off a bit.

 

[kerilli]

good advice from TS as always.
OP, why do you get frustrated and grumpy? Is it because you are thinking 'my horse should be going like x and isn't and I don't know why not, or how to get/keep it like that?" (btw this is a horribly easy trap to fall into.)
Your trainer should be able to break down your lessons into small goals that you can aim for and accomplish when on your own. Explain what it's like when they aren't there.
If you are tense and grumpy you WILL be like that with the horse (impossible not to be) and no horse responds well to that. Hence, vicious circle, downwards spiral, more tension and frustration.
Why not have a session of "i don't care where his nose is, I am going to concentrate on being able to trot round in nice rhythm, and then exactly over the middle of the poles I lay out in a rough course, and steer as much as I can with my legs, and by turning my shoulders, without using my hands" or "today I am going to work on being able to influence the horse with my rising, my shoulder position, my body, my seat."
This is all beneficial stuff and is an accomplishable (is that even a word?!) goal which makes the horse more rideable and should make you think "cool, we did that!"
Little successes = feel good factor = more positive about next time... for both of you. The last thing you want is that the horse starts to dread being schooled... it should feel like a good yoga workout to the horse, not a punishment session!

 

[JFTDWS]

I agree with TS and kerilli about focusing on different aspects of schooling and using different 'enrichment exercises' like poles etc to give you something more positive to focus on. I also find there's a lot of value in finding one thing your horse loves doing / does well reliably, and always making time to do that, to finish or if you find yourself getting worked up.

Fergs loves walk to canters, and he feels uphill and joyous when he does them. When I find myself asking for too much in trot and soliciting an argument, I bring him back to walk, do a few directs to canter to get us both back together. His trot work normally improves after, and we avoid the stress. It works for us anyway, and I used to feel the same way about schooling!

 

[milliepops]

Good advice from lots of people here I would also add that in the same way as a sour or green horse can be helped by lots of short, sweet sessions, the same can be true of us as riders

It's also partly a state of mind. When it's hot like this I can't bear the thought of it. But if I just try to ignore the fact that I'm sulking about being too hot, I find myself engrossed in the work It's hard to get the mind shift but when you can do it, you'll be well away esp if you can get little chunks of well-defined homework to do between lessons

Have you told your instructor how you feel between lessons btw? Might help to have a pretty open discussion because then they might tweak what they suggest you do when you are on your own accordingly.

 

[TarrSteps]

Lots more good advice!

Another good trick is to have sessions now and then where you ride by your watch. This is especially useful on days you have limited time and want to avoid the trap of starting something you can't finish. Decide how long you are going to spend in each gait, then set your timer on your phone and stay in that gait until the beep. Don't get too fixated on how the horse is going, just keep moving around the school in a relaxed fashion. Start with very small increments - even if you walk for 10, trot for 2x5, canter for 2x3, trot for 1x5, and walk out for 10 you've filled quite a lot of time.

And while you've got your phone on you, you could try riding to music. Just try and play with things a bit.

 

[Sol]

I've just browsed the posts, but a big thing that helped me was realising that a LOT of instructors don't 'teach you how to ride well'. They just *manage* you when you are in a lesson. So they give you instructions, you do them. Tbh, I find this means for a lot of people that when they are on their own, because they haven't been explained to the technicalities of why you do X at X time, they can't replicate it, and get frustrated.
It's just a big thing I've observed both from my own lessons with various instructors, and others having lessons/riding their own horses or riding without supervision.

You might find that's not the case, but it's worth thinking about. Maybe just make sure you have a chat with your instructor at the start/end of your lesson about specific aims, or make sure you stop them in the middle if you don't get exactly why you should do something. Often it seems obvious to 'just do it' but later it's not so clear! (or maybe I just have a pathetic memory! ). I like instructors who will keep up a 2-way conversation in lessons, as it helps me much more than just having someone talk AT me for an hour.

 

[kerilli]

^^^ i totally agree with this. you need a plan (what you aim to do/accomplish in this lesson) and you need an instructor who explains why things are going as they are, and helps you find solutions.

 

[coffeeandabagel]

Some many good things said here! I know I do need to school, I ask my horse to do stuff so his body needs to be fit, supple and prepared for that stuff - whether it is a long hack of or a ODE.

I have just changed instructors to train me more and not just the horse - if I have the skills to use then I can use them if she is there or not. But it is still often a battle because we have only just started together.

As Kerilli says its often because I want him to feel like this (softer) or not to do that - (hang on the bit on the left rein) and if I cant make it happen I feel cross with him. Maybe my goals are too vague? I like the idea of simple goals - and maybe they need to be more about me and less about him - eg. I will keep my hands equal for two circuits etc

I have told my instructor and she says she used to feel like that too. She is riding my horse for the first 30 mins to let me see the way to do things and how it makes a difference. Since she has known me from when I first got back on a horse I am not at all embarressed to ask her anything I need to know.

I will try some different exercises - avoid the endless circles and serpentines. I have noticed that riding mags can be very useful for getting new ideas.

Also I have just got the book Centred Riding so am looking at my riding more not just the horses responses. It makes me feel sad that I am probably confusing him with mixed messages at the moment.

At the moment I have three different instructors- one for jumping and one for flat work with loan horse who I am competing and 1 for ground work with my boy who is coming back into work. So I shouldnt be short of ideas of what to do.

thanks, everyone, you have cheered me up a bit and given me a bit of hope

 

[chocolatepony]

How about trying some of the audio lessons from sound schooling or iride? I find them really helpful and they give you some focus and keep you busy so you havent really got time to get frustrated!

 

[coffeeandabagel]

How about trying some of the audio lessons from sound schooling or iride? I find them really helpful and they give you some focus and keep you busy so you havent really got time to get frustrated!

Thats an interesting one - will look them up thanks.

 

[kaiserchief]

Ditto everyone else - I used to hate schooling, and still don't like just doing endless circles.

My boy's only 5 and has only been under saddle for 5 months so I'm also very keen not to sour him, so I work hard to keep work fun and varied for both our sakes.

Our last schooling session was my favourite in-an-arena ride EVER and all I did was focus on how small I could make my cues and still get the right response. Of course this meant I had to really keep myself centred, balanced and even, focus on what I wanted to achieve and reward Kai the second he complied.

By the end of the session (no more than 20 minutes) we were able to walk from one letter to the next, trot from that one to the next, then back to walk for one more letter on each rein, including through a figure 8 (counting X as a letter) without losing balance or impulsion. It felt utterly awesome and gave us both a real confidence boost as we were getting upward transitions from dropping my little toes and downwards transitions from an exhale.

 

[Cortez]

Ah, but you see "schooling" means one teaching the other, and in which case one of the two needs to know more than the other in order to school it. Many people go to "school" their horses without, in fact, having anything to teach it with the result that nothing happens, everyone is bored/frustrated and the whole exercise is pointless at best. Good ideas above re getting a plan from either an instructor or some other source.

 

[dafthoss]

Do you only school in the arena? if so why not try doing it out hacking or in the field, you can do loads of lateral work and all sorts of other stuff whilst out which breaks it up a bit for you both.

Does your instructor give you small easily manageable things to work on between lessons? Our flat work changed a lot when we had small things to work on each time, they all made a big difference to his flat work but working on things one at a time made it manageable for us and easier to see progress. It also made me more motivated to sort that one little thing between lessons and showed me that there wasn't that much wrong with it but a few little things made a lot of difference. It made him more motivated as I praised him for getting one thing right not expecting every thing at once.

 

[pipwat]

Lots of good advice here. Id keep schooling sessions short and sweet. Why not introduce pole work , cones and small jumps into your schooling gives you something else to focus on. Id also agree with having a goal for each session e.g nice transitions and if goal reached go for a hack or do something you find fun. Hopefully you should both start to associate schooling with positve experiences. Also playing music whilst you school can cheer things up a bit.

 

[coffeeandabagel]

Hi everyone, I used to school out hacking when I mainly rode alone, but now I ride with someone else, learning new routes from my new yard I tend not to. Should try it again.
But I think Cortez has it abuot right - neither of us, horse or me, had enough to teach the other. If what I am trying seems to work its OK, but if it doesnt I dont know how to correct it. More time and lessons I suppose are needed.

I like kaierchiefs ideas - and in fact was trying similar yesterday. Halting just using my core -it works with my boy but loan horse is the frustrating one as he just pwers on! Maybe thats my goal for next week, slowing if not stopping!

 

[kaiserchief]

A cool trick I've used before to slow down a speedy horse is to ask nicely for your slow/stop, then if they don't respond, pop them onto a small circle until they naturally have to slow to keep balanced then immediately let them go forwards in a straight line and praise. If they stay at the speed you want, mega, if they speed up again, back onto the circle (but in the other direction if you can).

Kai came into the arena a few weeks back with his pants on fire, neighing, squealing, and generally being whizzy and silly. We did the above and within 5 minutes he'd decided life was easier if he just listened and was a good boy. Was lovely and not once did we get into an argument or pulling match so it kept both of us calm as well.

 

[coffeeandabagel]

So, did 10 mins on R, my horse and it was lovely. He halts from walk as I sit up and goes on as i think about it. Thats enough for him at the moment.
The S and I went in the school. I limited myself to 10 minutes as well. We did transitions only, not fussing about other stuff. It was still warm so he was a bit sluggerdly, which irritates me - why one extreme to the other?) but I managed to get him needing lighter aids to slow, but firm heel oiks to make him move upwards. Sensing I was getting cross we went out for a hack. Result - no rows, some progress.
I am going to use poles next time, fanning out like spokes and see if we can change length of stride in a rythem - look how keen I am now! 15 mins max.

 

[LeannePip]

Great thread and some fab advice! Have been feeling a bit list with mine ATM, just about to move jobs, yards and move home(again!), everything is getting to me and the horse is just being pig ignorant at the moment probably because I can't have lessons ATM. But after reading this I'm raring to get back out there and just do 10mins of easy stuff loads of pats with some music on and try to enjoy it again not bore us both with endless circles and trying to MAKE her go forward, if its more fun she's going to be more willing! One of those lightbulb moments hopefully! Thanks guys, sorry to hijack OP x

 

[JFTDWS]

Sounds like you've got it under control, OP

I love riding with music on too. Wish I could compete with an ipod in I think it helps to make up for my lack of natural rhythm...

 

[coffeeandabagel]

LeannePip - glad its not just me! (although I know it isnt from talking to friends)
I bought the Basic Schooling Patterns lesson from SoundSchooling as well - although I can listen to it on my laptop havent worked out what app will play the files on my Android phone yet! May have to dig the ancient Ipod out and use Itunes.