Qualifications V Experience

RuthnMeg

RuthnMeg

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Can they be separated or do they go hand in hand?

What would you prefer IF you had to choose just one. (Say your going on holiday for 2 weeks and needed someone to look after your animals).
 
Experience and word of mouth for me every time. I used to leave my horse with my instructor when I went away. It was a lovely family yard and I know he got excellent treatment.
I used to use another instructor who was an eventer, although the facilities were fab and he always looked very clean and tidy when he came back- it just wasn't as personal. ( she had a few grooms working their so could have been different people looking after him)
 
Pretty much none of the instructors I use have any qualifications
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Experience first. However the experienced people who I would most trust to look after my horse also have some qualifications (couldnt tell you what qualifications though!). I do believe qualifications can be important but only if combined with experience. Far too many people who do equine courses have little/poor horse handling skills when they start - for those people if they want to stay in the industry, qualifications alongside practical experience is very very important. If however at 18-19 you have experience and are very practical minded/have a lot of common sense and are an excellent rider then formal education may not be necessary. However, a good horseman will be open to new ideas and constantly seeking to improve their skills.
 
I'd choose someobe with a qualification which meant they had to have experience too
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My gut instinct is to say experience, but then 20 years experience could just mean you 'd had 20 years of practicing bad habits.

I think if it was to handle and muck out my horses, say over Xmas, I'd be happy with either. To ride for me: experience. To handle difficult or more quirky horses, experience. But for doing general duties, either.
 
Experience, always.
i was sitting in on a lecture/seminar by a BHSI at a highly-rated Equestrian College once, and she was describing how to poultice a foot, and recommended using clingfilm to keep the poultice on. all the students dutifully wrote it down while I looked around in amazement.
ANYONE who has ever had to poultice a foot, whether shod or not, knows that clingfilm would last about 1 minute if it was lucky!
so, theory cf practice... hmm. experience, please!
slightly different for instructors, as some very experienced competitors are such naturals that they aren't brilliant at imparting how to do what they do.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Experience, always.
i was sitting in on a lecture/seminar by a BHSI at a highly-rated Equestrian College once, and she was describing how to poultice a foot, and recommended using clingfilm to keep the poultice on. all the students dutifully wrote it down while I looked around in amazement.
ANYONE who has ever had to poultice a foot, whether shod or not, knows that clingfilm would last about 1 minute if it was lucky!
so, theory cf practice... hmm. experience, please

[/ QUOTE ]

I was reading that wondering what was wrong with clingfilm, until I realised I had run out of text to read. I was expecting to read on to say that it was bandaged over with another layer and then gaffa tape/bandage/vetwrap etc.
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Christ, how did the woman think that would work?!
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Experience deffo. Have worked with some horrendous qualified BHSAI instructors that had no common horse sense.

thats not to say all BHSAI have no common sense
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Lessons cost a lot,and what I really want is ability.
If the instructor is good,it doesnt matter how/where/who they trained with, if they have exam passes comming out of their ears or non to their name.

There are some fab teachers out there who have never done the BHS exams and some awfull ones that have.
 
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