How do you deal with the resident know it all?

[milliepops]

Totally agree! Especially the last bit... the worst fallouts I have seen on yards tend to be between people who have got too involved with each other. It's nice to have friends on a yard and I have made some great friends through working on yards or being a livery over the years, but I am always wary of getting too close due to what I have seen over the years, it takes me a long time to become good friends with someone.

I'm still friends with some people I was at livery with years and years ago, and I do have some good friends on my yard now. But it's a bit like a family isn't it - random group of people thrown together because of one thing in common, just happens to be horse ownership rather than genetics. I'm not close pals with most of my family in the same way that I'm not close with most of the yard gang. You can still be friendly and enjoy bumping along together but no fallouts necessary.

 

[JillA]

Thinking about this while I was poo picking this morning (how sad!!) it seems to me that we ought to challenge them for their reasoning/sources/experience etc - in other words force them to go away and learn, research etc. Now that would be doing them a real favour - might make them even more obnoxious when they have learned though

 

[Fred66]

At a point where she is not offering advice - there must be a small let up somewhere Drop into conversation how amazing you find the way everyone has a different opinion on the best way of doing something is. Say that you have found the thing that works for you is sticking to your instructors advice or reading up online and ignoring anything else.

Then when she does offer unsolicited advice you can politely say thank you I'll check that with ..... or thanks I'll look that up. This way you shouldn't alienate her too badly (its a new yard so you probably are trying to get on with most folks at the moment) but will hopefully reduce her unwanted advice.

If 2-3 months in she is still offering then you may need to get her to watch your hubby ride