(In)Competent rider !!

m3gan

m3gan

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I have advertised for a rider for my horse I put a notice in my local shop, ad was "Competent rider wanted one or two days a week for my well behaved, (with brakes) 14. 2h Arab gelding .
I had two replies, first one wanted me to pay her, so explained that I was not in a position to be able to afford that! The second was from a girl 14 yrs. old who's mother had a horse and the girl had ridden alot. Later questioned told me that she had her own riding instructor who was a friend of the family, and that they had had 5 ponies who she had ridden and they were native hill ponies. All sounded good so arranged to pick her up and take her out for a ride . I would ride my friends horse and she would ride my boy.
Alarm bells rang when she said could I tack up horsey as she wasn't sure as she hadn't done it for a while. Gave her the benifit of the doubt thinking maybe she was just unsure.
Well when she was mounted her legs were everywhere and she gave my poor boy a hefty kick! He looked amazed ! Luckilly didn't do anything , so I had to tell her too just put her leg on and just squeeze , so off we went.
To summarise it was obvious that she couldn't ride and we managed to get back home without a mishap. But it was very lucky that my boy behaved well and didn't object to some body bouncing around on his back not knowing what they were doing, I dread to think what might have occured if he had behaved differently and someone had been injured.
In addition when we had returned to the yard the girl didn't offer to help with anything just stood there holding her hat like she had been to a riding school!
It is incredible that people can say that they have had alot of riding experience when it clearly is not the case. I had thought previusly that I would have an adult rider but thought that it seemed unfair not to give this girl a chance, because I too used to ride for other people when I was young and know how much it meant to me. But I am now wondering if I will not get anyone to ride as it might just be safer not to bother.
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also to be fair it could be that she did have alot of riding experience just a complete lack of ability.

after all you see many a driver on the roads who is clearly incompetent but has been driving for years and years.
 
i have to agree with chunkytim

"also to be fair it could be that she did have alot of riding experience just a complete lack of ability."
 
had same sort of thing, gave a kid the opportunity to ride. her mum had told me she was a great rider, been riding for 5 years. i sent her off to catch pony and she didn't even know how to put a head collar on. luckily my 7 year old had gone with her and did it for her. didn't know a body brush from a mane comb never mind tack up.
i sussed it and put her on pony with lead rope and she had no clue at all.
that was a great riding school she had been going to
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had same sort of thing, gave a kid the opportunity to ride. her mum had told me she was a great rider, been riding for 5 years. i sent her off to catch pony and she didn't even know how to put a head collar on. luckily my 7 year old had gone with her and did it for her. didn't know a body brush from a mane comb never mind tack up.

that was a great riding school she had been going to
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I must say when you go to a riding school it is all done for you. So just because she didn't know how to put a head collar on doesn't make her useless.

I have a 13 year old girl riding one of mine, she has been going to a riding school for the past 2 yrs for lessons before she came to me. When she started she knew nothing about tacking up, head collars or even about picking feet out, but her riding as not bad. She is a lovely child and willing to learn and loves my horse to bits.

So if they can ride OK don't rule out young kids and don't right them off just because they don't know how to tack up.
 
If you are looking for someone to exercise him for you though when you are not there, maybe explain on the telephone that they will need to know how to do everything as you wont be there all the time. I would offer but my porker needs as much exercise as I have time for at the moment! Where did you advertise?
 
Sounds like she was just after a free hack.

When we were looking for a rider for a fizzy 12.2 this girl came, said she could ride at all paces and had been at a riding school for 2 yrs. Well, she got on, kicked him, lost her balance and pulled the reins, pony bucked and she flew off!! Goodness only knows what SOME riding schools teach!
 
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I'm 17 and i think i'm going to have trouble finding a share horse because of the bad reputation younger people get from people like this.

Grr.

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If someone doesnt want to share with you because you are young then that is silly, if you show them you are capable of doing just as good a job as an older person then you will be fine
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I certainly wouldnt turn someone away just because they are young.

On the other hand if I answered an ad for a rider/exerciser for a horse I would guess they would want me to tack the horse up and be confident enough to hack out alone. If not, I would say on the phone before hand, I think thats where the problem was in this case
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I am in SW Devon if anybody knows of a experienced rider!
I don't think I will write off every young rider, but maybe I will have to be a bit more specific in my requirements!
I did say to the young girl that she should have some riding lessons, and that it would help her confidence as well, because when my boy realised that the person on his back had no control at all he began to perk up and think woahey this looks like fun! So we stopped straight away, from walking !, and luckily were close to home and he was fine and rider was ok, but she was not able to exert any sort of control .
Funny thing is that I don't think she did go to a riding school so perhaps she had mum to do everthing and she just jumped on pony, but Dartmoor ponies are quite canny fellas and can be strong so that made be think she would be a good rider if she rode Dartmoor ponies!
(I rode one when I was young and boy could get he up to some tricks, and he was fast, he could do things no bigger horse could even imagine doing!!)
 
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If someone doesnt want to share with you because you are young then that is silly,


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I've seen quite a few ad's saying "over 18's only". Unfortunately there's alot of prejudice (sp?!) out there. Before people at my work got to know me quite a few of them thought i was 18/19 when i was nearly 16!! I dont think that just because someone's over 18 it suddenly makes them more able or competent.
 
i wouldn't necessarily blame the riding schools. could've just been a cocky kid who'd sat on a beach donkey once and thought they were the next mary king.
i have seen so much at riding schools with taking calls and people saying they were experienced or their kids were and when they came to ride it was obvious bull. and this was adults not kids.
 
i am not saying that just because she went to a riding school she was useless. she had been to the week long courses where they learn to groom, muck out etc and still had no clue. i also let her ride and she really couldn't. i had to keep her on the lead rein, she sat on the pony leanung wayyy back. and had no idea of aids.it was a shame. it was her mum who told me she could do all these things. i would have been quite happy if she could ride but not tack up as i could teach her to do that. however, the idea of her coming up was to free me up a bit not give me more work. and she was also a lovely child but i although i gave her some lessons to help out, i am not an instructor, i don't have the qualifications or the insurance.
don't jump down my throat, i was just stating an experience i had.
 
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it was her mum who told me she could do all these things

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her mum should take a bit of responsiblity here as well i think. there is absolutely no way on earth my parents would have let me have a horse of my own (even if they could have afforded it) unless i could prove i could look after it. they're not "horsey" but they have common sense (which is just as good!)
 
I dont even remember how i learnt to take up, put on a headcollar etc! its only been 9 years! pretty much all of it from helping at riding schools. the only thing i'm not sure on is mucking out but thats only because different people sometimes like to do it different ways.

i was one of the ones who helps at riding schools that spent most of their time actually doing something. to some "helping at a riding school" translates to "sat in barn eating/fannying around/doing absolutely nothing until parents turned up at end of day" used to drive me nuts!
 
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I did the traditional saturday morning pony lesson from the age of nine and the first thing we were taught was how to put on/ take off a bridle and headcollars before and after the lesson! This was only 11 years ago.

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Still do it at the RS i work at. I only do sunday mornings but they have several lead rein lessons and whilst they dont tack up the pony i always make sure they help me untack the pony and are able to indentify which straps need undoing and their names (ie throat lash, noseband and girth). and will show them how to get the pony out their stable/stall. as well as experience for the rider it also helps the staff to if the kids can get their own ponies out! We also have a "muckers club" where the kids can stay and help with the ponies ect and includes a 1/2hr lecture on a different topic every week.
thought you still get the people who will stand outside the horses stable-if not the school instead even though they have been going for years and still expect everythig to be done for them even though they have been shown countless times and can do it...they just choose not to
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Many years ago I was taught to tack up/untack also how to groom and put the rugs on but the kids we have had from riding schools riding our ponys dont seem to have a clue! One girl could ride and even jump but didnt know to put on a headcollar. Think some places are either too busy to teach them or frightened of the kids getting stepped on.
 
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