Is this something you would go for?

Queenofdiamonds

Queenofdiamonds

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Evening all,

My friend and i were talking the other day. I used to teach at a riding school, Although not BHS qualified or anything. I enjoyed it but found that certain aspects of teaching don't suit me.

What i really enjoy is confidence building. I am very good at explaining things to people in a certain way, And i have a good understanding of the how the human mind and body reacts to fear, As well as personal experience with confidence loss, and horses. I've helped quite a few people, And have never had bad feedback, and have always seen good results, even if they are small ones. I like to get people to have fun with their horse again, And i love seeing the results over the weeks.

She said i should look into it, And see how many takers there would be for people wanting to build confidence but without the pressure of a proper lesson.

So, I was wondering, Is this something you would go for? I was thinking of asking £10 per hour to cover time and travel, extra petrol if its a fair bit out of the way. What do you think? Constructive critism/potential pitfalls welcome!
 
I wouldn't personally as I'll pretty much have a go at anything and wouldn't say I have confidence issues, but I think it is something my mum would consider- she's been really lacking confidence on her horse for a while, I managed to persuade her to jump him a couple of months ago, just a tiny x pole, and he badly over reached on take off and ended up lame and bleeding everywhere- definitely not good for her confidence! And now I'm worried to try and make her do it again! Sounds like a good idea to me :)
 
In theory yes. But having no quals will put people who don't know you & haven't had a word of mouth recommendation off. You might be slightly cheaper than an instructor, but you will be competing against ones with good reputations already. So with insurance & possible tax even what business you do get could make it not worthwhile. Appreciate you aren't in direct competition with usual trainers, but any good one should be able to confidence build & teach, so is a more viable option.
Not meaning you shouldn't try it, but maybe do it word of mouth first rather than advertising & take it from there.
 
I would take you up! :) I need a massive kick up the ass but the confidence needs to be there first, or I mess up big time.

It may be worth putting together a website and little blog about what it is you do and how, people with confidence issues (who dont want the pressure of a lesson) may want to have a look in to things before aking you to come out. It would be good if you let people know that you do know how the body and mind reacts to fear and how you help people overcome it. Maybe a few case studies to look at. :)
 
littlelegs said:
In theory yes. But having no quals will put people who don't know you & haven't had a word of mouth recommendation off. You might be slightly cheaper than an instructor, but you will be competing against ones with good reputations already. So with insurance & possible tax even what business you do get could make it not worthwhile. Appreciate you aren't in direct competition with usual trainers, but any good one should be able to confidence build & teach, so is a more viable option.
Not meaning you shouldn't try it, but maybe do it word of mouth first rather than advertising & take it from there.
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Thanks, Yeah, I've just never been into the teaching all the time. I wouldn't be doing it to make any serious money anyway, I just can't afford to be spending money to do it if you see what i mean?

My favourite people i used to teach were behavioural students. They were amazing. I absolutely loved them, I loved putting the work into connecting with them and building their confidence etc. It was so rewarding.

I had to stop sadly as i was incredibly ill (I had an ectopic pregnancy and nearly died) and then i had my daughter shortly afterwards (I found out i was pregnant the week i was due to return). I'd just love to do it again now i have a bit of free time.
 
Sherbie said:
I would take you up! :) I need a massive kick up the ass but the confidence needs to be there first, or I mess up big time.

It may be worth putting together a website and little blog about what it is you do and how, people with confidence issues (who dont want the pressure of a lesson) may want to have a look in to things before aking you to come out. It would be good if you let people know that you do know how the body and mind reacts to fear and how you help people overcome it. Maybe a few case studies to look at. :)
Click to expand...

That's a good suggestion. Some of the kids at my yard are like that - They crack on they haven't got the confidence but really it's just a bit of a nudge in the right direction they need. I'm always home hours late cause i end up in the school with them lol the kids enjoy it though lol, I had one in free schooling with my horse and her pony together last night it was such fun, She'd never done it before and kept telling me her pony wouldn't lol.
 
littlelegs said:
In theory yes. But having no quals will put people who don't know you & haven't had a word of mouth recommendation off. You might be slightly cheaper than an instructor, but you will be competing against ones with good reputations already. So with insurance & possible tax even what business you do get could make it not worthwhile. Appreciate you aren't in direct competition with usual trainers, but any good one should be able to confidence build & teach, so is a more viable option.
Not meaning you shouldn't try it, but maybe do it word of mouth first rather than advertising & take it from there.
Click to expand...

I agree with littlelegs, do think you should try go for it but if you would not be planning to make it a full time business ect, would you consider going back to work at a yard or riding school? Sounds as if you really enjoy it and maybe you could get a position to suit you until you build up your rep ect. Go the long way, even if it means going back a little, you never know what may happen. x
 
I would consider it for jumping, I'm sure you could improve my technique and help me deal with the worry I get about competing in front of people! It would be at such a low level I wouldn't be that bothered about quals and I think experience counts for more, you could do a discounted intro session but 10 quid seems worth a go anyway!

Maybe you could train to be a 'ride with your mind' coach, don't know how much it costs though!
 
I would suggest the best route would be to look at getting counsellng/CBT/CAT qualifications, lots of local colleges do these. You may know a lot about how body and mind react, but people look for qualifications and regstration with a governng body. This ensures that you are not likely to be doing harm and provides some come back if you do.
 
Sounds like a good idea, but as someone said above, it might be that people would be a little reluctant if you have no qualifications.

Not that I know anything about it, but it sounds like you might benefit from learning about NLP (neuro linguistic programming). You can get books about it as a first step, and there are certificates to get for practitioners. There are loads of websites about it, this is just one I found:

http://www.inspire360.co.uk/what-is-nlp

and even ones specific to horse riding confidence:

http://www.qfscoaching.co.uk/equestrian_nlp_training.html

When I was having confidence issues a while ago, a friend recommended it for me (I never really had to go further with it in the end).

I know it has its critics, but it might be worth investigating ...
 
I think there is definately a market for it you only have to look at the number of nlp practitioners out there and the amount they charge. I am definately up for paying someone to get my enjoyment back but I keep finding work too easy a distraction to really commit to it.
Give it a go, what have you got to loose?
 
I wouldn't. But this is because I would expect good riding instructor to have the ability to adapt their teaching to boost the confidence of horse and rider as a partnership.
 
Agree it helps massively if you have qualifications. I think it may help if you set yourself up as combining being say a riding and groundwork instructor with a confidence building specialism. For some who lack confidence to say they lack confidence or are parents with kids who are put off riding by a bad experience and just need a fun way back in it may be easier to get them to sign up. It
 
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