Ideas for a pupil off in lala land?! Looong sorry!

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HenryandPeta

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I have a new student, a 9 year old girl. She is a fairly good rider and has done a bit of pony club - so thinks she ought to be constantly niggling at the pony with her flappy ankles! She could be a really nice rider if she actually listened to what I say to her!

I taught her last night and she admitted to me that "sometimes I know people are telling me stuff, and I can hear them talking I just don't take it in". hmmm. I must have asked her to shorten her reins at least 20 times during the lesson, she only took notice when I went up to her and made her look at me! Getting her to change the rein was another issue! She told me the rhyme for remembering where the letters go, so she knows AKEHCMBF fine. I started with up the centre line, that was ok. Then went for across the diagonal from H to F - different story! She rode straight past H and did a sort of odd loop thing from C to F.

Her excuse is that she is a "bit dippy" - well that's obvious!

So I need some bright ideas to get her attention on me so that I can actually start to TEACH her rather than just giving her directions. Usually I would throw serpentines, rein changes and circles at the kids to help them turn and control the pony and find their way about the school, but with this girl I think I need something different, as I think if I asked her to do a 20m circle I would literally have to walk her round it - she is capable of doing things off the leading rein in W/T/C. I don't really want her doing trotting poles until she is capable of changing the rein and doing turns at the letters I want her to aim for. We did manage to get a trot between M and F and a canter transistion at C but it was hard work!

Any ideas?!!
 
For school movements have a little wipe clean board and show her exactly what you are asking her to do before she goes off and does it. Bit of a bore for you but at least she might take it in first time if she sees it in black and white, so to speak.
 
to keep rein length I tie three different elastic bands to each rein.

Yellow at "collected' length, pink at "normal' length, and blue at 'loose' length. I just call out the colour, makes a refreshing change from the "shorten" or Lengthen your reins" being hollered.

I take my son's stirrups off him on a daily basis, which seems to stop the flappy ankles.

You need to make things fun. get her riding through poles on the floor, doing handy pony, remembering walk trot dressage tests. Make her laugh, so she listens to you more.
 
can you remember acting like that at that age?
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i know i wasn't like it. my parents were paying for me to have lessons so i wasn't going to take the p**s not bother listening!!

try puting poles all the way down one side so she has to listen otherwise her and her pony are going to trip up!!! and if that fails put her on the lunge and put up a 3ft jump!!!!
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good luck with her! i'd rather teach horses than humans!!!

sophiexxxx
 
I was teaching a girl who used to look off into the distance as soon as you started talking to her. She'd do as asked, but I always got the feeling she really wasnt taking it in. Drove me potty.
 
simply make her repeat everything you say to her - make everything seriously dull, no cantering no jumping - basic walk and trot movements and insist she repeats everything after you. She is simply not bothering to pay attention - you don't by any sad chance have a parent watching do you? keep everything basic and just repeat repeat repeat

I teach my nieces and without parents I have no problem now. If they don't listen I leave them to do boring stuff until they bother to pay attention - then we get on and do exciting stuff - usually a couple of minutes but then we get there. One especially is seriously dippy and she needs specific instruction - If she becomes dippy I ignore her and teach her sister.

When their parents are there they really work hard not to bother listening so I respond by not bothering to teach. Soon improves.
 
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why not take the lungeing whip and give her a little tap with it to back up your voice commands....(ho ho ho)

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LOL Yeah tried that! And obviously beating her over the head with a trotting pole, but no difference!
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[ QUOTE ]
For school movements have a little wipe clean board and show her exactly what you are asking her to do before she goes off and does it. Bit of a bore for you but at least she might take it in first time if she sees it in black and white, so to speak.

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Yes sounds good - but I even walked the route myself in the school then asked her to do it and she still couldn't really get it right!
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I'm good at going off with the fairies during my lesson, and I'm far far older than that
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Get her to ride without stirrups for the kicking or reward her by letting her do something she really enjoys (a jump?) at the end of the lesson if she kicks less than X times. To keep her attention get her to tell you what she has to do (works for me!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
to keep rein length I tie three different elastic bands to each rein.

Yellow at "collected' length, pink at "normal' length, and blue at 'loose' length. I just call out the colour, makes a refreshing change from the "shorten" or Lengthen your reins" being hollered.

I take my son's stirrups off him on a daily basis, which seems to stop the flappy ankles.

You need to make things fun. get her riding through poles on the floor, doing handy pony, remembering walk trot dressage tests. Make her laugh, so she listens to you more.

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Good idea with the bands - I did tell her I was going to put tape on her reins so she knew where to hold them next time.

As for the stirrups - I took them away and she instantly tried to bend her knees and put her calves onto the front of the saddle! She looked like a frog!
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However after a few trots with me asking her to relax her legs down she was much better. Will try the band thing and some handy pony, thanks!
 
[ QUOTE ]
can you remember acting like that at that age?
confused.gif
crazy.gif
i know i wasn't like it. my parents were paying for me to have lessons so i wasn't going to take the p**s not bother listening!!

try puting poles all the way down one side so she has to listen otherwise her and her pony are going to trip up!!! and if that fails put her on the lunge and put up a 3ft jump!!!!
grin.gif
laugh.gif
tongue.gif


good luck with her! i'd rather teach horses than humans!!!

sophiexxxx

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I was never like that!! But then I had to work hard to get given lessons, she has been in pony club a while and has had several ponies over the years...
 
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simply make her repeat everything you say to her - make everything seriously dull, no cantering no jumping - basic walk and trot movements and insist she repeats everything after you. She is simply not bothering to pay attention - you don't by any sad chance have a parent watching do you? keep everything basic and just repeat repeat repeat

I teach my nieces and without parents I have no problem now. If they don't listen I leave them to do boring stuff until they bother to pay attention - then we get on and do exciting stuff - usually a couple of minutes but then we get there. One especially is seriously dippy and she needs specific instruction - If she becomes dippy I ignore her and teach her sister.

When their parents are there they really work hard not to bother listening so I respond by not bothering to teach. Soon improves.

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Actually she listened better when her mum was watching the time before this. Trouble was her little sister was there too (I was effectively babysitting them both!) and the little one kept trying to talk to us both. I gave her jobs to do (standing at X, moving poles, holding my whip) but they were both vying with eachother I think!

next week I have them both to teach, on their respective ponies, so really need some ideas to keep them focussed on their own pony!
 
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I'm good at going off with the fairies during my lesson, and I'm far far older than that
tongue.gif
tongue.gif


Get her to ride without stirrups for the kicking or reward her by letting her do something she really enjoys (a jump?) at the end of the lesson if she kicks less than X times. To keep her attention get her to tell you what she has to do (works for me!)

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Ah yes, if she has to tell me her aids, that might wake her up a bit more! Will try, thanks!
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some kids are just like this... they do grow out of it though
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For 20m circles I do 2 exercises...
> set out the 'off the track' part of the circle with buckets that she has to ride round then gradually take the buckets away getting more and more effusive with my praise the 'harder' the circle is to ride. If you use just 5 buckets she still has to ride a 20m circle 5 times to get the exercise correct.
> stand at X and say that she has to ride near enough to you for her pony to get a pat as she rides past - for being so good. Just make sure you don't get trodden on or freak the pony out LOL

For serpantines I use poles to walk between on the 'across the school straight line' part then gradually take them away.

I also find being very straight with these kids helps. I do call them in and say 'look, I can't ride your pony for you, only YOU can. I can only help you if you listen to me so if you aren't going to bother I can't help and you'll end up being unsafe and falling off and it will only be YOUR fault'. That can sometimes 'scare' them into focussing. With the short reins thing I just point blank refuse to allow them to do ANYTHING until the reins are short. Every time. I will bring the whole lesson to a halt (scuse pun) if I have to. she will soon realise that unless she wants to spend her hour standing in the centre of the arena, she needs to concentrate.

You do have to give the 'dippy' ones a bit of a break but I do think you can be a bit tough as well. Do you get 'excited' in your lessons yourself? I find if I stay active and run around and be all lively, most of the kids pick up on this. You could even run alongside her for some of the work and certainly move up and down the school. If she see you up and lively and engaged it might help her. There is nothing that makes a kid switch off faster than an instructor sitting on a jump to teach or just shouting from the fence (not that you do this I'm sure).

Just my random thoughts.
 
tie stirrups to girth with baler twine effective at stopping flapping

with letters - could she be dyslexic ? if so use words for them instead as with RDA

A = Apple
b= Banana
C = cow
E=egg
f=fish

etc = and put pictures by the letters just for her lesson

if she's taking the P then treating her like a 'baby' might make her grow up as well.
 
Thanks Jenny - I will try setting some buckets and poles out as guides for her. I do walk or jog about but she is good enough not to need me near her and besides, Freddie tries to bite me if I get too close! LOL! I do tend to be effusive and almost overly animated - you have to with kids or it makes the lesson very dull!
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I don't like getting too close to kids when they can ride off the leading / lunge rein as I find it hinders their progress. I do prefer to stay relatively central to whatever activity we have going on, and only come in closer to the pony when needed.
 
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I do tend to be effusive and almost overly animated - you have to with kids or it makes the lesson very dull

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Me too! I have a bit of a reputation! They say you can here my teaching all over the blackdowns on a good day
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
tie stirrups to girth with baler twine effective at stopping flapping

with letters - could she be dyslexic ? if so use words for them instead as with RDA

A = Apple
b= Banana
C = cow
E=egg
f=fish

etc = and put pictures by the letters just for her lesson

if she's taking the P then treating her like a 'baby' might make her grow up as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think so, I think she just doesn't think ahead! It's hard for me to understand as I've always been a proactive rider rather than a reactive one (as she is) and I find it difficult to get my head round why someone would ride that way rather than riding "properly"!
tongue.gif
 
ask her if she actually wants to improve herself and the pony, or not. if so, she needs to concentrate for the whole time, then daydream the rest of the day if she likes. if not, why is she wasting all your time.
i'd ask if she's ADHD as well, and keep her off the orange squash!
maybe video her, to show her how she looks, if it's a bit awful and could improve a lot. video her before you help her, and after you've organised her position etc, and see if she can see the difference, maybe, and see why it's worthwhile.
maybe go through h&h and get her to critique other people's positions etc too? see if you can stimulate a bit of interest like that.
 
As a couple have said she may have some form of learning difficulties that make it hard her to take things in. I was the stupid kid all the way through shool, finally diagnosed with issues with reading and writing in the sixth form and given extra time etc. But not diagnosed properly with sever issues mainly with working memory until I was 31!!

She sound just like me!! I try really hard to listen and take things in, but I can't and the harder I try the more stressed I get and worse it gets.

So frustrating as it gets you might just have to keep repeating things.
 
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For school movements have a little wipe clean board and show her exactly what you are asking her to do before she goes off and does it. Bit of a bore for you but at least she might take it in first time if she sees it in black and white, so to speak.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it may well be that she doesnt easily process the spoken word(visual rather than aural learner) or if shes kinaesthetic learner (learn through action)you may well have to take her round the shape in walk. At this age it is more likely that she is more visual or kinaesthetic as listening skills wont be highly developed.

You might even have to write the instructions down for her to read.

Bizarre i know but definitely possible.
 
Just a thought! What about getting her to follow you round the circles and surpentines and then getting her to try doing them on their own. It sounds like she maybe doesn't know her alphabet properly!?!.

Would you be able to give her some 'homework?! - maybe you could get her parents involved and draw out a 20x 40 school (maybe not 20 x 60 yet!! or else you'll be tearing your hair out!) and where the markers are located on a piece of paper so she can learn where the letters are - you could also draw simple shapes of circles and surpentines etc and maybe her parents could test her and then you could test her on it next week and see if theres an improvement.

May be you could offer her a small prize such as a choccy bar or something if she gets them all correct! - maybe thats bribery, I'm not sure!.

Your coloured horse look sweet !
 
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