Old Fashioned Horsemanship

It is still done,but does not seem to be as common as it was. I think thats an awfull shame,yes you could call it slave labour,but all of us who were able to be weekend helpers learned so much and were kept out of trouble to boot :p

Someone posted the other day that the helpers have to join the "Saturday club" or somehting of the like which costs £25 to cover the insurance costs and at a local RS the PC kids can help out(guess they have some insurance cover from their membership? ).
 
I feel Natural Horsemanship has its part, but then there is just good common sense too! Sometimes, the BHS/Pony Club way is best, sometimes its a method you thought of yourself.

I'd also like to defend young horsey people in riding schools, we are not all lazy bums! At my riding school, there are indeed some riders who jump on, ride, jump off and go, but then there's the majority who will tack up/un tack and also help out and lead in a lesson or party. And we are giving a right telling off if we don't pick hooves out into a bucket, pick up any poo our pony's done around the yard, and generally kept the yard clean.

Tack room OCD is my specialty as well, numnahs and saddles must be straight, bridles hung up properly and boots velcroed up!
 
I absolutely agree... The problem is that so many people don't have the luxury (Haha!!) of having been though pony club, but the lessons it taught me are invaluable.

I know folk who after a day hunting just shot the horse in the stable to go have tea before they get on and put the horse away properly. We'd have been shot byt he DC if we'd even thought about it!!

And being taught the improtance of routine, both for the horse and for yourself, has helped make sure I rarely forget any kit, and makes sure that I can rest knowing my horse is well kept. The Pony club also taught me to deal with most 'everyday' illnesses and injuries, meaning that the only time I see my vet is for routine stuff and the ocassional bit of mud fever taht won't go away - ok so I've been lucky with Ron but I'm convinced that I know what to do with most injuries, and wouldn't hesitate to call a vet if necessary.
 
I wish I could go to Pony Club, but school always gets in the way! Maybe I'll have more time in the new academic year... I bought the latest Pony Club manual of Amazon and have been glued to it ever since!
 
Re riding schools - don't blame the riding school for not teaching horse care & common sense. Apart from all the legislation, most parents these days are 'paying good money for the riding lessons & if they're paying for 1 hour then they want their child to spend 1 hour on the pony's back & not doing jobs the grooms are paid to do!'
 
What a lot of lucky people there are out there! I wasn't allowed riding lessons when I was a child so never had the experiences you all mention. No helping out / pony club / etc for me. I just yearned & read books. But I did have a disciplined upbringing, firm & fair. No meant no & yes meant yes & my sisters & I had to do jobs at home & were brought up to work hard & obey & respect adults. I bought a 2 yr old race horse when I was 31 & horse in one hand, book in other & lots of common sense, taught myself to be a horsewoman (as opposed to a person who has a horse). That was over 30 yrs ago & I'm still learning. Thankfully I am fortunate to keep my horses at home & I bred both of them, from my first horse, so they've only had experience of my way of handling them. They are so well behaved & so trustworthy as well as being extremely talented. I am so glad to find there are like minded people out there. maybe I'll meet some of you some time.
 
At 32 you are a mere youngster. When I went from straw to shavings for bedding, people would laugh at me, because I said it took me nearly 1/2 hour to muck out each stable, they said 10 mins tops. Then I realised I was taking out every wet patch and sieved out every bit of dung and they didn't. Still keeping up my stanards.
 
Not the only one Mari!
I begged and pleaded forever to just be allowed to go to the stables(when I was 11 and walking to school alone my darling big brother sorted it all out for me,but my mother wouldnt let me go :( ).
Then when I was 15 we got to go on work experiance,had the place at the RS signed and sealed before the old cow got a look in :p That was 12 years ago and never looked back!
Was allowed to go for the weekends after that,then worked there for a while. I wish I had had the chance to do PC as a child,but hey ho it wasnt to be.

I agree we shouldnt blame the RS for the change and dont think it is just parents who want the child to ride for a full hour either(hell,it IS an expensive sport and you cant blame them for wanting to get what they are paying for) but the people who will ring the ambulance chasers in less then a nano second.
It's hard enough to make a profit for most schools,and they have every right to cover their backs.

I actully think the idea of the Saturday club mentioned is a bloody good idea-the RS is covered and can buy the extra insurance needed without loosing out and the kids can do what we got to do.
What we call a win win :p
 
To everyone who responded to my original post - thank you. It has been the most delightful and charming thread and it has had its certain share of nostalgia and an interesting perspective of how times have changed with regard to what children are allowed to do and how it affects life skills and horse skills.

After reading through everyone's posts, I have concluded that whatever era you learned your skill set in, one thing is clear, that "Old Fashioned Horsemanship" is a state of mind and a commitment to discipline, attention to detail and continual learning whether from pony club, riding schools, books, the internet or other people.

So raising a glass of champers (half a glass for under 16's) to all Old Fashioned Horsemen and Horsewomen whatever your age.

So wisps at the ready,

Cheers, Slainte and put that bloody saddle up properly!!!!!!!!!!

XXXXXXXXX
 
Like you, I've thoroughly enjoyed this thread so thanks for putting it up in the first place.
There was one on the old forum which ran for a few pages, that was full of nostalgia too, I'll see if I can find it.
 
When I was young I used to happily slave all school holidays at the riding school. Only when I was 12 did my parents finally cave in and let me have my own pony (an unbroken 4 yr old mind ;) and then I still saved to help pay for her. I used to love doing all the jobs, bringing in and turning out ect.
At our yard now the helpers have to complete a couple of days training to prove they can safely tack up, lead and bring in and turn out, know how to muck out ect. before being allowed to help. They then get one free hours group lesson or hack for one full days work. We still let them ride to and from the field bareback (its a long walk otherwise!) and if they are about in school hols there's always something that needs riding. So I think they get a pretty good deal, we try and encourage them as best we can, they really keen ones who come up after school to help on late night rides are often allowed to take horses to shows.
 
Yup another 'old fashioned' 22 year old here. Started riding at 9 and got one lesson a month, that day I spent all day at the yard, mucked out, groomed, filled haynets, swept up, cleaned the tackroom, cleaned the tack, brought in, turned out. Come rain, come hail, come wind, come mud.

However I ended up doing some work at a riding school and working towards my BHS exams before that got too expensive. I have to say I was not impressed by the BHS training, seemed to develop people who thought ruler measured banks and shavings free tails were more important than picking out feet and truly clean beds. I will say I am a bit OCD about beds looking nice and hate shavings in tails but if you dont have time to me a clean but messy bed and picked out feet are more important. May just be my experience though.

It is a real shame the changes between me leaving riding schools at 15 and going to work at one at 18 though. In three years bareback hacks became uninsurable, kids werent alowed to jump without stirrups and werent allowed in stables without an instructor present. If it had been that way when I started I wouldn't have been kicked, bitten or fallen off half as much but I survived it and I enjoyed it and by god did I learn quick. Concrete comming towards you definately puts a kick up the learning curve.
 
I'm a mix in my equestrian education, having been trained in the "traditional BHS/military/hunting" school from an early age, but then having been a working pupil and then a trainee in a very Germanic dressage tradition.

I learned to ride from a very old fashioned lady who tied my stirrups to the girth for years and I had the old "pole between the elbows" treatment too. I did the whole "standing trot forward seat" thing (do they even do that any more?), and spent ages bareback or jumping without reins, doing round the world, bending poles, etc. Not much "thinking" involved. Horsemanship was old fashioned and very BHS - grooming was a priority and done with a variety of brushes in a very thorough manner. I learned a secure independent seat and the ability to stay on, but not much finesse in my riding style to be honest.

The German tradition focused on trying to turn me into an effective and stylish rider (not saying it worked LOL). I spent hours on the lunge and then without stirrups on a trained horse in a very minimal dressage saddle. Every move I made was scrutinised and analysed until I could justify everything I did and think through the processes of how I manipulated the horse. I was shouted at a lot. Inside leg to outside rein was a catechism. I went there thinking I could ride but was quickly disillusioned.

The difference between the two, I think, can be distilled into the BHS teaching general horsemanship, and the German tradition teaching a specialised skill aimed at competitive dressage/sports horse production. I've only known one place in the UK which combines the two traditions effectively - shame that more training centers don't seem to be able to do this.
 
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