i have come to the conclusion

[JM07]

that potential horse/pony owners/buyers these days, possibly? due to no fault of their own, are totally incompetant.


this is due, IMHO, to the lack of decent riding schools.


the standard of riding these days at basic level, is second rate from what it was 20/30 yrs ago...which leads to second rate ownership....

which therefore leads to alot of people having bought horses/ponies which turn out to be far too much for them, and then the blame culture kicks in, and the "it's not my fault, take them to court" kicks in.



without being too harsh on the "novice riders", if i'm honest, it's hardly surprising that there is a noticable increase in "dodgy dealers" as the bandwaggon they are on, isn't exactly short of custom, is it??...

i speak from experience here, having had several "potential" buyers looking at ponies i have for sale, who, in all honesty, over estimate their ability by at least 150%...

if someone isnt capable, why bother...i wouldn't go out and actively try to buy a kawi 1500....

moan over......

 

[meemzul]

here here!!

 

[Parkranger]

I was thinking about this the other day.......I just thikn that people have more money to spend (or debt to get into) so buy flashier horses.

I also think that warmbloods do cause a few problems. Don't get me wrong, some are amazing but alot that i've met have been sharper than my two TB's and need competent riders - I know quite a few warmbloods who's owners are too scared to ride them......

I am not the best rider, and sometimes not the most confident but I can't believe what some people let their horses get away with. People are too scared to smack their horses when they deserve it and others are too scared to give a horse a chance to settle before condeming it as evil.

God, I'm ranting now....sorry!

 

[merlinsquest]

Ahhhhh .... memories.... I learnt to ride (off road obvioulsy) on a Kawasaki 1300!!!!

ex-boyfriends bike about 24 years ago..... I weighed roughly 7 stone then and had trouble getting it off its sidestand!!!!

 

[YorksG]

I totaly agree, and also the calibre of freelance 'instructors' who teach with no formal qualifications and no long term experience compound this problem. Novice owners with novice trainers who all lead each other into dangerous and harmful practices.

 

[quirky]

Is it lack of decent riding schools, or different teaching, probably caused by the "blame" society we live in?

In a post further down, they were on about when we (I) learnt to ride, we thought nothing of jumping without reins, stirrups etc. My favourite lessons were when we got to trot round bareback. I bet not many riding schools would risk that nowadays!!

I haven't been to a riding school for years, so I could be talking out of my behind here!

 

[MooMoo]

could perhaps some of that be non-horsey parents buying ponies for their children? just wondered. it seems a bit silly. sometimes the phrase "more money than sense" springs to mind.

i've been to 4 riding schools and i'd say only one of them was pretty bad, the rest were really good. main difference...two of them were BHS and the other ABRS (the not so good one didnt have anything to my knowledge)

 

[Donkeymad]

I think a lot of it is fashion (what breed are in vogue) rather than suitability.

 

[DipseyDeb]

[ QUOTE ]
this is due, IMHO, to the lack of decent riding schools./quote]

Tell me about it!! My daughter started learning to ride 2 years ago, I struggled to find anywhere half decent...found the best of a bad bunch (least said!!) luckily new place has recently opened and she has moved (cue 1 very happy mummy!!) But the choice of qualified instructers is dire, I don't know if it's just the area I'm in....

 

[dufffy]

couldnt agree more i'm only just turning 20 but have been riding since i was 4 i consider myself to be a fairly competent rider by no stretch of the imagination stylish or "good" but i help out at my friends riding stables and the standard of riding is shocking! kids have awful balance bounce about on horses backs and jab them in the mouth. i feel very sorry for some of the horses and ponies

 

[Daisychain]

It doesnt happen very often, but i do actually agree with you, when i was selling my eventer i had a woman phone up with a very impressive list of questions... when she came to view she then went on to say she had been riding for 3 months WTF, this horse was a very sensible chap, but she scared the crap out of him lol!! I told her definately not suitable, apparently she had looked at over 60 horses... i rest my case.

 

[skewbaldpony]

You are absolutely right.
I got into a long conversation with our PC DC the other day about this, and she says you can't odds it, today it's all about fun.
I never used to let kids canter until they could trot, jump until they had an independent seat, etc etc. But now apparently it's 'pressure from the mums' to get them cantering and jumping while holding onto ponies' mouths or anything else within reach which passes for a handle.
I know someone who has just spent £6k on a pony for a child that I know for a fact struggles to trot without stirrups.
My own woebegone child, on her rescue pony, and no hope of anything better, suffers mother picking her apart on her downward transition from canter to trot without stirrups.
This child asked my daughter to help her at camp, as she did not know how to put her bridle on, she is 11.
My 8 year old can put a bridle on, for crying out loud.
Sorry I nicked your rant. I'll go and find one of my own.

 

[JM07]

[ QUOTE ]
It doesnt happen very often, but i do actually agree with you,

[/ QUOTE ]


had to happen sooner or later, DC....

 

[tinker512]

I think maybe some of it is also the horse prices, its not like you can pick up a safe fun allrounder for the prices they used to be 10 years ago or so, so possibly people now are thinking if they are spending alot of money, they might aswell get something for the same price but go for the 'flashier' horse and then run into a whole lot of trouble...

OR it can work the other way, with troublsome horses being considerably cheaper because they a lunatics and somehow someway people can convince themselves they have the ability to sort it when they clearly dont have a clue...

 

[Parkranger]

I don't think it's standard of RS - my OH is learning to ride and is being taught properly - no knee gripping etc. HAve to say that I think when alot of us were younger, horses weren't overschooled, we HAD to hack out and we didn't end up with a horse we were scared to hack out because that's what most of us did alot of the time.....

 

[JM07]

i share your rant.....
at the age of 9, i could strip and make good a double bridle...AND ride correctly in one.....hard for small hands..but you didnt complain.....

 

[Daisychain]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It doesnt happen very often, but i do actually agree with you,

[/ QUOTE ]


had to happen sooner or later, DC....

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[zoeshiloh]

The trouble is that the good instructors at these riding schools are a dying breed, mainly BECAUSE of the BHS qualifications in my opinion.

I used to be taught by an ancient lady, she had no qualifications but was a fantastic instructor and really made me capable of dealing with any type of horse. When I moved to another area, I was then under the instruction of another unqualified teacher, who I learnt an absolute wealth from. On moving to Suffolk, I sought out a BHS instructor, and within ten minutes I could tell that I knew more than he did. I found a local, unqualified instructor, who had a pretty mediocre riding career, but bloody hell could he teach! One of the best instructors I have ever ridden under.

A good riding instructor is not necessarily a good rider, and a good rider not necessarily a good instructor.

Personally I never ask about qualifications - I prefer them not to have any BHS qualifications.

I wonder if the standard of riding is slipping because people are no longer allowed to teach proper riding on difficult ponies due to law suits etc? When I learnt to ride we had ponies that bucked, reared and bolted - those that were too scared never came back, and those that carried on ended up to be very good riders because they learnt how to stick on at a young age. Nowadays if I pony reared in a lesson, it would be banished from the riding school!

 

[Ravenwood]

I think its a difficult Catch 22 situation. The person who has been taught at a second rate riding school probably doesn't realise this and therefore thinks they are ready for their first horse in total ignorance.

Unless they had the wherewithall to go to several different riding schools to compare (and thats assuming they had that opportunity in their area) how are they to realise that their riding standards compared to yours differ?

The type of person mentioned above cannot be compared to a child who has been brought up in a horsey family where general knowledge and stable management is absorbed at a young age.

 

[FinellaGlen]

I do know what you mean JM. Personally, I always have always downplayed my admittedly meagre abilities when seeking to view a horse, so much so that my OH has said "they will think you've never even sat on a horse the way you're talking"!

A lady that I know,however, talks herself up something rotten and has "almost bought" all sorts of unsuitable horses. She just goes by what the horse looks like so flashy Arabs and WBs always catch her eye and off she goes to view them. I actually think she is a timewaster because she still hasn't got a horse despite months of looking. Goodness knows what, if anything, she will end up with. I have a feeling that it will all end in tears if she does finally buy something.

 

[brighteyes]

Tell me about it. We are fixing a lovely pony which cost a fair bit from someone who sells Irish event ponies and this numpty gets hold of it and ruins it. A nicer chap you couldn't wish to meet, but he's had every ounce of confidence knocked out of him and he has adopted a self-preservation strategy. Thankfully he seems to coming round but he's one of countless thousands on a downward spiral due to rich but incompetent dreamers with a) no idea how badly they ride or idea of their limitations and b) no concept of what future a truly damaged pony faces

Arses.

Anyway, riding schools aren't allowed to have those naughty ponies which teach kids to stick on or eat dirt. They have all been shot for being dangerous and been replaced by robots which can barely rustle up a trot - except in rare and reckless to the point of madness establishments! It's not worth the risk of being sued............

A kid comes to ride our ancient pony and she had been once a week to a fairly decent RS for SEVEN YEARS - and it terrified her when she asked gently for trot and got it - but had to steer as well! I'm afraid I was a bit scathing about what this person had actually got for her money (and it must run into thousands

) To be fair, no one ever tells them actually how good they aren't and they have no benchmark. This mum had no idea how much she hadn't been taught - diagonals for starters. At the GG school of brutal honesty and no holds barred straight talking, this young person has mastered many skills and our very feisty little pony! And I didn't get sent to jail

(Yet)

 

[atot]

I agree but then will the majority of people really buy a horse they think is way too much for them, knowingly? I thought all the problems of sueing/taking to court happen because the dodgy dealers conceal these problems until the horses gets home!

 

[Sooty]

Back in my yoof, horse ownership was much rarer then it is today, and more people rode more often at riding schools. As a nation we have grown richer and riding has gained in popularity, with a lot of people buying a horse before they actually know what to do with it. A bit like cars - most teenagers these days get a car when they are 17 or 18.

 

[trundle]

[ QUOTE ]
Unless they had the wherewithall to go to several different riding schools to compare (and thats assuming they had that opportunity in their area) how are they to realise that their riding standards compared to yours differ?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is very true. I had had a lot of riding lessons (at very mediocre schools) as a child, then spent a lot of time hacking out before having a complete break from riding after uni. When i came back to riding "full-time" last year, i had two lessons a week at a pretty decent riding school, with good instructors, and I thought I was doing pretty well. Then i began sharing the Moose....and i discovered that actually, i had bugger all balance and couldn't ride one side of a decent horse.

Things are looking up these days, but its been a slow and painful road.

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

I've made this point a few times on a couple of the 'dodgy dealer' posts. Totally agree with you that people over estimate their abilities and most people going into horse ownership have no real idea of how to 'ride' or deal with minor problems.

I also agree it is down to instruction/Riding schools but I would point out that the riding schools themselves are facing the same problems the dealers face... the moment someone falls off, people are running to the courts. On top of that the insurance levels for RS are going up and up for this precise reason. Is it any wonder riding schools are getting more and more "careful" about how the teach and doing less and less of the 'risk' stuff which is, sadly, what really teaches people to ride.

[shrugs] what can you do. Children today are wrapped in cotton wool. For a lot of them being on a pony is pretty much their first experience of being in anyway at risk. And the parents are always looking to find someone to blame when something goes wrong. Noone will take responsibility for themselves anymore - whether it is falling of a RS pony or letting a perfectly good horse take the piss and go sour, it is always someone elses fault.

 

[skewbaldpony]

Not mine!
My older daughter is proud to say that at the toughest part of her bonding with current rescue job, he decked her seven times in one afternoon.
As she points out, she got back on eight, and learned how to sit a buck, what more can you ask?!

 

[LankyDoodle]

I always wonder about this, because as a 24 year old, you could say I was taught by 'the new breed'; but having grown up on a farm with horses.... EVERYWHERE, I learnt different methods of horse husbandry and also learnt off the cuff how to ride, before I ever had a formal lesson. I had proper lessons from about age 9-19 and then bought my own horse and had lessons with him.

To me, as with any animal I buy, it's important for me to research thoroughly using many methods; so I feel I am quite knowledgeable and a good rider, but cannot understand why other people would not read thoroughly about riding/keeping horses if they are going to do this.

I have had several instructors and been to many schools over my years learning formally.

 

[Mithras]

[ QUOTE ]
People are too scared to smack their horses when they deserve it and others are too scared to give a horse a chance to settle before condeming it as evil.

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree. Too many people complain about a new horse after two weeks, when it is their lack of competence and the horse being unsettled by it. They fail to realise they are not buying machines. And yes, if you are too nicey-nicey all the time, many horses will just take the mickey. An occasional reminding of whose boss doesnt really do any harm - it happens in the horse world all the time.

I don't even think it can be blamed on lack of good riding schools, though its a contributing factor. I just think in general children and so spoilt and molly coddled and not brought up to strive for anything. When I was a kid, I learnt a lot about horses from books, knowledge which still serves me well today. If owners have'nt got all round basic knowledge, as a result of their lack of real interest in horses, then theres not much hope for them.

I particularly hate hearing about dodgy dealers and owners wanting to send back "dangerous" horses after a couple of weeks that no-one can do anything with. Why did they buy the flipping horse in the first place? And then you find they didnt even try it, they saw it advertised on the internet and bought it unseen!

 

[LankyDoodle]

The previous post to mine reminded me of the other thing I was going to say.

As I said, we always had horses on the farm, and I was always allowed to be around them, was sat on them, learned with them etc. Yet, I bought my first proper horse at 19, and because of that people would assume I was a complete novice; yet I've turned a horse around from completely lacking in trust, napping, bucking, occasionally rearing etc, to being affectionate, loyal and never nappy. Of that I am proud. And touch wood, I've only ever come off him 4 times - most of the time refusals at jumps!

 

[measles]

I can see some truth in many of these arguments. However, I will put my hand up and say that I have always bought the best pony I could afford for my child - that is, the safest first and foremost combined with talent. It costs the same after all to keep a good 'un as a bad 'un. I know countless children in PC's around us who are struggling with unhelpful ponies. Many of these children have some talent but become disilusioned (and sometimes give up) as the pony gives them nothing. And these homes are not necessarily the ones that can't get the pennies together to buy another pony.

As many have said before, honesty is the key - and perhaps the hardest thing for many to face up to. If everyone bought a horse or pony to suit their ability - and actually knew what their stage of learning was - what an easier place the world would be for our 4 legged friends.