Riding school, opinions please...

I don't know the story behind the pic, had the horse just come in from a lesson ? Was there someone with the horse just out of the shot ? Are the temporary stables ? With regards to the tack I can't think of anything to say
 
how long do the horses stand in tack whilst waiting for their next rider?....

Usually the tack would come off if it was more than say 30mins, and girth loosened off, stirrups put up, reins twisted too or not have the bridle on...

horse to me looks sad and tad underweight....and tack seems either dirty or tatty...
 
What do you mean? Is the horse about to go for/ just come back from a lesson or has it been left with its styrups unrun and reins untwisted with a tight girth for a prolonged length of time (you can see the styrups in the stable next door are over the saddle)? Is this its perminant stable or just one its in during the time its used for lessons during the day? How much bed is there and is there food and water in there? Need to know a lot more info really.....

The woods a bit chewed and the rope a bit precarious but the horse isnt exactly skin and bone and you cant see much in that pic!!
 
The horse had just been tacked up for the lesson, the person taking the photo was nearby and the stables are not temporary to answer your questions. xx
 
Difficult to cast an opinion from a single photograph, so I won't. I imagine people will though.

I get the opinion you're looking for people to criticise, forgive me if I'm wrong. Can I ask what your opinions are on said riding school?
 
out of interest is it BHS aproved?

standing in tack wouldn't be mine main concern...

the fact that the reins and stirrups have not been secured and I very much doubt that saddle fits (and it lookd antique) would be my main concerns for the safety and welfare of the horse
 
Sorry. i didn't want to put too much information about the riding school publicly but here is some of the information people asked for, and some other stuff i think is necessary to understand

The horses are usually tacked up about 10 minutes before the lesson but often left on their own in the way this horse is (reins untied, stirrups down)
The bedding is woodchips (like little pieces of wood, from the tree surgeon)
They are fed a full bucket of mollichaff and pony nuts each
Water is fine and available at all times
This is not a temporary stable and after prolonged rain, many of the stables flood.
There are over 40 horses at this riding school
All of the horses are in a snaffle bit with no noseband/martingale on any of them
The 'lessons' often conist of 15+ horses and this amount are also taken out on the main road in the village on a regular basis including novice riders.
Most of the horses are 'difficult' and a few of them buck/rear/bolt on a regular basis (i know all horses do this sort of thing sometimes but these do so a LOT)

Sorry if anyone who knows the place is offended by this post!!
x
 
I see nothing wrong, if the horse is supervised (Ie hasnt just been left with reins like that and stirrups down)

It's a little shabby and yes, the saddle's old but it looks a decent fit, the horse is shiney and I wouldnt be concerned from this pic
 
It's hard to comment on the saddle's fit as it is too far forward, but if there are people with it and it hasn't been abandoned like that, then I don't see much else wrong.
 
AprilBlossom said:
Difficult to cast an opinion from a single photograph, so I won't. I imagine people will though.

I get the opinion you're looking for people to criticise, forgive me if I'm wrong. Can I ask what your opinions are on said riding school?
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This is fiar enough... i think you're right that one photo does not represent the whole place and i understand that you do not want to cast an opinion. I personally think it's truly appalling but the reason i posted this was to see whether people who have more horse experience than me agree or whether i am simply overreacting
 
I wouldnt be too happy for any horse to be left even for a few seconds without reins twisted up and stirrups up as they should be.

as for woodchip bedding that you say has come from a tree surgeon that sounds awful and hard, are they clean enough?, take it they don't get turned out either?.

I would say though if you are not happy with this place then I would suggest you contact the relevent authorities so they can look into it, eg BHS they can at least direct you or the riding school in the right direction if it's needed.
 
namordor said:
This is fiar enough... i think you're right that one photo does not represent the whole place and i understand that you do not want to cast an opinion. I personally think it's truly appalling but the reason i posted this was to see whether people who have more horse experience than me agree or whether i am simply overreacting
Click to expand...

From what you've said its not truly appalling...the horses are fed and watered which is sadly, a lot more than they could get.

My old RS that I grew up at had horses in a similar condition to the one pictured, often well into their teens, never rugged, hardly ever groomed in winter, lived on grass and the odd bit of hay in the real harsh cold, and in tack similar. Usually shared tack, a riser pad or similar to make the fit a little better, and they all did fine. Admittedly they were in a RS having been picked up cheap as they usually either didn't move or pissed off to the next county with a rider uselessly hauling on the reins!

They were all happy to the end, and always let go before it was unfair to keep them going after retirement.

Your picture reminds me of my old place, and I loved it dearly. Shabby, not always by the book, makeshift, but the ponies were more loved than at many other yards I've seen.
 
If you are wanting somebody to comment on the fact that the horse isn't tied up and its reins are hanging loose and not twisted, yes this is dangerous and the horse should be tied up, etc but having worked in a riding school myself I have seen far worse...
 
Seen alot worse than this pic! Least horse has its own tack, ive seen riding schools abroad take tack of one horse and plonk it straight on another being able to clearly see it doesnt fit!
 
The horses are usually tacked up about 10 minutes before the lesson but often left on their own in the way this horse is (reins untied, stirrups down). OK this isn't great, the 10 minutes is fine but for safety stirrups/reins should be up. I wouldn't say appalling though.

The bedding is woodchips (like little pieces of wood, from the tree surgeon) Are they in at night? Do they sleep on it? If it's just to stand on during the day, no problem. Is it really lumps of wood or proper bedding woodchip? No offence but woodchip is a perfectly normal horse bedding, if you are not experienced maybe you are not aware of that.

They are fed a full bucket of mollichaff and pony nuts each. sounds ok - what's wrong with that?

Water is fine and available at all times. Good.

This is not a temporary stable and after prolonged rain, many of the stables flood.Flooding stables is not good, clearly, but are we talking horses standing in 4 inches of water or a few damp patches?

There are over 40 horses at this riding school. That's fine.

All of the horses are in a snaffle bit with no noseband/martingale on any of them. This is a good thing, not a bad thing.

The 'lessons' often conist of 15+ horses and this amount are also taken out on the main road in the village on a regular basis including novice riders. Sounds fine to me, man yriding schools have classes this size.

Most of the horses are 'difficult' and a few of them buck/rear/bolt on a regular basis (i know all horses do this sort of thing sometimes but these do so a LOT). Don't know about this one. If you don't feel safe on the horses, go elsewhere, esp. if you are a novice. But not all riding school horses are plodders.
 
ShowJumping Superstars said:
If you are wanting somebody to comment on the fact that the horse isn't tied up and its reins are hanging loose and not twisted, yes this is dangerous and the horse should be tied up, etc but having worked in a riding school myself I have seen far worse...
Click to expand...

This above quote worries me a lot ! I am a RS owner and have posted a new thread 'Riding schools - standards' rather than Hi jack this one

As for the photo- you CANNOT judge on one photo. The horse looks well and happy, the tack is not the best qualitiy but please remember the costs involved in running a business that also has 40 horses are very high and brand new saddles are probably out of the question. As long as it fits well and is SAFE that is the basic requirements. As for the horse loose, Reins should be secured and stirrups run up - prehaps a novice client tacked up and is waiting for it to be checked? a member of staff has been lack and is in need of a pull up, many many things could be said about one photo. Don't judge until you have personal experiance.
 
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