Moving from lessons to horse share: independent schooling routines?

[pippamax]

I'm looking to part share a horse soon, having primarily ridden in lessons. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to get more practice, spend time with a particular horse and maybe as a stepping stone toward ownership. I'm looking at a couple in yards with access to an arena and good hacking.

While I could hack all day long in or out of company, I'm really not used to riding in an arena without being told what to do by an instructor! So I'm not really sure where I would start with that. Also, riding without an instructor would have me wondering if I'm doing things right etc. I am intermediate level, but just so used to lessons. What would people suggest? Are there lesson plans I could follow? How long should a session be? Group lessons are 1 hour, so what should I aim for by myself? I would hope to have some lessons still but not sure what I could afford at this point on top of the share.

 

[daydreamer]

Hi, I was the same as you but quite a long time ago now! I would say solo sessions will probably be a bit shorter, maybe aim for around 30 or 40 min to begin with. A lot will depend on the horse you intend to share and what level of schooling they are at. You might want to get a couple of lessons on the horse first (providing the owner agrees) and/or get advice from the owner on what they normally do.

There are lots of good books and articles out there, I sometimes used to use 101 schooling exercises and just pick 2 or 3 exercises out of that and use those. Also I sometimes found some routines in magazines that were usually aimed for winter (e.g. "how to school effectively in just 20 minutes!") and did those but with more of a warm up and cool down.

Other points - proper warming up is key, don't rush into trot! Walking for around 10 minutes is useful and you can ride lots of figures and transitions to make good use of the time. Also remember to cool the horse down. Both of these can be missed a bit in riding school lessons. The main working part of the session might be quite short to begin with. Try and have an idea of the main principals you want to work on that session -is it rhythm or straightness or suppleness? Looking into the scales of training might help too.

If you are worried about getting things right you could maybe ask someone to film you and review it to help, but generally just try and keep in mind what you have been taught. You might find the owner wants to watch/help you for a few sessions anyway and may give you tips.

Don't forget private horses can be quite different to riding school horses so it might take you a while to adjust to that. It will also take some time to build the partnership between you, especially if the horse has mainly been ridden by just one rider for a while.

I hope it all goes well for you

 

[Squeak]

Some really good points from Daydreamer. Check with the owner what level work the horse is in as if it hasn't done much schooling recently you'll need to gradually build up it's fitness in the school.

Agree that if you can, it would be great to have a lesson fairly early on. It will help you to identify things to work on and then you can focus on those in your sessions. I always find it helpful to have something that I want to focus on or improve in each session and have an idea of exercises etc that I can do to achieve that. 101 schooling exercises could be useful if you're struggling to think of things or want to try something new.

 

[Wishfilly]

I agree, a good instructor will give you exercises and "homework" to work on, which can help you structure your schooling with the horse. Also, think about how it feels in lesson when things go well- when you have the feel of something going right, you will be able feel if you are replicating that on your own! I think it also helps to pick one thing to focus on each session e.g. suppleness, transitions, accuracy etc. Don't forget that lessons where you supply the horse are often cheaper than group lessons in the riding school- even if you manage once a month, that will likely help. Also, does the yard the share is on ever do clinics or similar? These can be a good way of getting a cheaper lesson in!

There are also lots of good exercises online- including polework layouts which you can do in walk and trot and in some cases canter. I wouldn't use poles every session, but for me it does give some focus. You could also try and learn a dressage test- start with intro or prelim- this will likely highlight areas that you can work on e.g. straightness on the centre line, so you can practice that.

An hour's solid schooling is a lot for most horses- often 20-30 minutes is enough, and I always aim to leave it on a good note. It's so tempting to keep pushing for more (or to keep going if it's not going well), but if I achieve my goal, I pretty much always stop and reward. If things are going badly, I go back to something I know we can do well to finish on a successful note.

 

[teapot]

Ask your coach if you can have some ‘supervised schooling’ sessions within your lesson, ie when they take a step back and leave it all to you. It’s great experience, and will really benefit you and the horse if you’re at the ‘I think the horse feels x today, therefore I am going to do y’

 

[starbucker]

Pick up some of the lower level dressage tests they can be really useful for picking out bits to work on - Decide what you're going to focus on before you go in, for example, responsive transitions, walk to trot halt etc or circles, bending. Experiment with putting different patterns of poles out. Second whats been said about warming up and cooling off. A loaner on our yard got the horse dripping in sweat then just chucked it out - the owner was fuming. Make sure their breathing is back to normal, and give them atleast 20 mins to keep an eye / rinse off any sweat before feeding/ turning out. Enjoy the bits on the ground too, they beauty of loaning is you're not rushed in and out like at a riding school, spend a day plaiting them up or just chilling with them in the stable its heavenly.

 

[Smogul]

Always have a plan of what you want to do and achieve in your session. And always be prepared to amend it as the session develops!