Riding School Riders?

Shantara

Shantara

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In another thread, a number of people have said that riding school riders have no idea about 'real life riding'. I just wanted to know what was meant by that (I didn't want to hijack a thread!)

I don't think all riding school riders are clueless!

At my riding school, it's certainly NOT just pottering around the school on a dead-pan horse.

When we arrive, we must:
Muck out
Feed and water
Catch our own horse
Groom
Tack it up
Ride it
Untack
Brush down or sponge if sweaty
Rug up (if needs be)
Stable or put out

And our lessons consist of:
Either jumping in the school, which often tests us and is never easy
XC jumping out in the fields
A hack, which is honestly more like a hunt sometimes!
Or a lesson in the school which tests our knowledge (such as, do we know how to trot up correctly, can we learn to do a new dressage move, can we name a body part of a horse each time we rise in trot etc etc..)
Or even something else!


Sorry for the mini rant!

Have you ever been to a riding school which has 'broken the mold' in a good way? :)
 
It is usually fairly easy to spot RS riders on here, from their posts.
Which says it all really.

Of course this could just be because of a lack of experience, which can only come from being involved with horses for years and years, in whatever capacity. Most RS riders do not have much experience.
 
Sounds like a good riding school to me! Although do all riders have to do all that you mentioned or do you do that because you enjoy it?

I have worked in riding schools where the rider has the horse bought to them in the school and then has them taken off them at the end of the ride so they literally know nothing other than the riding aspect. It was lovely when a rider turned up early to help tack up or stayed late to help untack and turnout!
 
Where I learnt there was certainly a good mix of different horses and ponies. Small reliable ponies right up to horses that only the owner and the most competent rider was allowed on.

I do not think it is fair to always think that riding school horses are all plods, and to be honest the vast amount of people learned about horses and how to ride at schools.
 
xxRachelxx said:
Sounds like a good riding school to me! Although do all riders have to do all that you mentioned or do you do that because you enjoy it?

I have worked in riding schools where the rider has the horse bought to them in the school and then has them taken off them at the end of the ride so they literally know nothing other than the riding aspect. It was lovely when a rider turned up early to help tack up or stayed late to help untack and turnout!
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I do it because I enjoy it and because I know it means a great deal to the YO as she doesn't employ people. The younger kids are expected to fill haynets, bring in their own pony, give it a brush and at least attempt to tack it up (under close supervision!)

I left the last riding school I went to, because it was like you described. I wasn't even allowed to visit the horses in the stables and that's what I love most about horses! The bonding you do on the ground! I think that's one of the many reasons I lost all my confidence at that yard. I didn't know a single horse there, even after riding for 2yrs+ there!
 
I don't believe all riding school riders are clueless - lets face it, most of us learned to ride there, and from a personal point of view after learning to ride, I got my first horse. I sold him a few years later and then moved to London where I couldn't afford and didn't have time to have my own horse. So I rode at a riding school while I was there. I then moved up to Cumbria where I am now and went to the local riding school. I used to get all the new horses to try out and see whether they were suitable and got to school some of the younger horses. So for a lot of people a riding school can be a stop gap between owning horses - it doesn't mean that they're all beginners. In fact it was the first riding school which I went to in Cumbria which gave me my first taste of TBs - a taste that went on to become an out and out passion.
 
I think one of the main factors is the inability of a lot of rs riders to plan and carry out successful schooling/jumping sessions without being 'taught'. The number of times I have seen people aimlessly wandering around the school with only the occasional change of pace or circle or cantering round and round (and round and round) the school over one or two jumps just for the sake of it. Bit of a giveaway :) There have been a number of videos on HHO in recent months where the riders have been far too 'passive' and seem unaware of what to do next or how to 'improve' the horse's way of going.

I don't think this is a skill you can learn easily when you only ride once a week and the horse is ridden by a variety of different riders. You don't get the level of 'feel' as when you have your own horse and ride every day :)
 
I was an RS rider until 18 and bas being there all school holidays/weekends etc but the quality of the instruction somewhat limited. At 18 I started riding other peoples, I don't think I was very good at schooling alone etc at that point I certainly learnt a LOT by riding other people's horses outside of the RS environment. I only got pone age 22 and learnt lots from him too you kind of work out how to 'improve' a horse when it is your own and you ride it every day (with the help of lots of lessons) I think lessons on your own horse also tend to be more based on the horse's way of going rather than your riding ability (which in my case I think has been a detriment at times, sometimes I would like to ignore the horse and sort myself out a bit :) )

Am sorry Annielusian but I don't know any RS who would allow someone to 'school' with loose ponies in the arena at the same time as you seem to so I just can't get my head round classing yours as one of the 'good' ones
 
Annielusian, I think you are very lucky to have such a good riding school and I think you are probably getting more experience in horse care and riding than a lot of the horse owners on here. I envy the variety of your lessons - I'm sure that most of the horse owners on here do not get to have that experience every week, especially if the horses are kept on a yard without schooling facilities.
Pearlsasinger - so how did you learn to ride? Were you at some time a novice or did you come out of the womb with "years and years of experience"?
I would much rather see our young generation of riders going to a riding school to get an education in proper horse care management and riding, than rushing into to buying a horse which will then be at the detriment of both the horse and themselves.
I rode as a teenager and then had 20 years off (job/mortgage/children took priority). At 40 I decided I had the time/money to buy a horse and went back to a riding school to brush up on my skills. I then had the opportunity to try lots of different horses before I knew what type I wanted to buy.
For those more experienced/ mature riders, please do not be snobby about riding school riders. We don't learn to drive a car without having lessons at a driving school!!
 
RS riders are much, much more advanced than I am. For a start they can jump, I cant even get over a pole on the ground. And they can walk, trot and canter,I cant canter. I have no "feel" when on a horse and as such I will not get on one again.

I have had horses for over 20 years yet my "riding" is diabolical, so I think RS riders are really quite a decent bunch!!
 
It's more so the temperament of the horse. At a riding school your unlikely to come a cross the naughty or awkward or the youngster. At the time you make think the rs 'bucker' is badly mannered. A rs is never going to have something as naughty which could be a liability.
 
Before buying my own horse I rode at a riding school that rehabilitated rescue horses. In my time there I have ridden horses that bucked, planted, napped, were very spooky etc. It was certainly a steep learning curve. In comparison to that riding my own is easier in many ways. However, being responsible for my horse's education poses its own challenges.
 
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I'm not sure being a good rider is neccesarily about being able to ride something difficult. It's how you improve that particular horse you're riding. Anyone can get on something that has a buck or a naughty habit and cope, it's if you can ever train the horse not to do that.
I also don't think there's anything at all wrong with learning at a riding school. At least they are learning in a controlled environment on horses for that specific job. Much preferable to people with little knowledge, riding skill and perhaps not the commitment to have a horse of their own if they are not in the environment to learn to cope. And if RS lessons are all you can afford, go for it. Nothing wrong with it and it should definately be encouraged. People can't whinge about people without the neccesary knowledge looking after horses badly & then say those in riding schools don't ever and will never be any good :rolleyes:
 
Annielusian said:
I don't think all riding school riders are clueless!

At my riding school, it's certainly NOT just pottering around the school on a dead-pan horse.

When we arrive, we must:
Muck out
Feed and water
Catch our own horse
Groom
Tack it up
Ride it
Untack
Brush down or sponge if sweaty
Rug up (if needs be)
Stable or put out

And our lessons consist of:
Either jumping in the school, which often tests us and is never easy
XC jumping out in the fields
A hack, which is honestly more like a hunt sometimes!
Or a lesson in the school which tests our knowledge (such as, do we know how to trot up correctly, can we learn to do a new dressage move, can we name a body part of a horse each time we rise in trot etc etc..)
Or even something else!

Have you ever been to a riding school which has 'broken the mold' in a good way? :)
Click to expand...

In answer to the last part, yes. 100% so. They had fabulous horses schooled to a very high standard, lots of turn out, amazing arenas and other facilities and an instructor who was truly brilliant. She gave me my confidence back! They run regular events and are well respected and turn out riders who are very very good.

However, amusingly, from your description I wouldn't class your RS as a good one! At best normal, with the line about hacking turning into a downright dangerous one... And your descriptions of the ponies often leaves me worried!

JFTD, I agree.
 
Annielusian, you are very lucky to get that hands on experience at your RS. I had been out of horses for years when my 10yr old daughter decided she wanted to learn to ride. When I enquired at the local BHS establishment I was told that the horses/ponies were brought into the school for the lesson and taken out afterwards, no members of the public were allowed onto the yard and certainly not permitted to help with the horses at all! This was because it was considered an insurance risk.
I thought this was really sad. I spent many happy hours helping out at my RS as a kid. I decided to part loan a horse (now my own, Blaze, cob in my sig) and teach my daughter myself (I have my AI) and that way she got to learn all the other things necessary to becoming a horsewoman, I got to ride too :D and it cost us the same as the price of one riding lesson.
Of course, a few years down the line, it has cost an awful lot more, as I now have two horses and rent a yard! But worth every penny ;)
 
Lolo said:
JFTD, I agree.
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Presumably not with my unfortunate inability to pay attention when typing though :cool: the line should read "There's none so blind as those who will not see" obviously :rolleyes: (I shouldn't be left in control of a keyboard, sometimes)
 
Spotsrock said:
Unless u hunt how would u know ur hacks are like hunts? I rest my case.
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Because everyone else at the yard hunts, I think I'm the only one who doesn't.
They often tell me it's just like the hunts and ask why I don't go...it's not the riding that I don't like, it's the killing! But anyway, lets not turn this into a hunt thread, m'kay?
Leave me be not killing foxes and I'll leave you be killing foxes.
 
I used to ride my friends horses when I was younger (30 years ago:eek:) I decided to get back into riding 3 years ago and consequently went for lessons at a riding school. 'Mastered' walk trot and canter in no time at all;) so bought my own horse.
It came as a bit of a surprise to discover that in the real world I cannot actually ride half as well as I thought I could.
I suppose it depends to a degree on the type of horse you choose to buy/loan but I wish I had learned to ride without stirrups, establish a secure seat, establish a secure lower leg, independent hands and what I can only describe as 'feel' for what the horse is doing.
I would like to think that there are riding schools out there who do teach these things. I suppose it must be difficult for riding schools to find a balanced approach. If they make learning to ride to arduous then perhaps people wouldn't continue to go.
 
I think it's all down to the riding school, the OP's riding school sounds fantastic, but I don't think is all that common, will in my experience anyway. What I have found from friends who are 'riding school riders' is that they lack the ability to adjust their riding style to a 'non riding school horse' but that is not to say they're not perfectly good at riding and aren't more than capable of learning this, it is knowing what to do without having someone stand in the middle and tell you, I started at a riding school, and so did most people I know who have horses. It's a practice makes perfect situation IMO.
 
I think an RS is what you make of it. If you take the time to turn up early, stay late, help out then you'll get the experience.

When I first started I'd just turn up, take the horse out, put it back, go. But I didn't have the knowledge to do any more. Soon they asked me to arrive early to help tack up, most amusing when they give you a 15.2hh horse and you're 10 and can't reach to do anything! But that's where I learnt to tack up.

At my last riding school I groomed, tacked up, rode, untacked, washed down, rugged and fed. But that was because my lesson was the last of the day! I have previously passed my horse straight onto the next person riding in without it even going back to the stable. I also took the time to go and help muck out, turn out, bring in, clean tack, in return for getting to ride in staff riding lessons.

I chose to do all this and really enjoyed getting the experience. Of course sometimes at an RS you don't get the chance to help. They'll have grooms doing it all, or working pupils or whatever. So it works two ways. Taking the opportunity and being able to take the opportunity.
 
JFTD said:
Presumably not with my unfortunate inability to pay attention when typing though :cool: the line should read "There's none so blind as those who will not see" obviously :rolleyes: (I shouldn't be left in control of a keyboard, sometimes)
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The sentiment was there!
 
I've been very lucky in that I pretty much learnt on a horse based at a livery yard, the owner was training to be a riding instructor. This way I was able to learn most aspects of horse management.
Saying that, I have ridden at a few riding schools, and they generally just hand you the reins and take the horse back to the stable once done. It's all about insurance and the fear of being sued!
Previous instructor said she was fed up of teaching in some places, the kids were only allowed in a stable if there were two instructors in there with them!
 
I learnt to ride in a riding school, first just going up and getting on a ready tacked up horse then progressing to mucking out for rides in return for lessons then eventually helping escort hacks etc. I had to go this route as my parents didn't have the money to buy me my own pony! I waited till I was in my 20's with a secure job before I managed to afford my own, he was a bit of a loon but I certainly never had a problem riding him just because he wasn't a plod. I started my AI training last year and there was a young girl in my group she had her own horse and had had ponies from a young age yet she couldn't all the parts of a saddle and bridle or even the points of a horse. At the end of the day I'd rather learn on a 'plod' and develop a secure, independent seat than be over-horsed and spend all my time on the deck or hanging on by the reins!
 
The first riding school I went to I started off just turning up for lessons and horse was ready but after about 9-12 months I started pony club all day Saturdays and learnt about the looking after.
Then after 4 years there I moved to a different one where I was free labour but I loved it! I started to know a hit more about the care and spotting lameness etc... And I was the yards test dummy so I was but on all kinds of horses and ponies cos I stuck on them like glue! I loved it!
Then 2 years ago I got my first pony and moved to DIY yard and loved the freedom and chance to totally look after my own pony. He's in tip top condition and has improved my riding loads. (I started riding 10 year ago this April)
So from a pony clubber to a independant horse owner I'd say I've done alright but I'm still learning and get weekly lessons.


Sorry for long rant hehe
 
I'm with jftd i'm afraid. If u can tell a rs rider from their posts, u can def tell from their riding. If I had a quiet horse I would welcome 2 of shiny ish friends who are rs riders any day to ride them. They understand the horse. They do as asked and are kind with years of experience. Sadly as much as I love these girls they are just too exaggerated in their aids and it upsets my more forward going horse. If they bought horse similar horse and rider would develop together. Oh and annielusian I have hunted yes, I don't believe in strong opinions without fact. Now I have experienced it I prefer to stick to drag hunt for same reasons u give for not hunting. Even then I don't go often.
 
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