Riding School Riders?

I've always viewed RS riders relationship with the horses as a good friendship. You can say no or yes whenever it suits you because they already have "parents or carers" to look after them. The horse will eventually retire from RS life and that's generally when your relationship will end with the horse and your experience with it. I see owning or even loaning to a degree as more of a "marriage" ie) death do us bl***** part :D ) you can't just leave the horse when you can no longer ride it, well you can sell it but that's also your responsibilty with loss of value, loosing a horse etc. From what I've gathered on here, generally people keep their old horses til death and look after them every step of the way. Through illness, stress, even money troubles and that's something no riding school can ever teach you I believe. At a riding school your responsibility leaves as soon as you leave the "yard gates", you don't have to go back again or even get back on that horse that threw you off the other week. Where as with your own horse you've gotta go see the bug*** that threw you off or the horse that is on 6 months boxrest.
I believe that riding school can teach you to a degree the basics of horses but after you take the jump to own horses is a huge learning experience( good and bad). It's like going from school to a job, it's not the same but you can be prepared to the best of the ability of the RS/school.
 
Riding schools have their place. I had mixed experiences of riding schools and would personally rather not ride at all than go back to any of those available to me now. My second riding school was incredible but definitely didn't follow the norm. I used to work there weekends and 1 evening a week as a teenager, and remember being left at the age of 13 (with one other girl the same age) to rug, feed, turn out/bring in and lock up the yard while the owner went to the pub for the evening. We did everything needed there, from organising the (20 foot tall) muckheap into squares and scrubbing water troughs to worming and dealing with the farrier, plus the usual day-to-day duties. When working on Pony Days, to give the owner a break I sometimes stepped in and taught the young riders. The yard failed year after year to get BHS approved, but I learned so much (for better or for worse) there. I never rode a well behaved pony there. The horses tended to be someone else's cast-off. At the time I thought it a good thing as I learned how to deal with all sorts of different behaviours, both on the ground and when riding. However despite this, in retrospect I think it is better to learn how things SHOULD be done to help avoid losses of confidence and bad habits from developing.
However things were very different then (even though I only stopped going to that riding scool 7 years ago) and most riding schools have their horses readily tacked-up to make life easier. There is also the huge problem of insurance these days, which make riding schools very cautious: often riders aren't even allowed to take their aching feet out of the stirrups after a lesson until tey are about to dismount for safety reasons! I personally found the last riding school I was at very limiting and, although I was a wimp in terms of self confidence, had strong principles and ended up arguing several times with the instructor because I refused to whip the horses according to her reasons. At that point I had run out of riding schools and decided that the only way I was going to learn more than the very basics, as I had long since stopped learning anything new (plus the lessons were EXTREMELY expensive) was to share a horse (i couldn't afford to get my own). Two share horses down the line and I now look after 4 horses and ride 3 of them. Riding schools teach you different things to having your own and to sharing, but they do have their place and everyone gets something different out of them. It depends on the person taking lessons and the riding school itself. Noone can ever say that their horsey experiences make them necessarily superior to another rider, because they are all so valuable in different ways.
 
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Hi,

I'm sort of in both camps here. I'm still re-learning but have my own pony.

Riding schools have their place for those who only wish to ride for pleasure without the responsibility or cost. My lad is kept at the local riding school (closest Livery to me and good 'cause there's lots of owners about and horsey people to chat with). They run 'own a pony' days for kids and adults that are almost no-holds-barred. The ponies are fresh from the fields and do play up (a lot) - not surprising how many kids don't like the work, the muck etc - but then again there are those who love the work involved and do go on to have their own horse or pony.

As a lass away from riding school (back then i was used as the test pilot) and back after an absence of 19 years and re-learning I have been taught more by my own pony than you could ever learn by riding a RS horse/pony around a school or on a led hack. I have moved from a tap-a-long donkey to a willing little welshy who relays on me to show the way and show him that puddles, plastic bags, burger vans, noisy metal, chain saws and horse walkers are okay really so he can trust me and we can have some fun and adventures together. He has made me up my game and become the confident rider i used to be.

:)
 
You might say that owners of one or two horses don't have a lot of experience compared to professionals at most levels in the horsey world.
 
Its not about being a riding school rider or a horse owner, its about the willingness to learn and develop knowledge. Many riding school clients are willing to do this in the same way many horse owners are not and vice versa
 
Annielusian said:
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? :)
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Eeek... Remind me NOT to take a lesson at that school... :eek: :o :D
 
My experience of a riding school was turn up on a Sat morning to an already tacked up horse, get on and spend 10 mins getting the stirrups to the correct length after the last rider and then stand there whilst everyone else gets on/stirrups right. All this whilst being watched by the 10 girls that helped out at the yard at weekends b1tching about whoever was riding their favorite pony/horse!!
10 mins of "warming up" a few laps of trot, canter to the back of the ride then the same on the other rein and then cooling down which consisted of letting the horse walk with no rein contact. Dismounting and leading back to the stable to untack.
Pay £25 and then go home!

Lets just say i only did this once.

I'm not saying all riding schools are like this and I'm sure there are some very good ones out there but it might be why riding schools get a bad rep?
 
hudsonw said:
My experience of a riding school was turn up on a Sat morning to an already tacked up horse, get on and spend 10 mins getting the stirrups to the correct length after the last rider and then stand there whilst everyone else gets on/stirrups right. All this whilst being watched by the 10 girls that helped out at the yard at weekends b1tching about whoever was riding their favorite pony/horse!!
10 mins of "warming up" a few laps of trot, canter to the back of the ride then the same on the other rein and then cooling down which consisted of letting the horse walk with no rein contact. Dismounting and leading back to the stable to untack.
Pay £25 and then go home!

Lets just say i only did this once.

I'm not saying all riding schools are like this and I'm sure there are some very good ones out there but it might be why riding schools get a bad rep?
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That's exactly my experience! I can't stand it.


LadyDragon: I don't see why everyone has taken that the wrong way. What I mean by that is (if everyone is experienced enough) we have a gallop across fields (that we're allowed in), jump logs and a few small ditches that we have around and generally give the horses a darn good work out. If we have beginners with us, none of that happens. We go by the least experienced person in the group.
 
badgerdog said:
I work with children at a riding school and the biggest difference I see between them and children who have their own ponies is that the RS kids are technically much better than the one's who have their own ponies. Kids who have their own ponies are more 'natural' riders and are much more confident but the ones at the RS have better positions and know more about aids, transitions etc because they have more lessons and are constantly being corrected. It depends on the riding school of course, we are lucky to have good instructors. Most of the kids I know who have their own ponies haven't been to riding schools and although have lessons, don't have them very frequently.
The kids at our riding school have been placed at dressage competitions but wouldn't dare hunt, whereas my friends children are frustrated by dressage as they aren't very good at it but were happily hunting when they were 6 and 7 years old!
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I'd agree with this.
 
hudsonw said:
My experience of a riding school was turn up on a Sat morning to an already tacked up horse, get on and spend 10 mins getting the stirrups to the correct length after the last rider and then stand there whilst everyone else gets on/stirrups right. All this whilst being watched by the 10 girls that helped out at the yard at weekends b1tching about whoever was riding their favorite pony/horse!!
10 mins of "warming up" a few laps of trot, canter to the back of the ride then the same on the other rein and then cooling down which consisted of letting the horse walk with no rein contact. Dismounting and leading back to the stable to untack.
Pay £25 and then go home!

Lets just say i only did this once.

I'm not saying all riding schools are like this and I'm sure there are some very good ones out there but it might be why riding schools get a bad rep?
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I'm sorry I can't let that go. That is absolutely not how a riding school lesson should be, there are schools out there who offer so much more. At the BHS approved one I rode at regularly until a year ago normal flat lesson for me would be:

Turn up, check list to see what horse you are riding. Personal favourites and personal requirements were taken into account but you were expected to ride a variety. Unless you are early and wanted to tack up yourself (which you could do if you wanted) the horse would be tacked up and waiting in its stable, you would simply need to remove rug, untwist reins, tighten girth and check your tack. You would then lead your own horse to the indoor or outdoor school.

The instructor would be waiting in the school and would offer and assistance and/or supervision with mounting required. General rule was that client's shouldn't mount unsupervised (for safety/insurance reasons) and shouldn't mount from the ground (for the sake of the horse's backs). Once on you sorted girths, stirrups etc yourself in your own time and got on with warming your horse up in open order.

Generally speaking after 10 minutes or so warming up the instructor would either pull the whole group in for a chat or would pull people in one at a time to discuss their horse, its way of going and their plan for the lesson. Riders would then continue to work in open order on whatever they had discussed with the instructor. Feedback, comments and additional advice would follow as and when required. Sometimes the instructor would spend five or ten minutes with an individual working on something specific, sometimes you'd work for 10 minutes then pop back for another discussion, sometimes you'd be left very much to your own devices.

Approximately 15 minutes before the end we would be warned to start winding things down ready for cool down. When we started cooling the horses down properly, and were back to walk on a long rein we would start discussing how things had gone, what we had learned, what the next step would be etc.

Discussions would include what you'd do if the horse wasn't a riding school horse, so groundwork, lunging, turning away, hacking, hunting etc. It would also include things like tack and competitive aims, how the horse's conformation affects its way of going etc etc etc.

Most of the people in our group competed and/or were doing exams so had their own specific targets to aim for too.

From time to time we might work on something specific as a group or we might be sent off to practice a dressage test/show piece and perform it at the end.

Where appropriate clients might ride the horse in different tack, for example to be dressage legal, or to practice in a double before a show, or just to get the best out of the horse (so a competent rider might be allowed to wear spurs or ride in tack that wouldn't be suitable for all riding school clients eg double bridle or a training aid).

After the lesson we would get off, lead our horses out and then either put them away, untack and rug up or turn out. Before going to pay less than £25 for a lesson with a BHSI. :D
 
My experience was pretty similar to hudsonw's. When I used to go to the riding school I would turn up about 20 mins or so early and asked to be able to tack up etc my self which I got to do once (despite being looked at as if I had just grown two heads). After that time the horse was already tacked up and ready to go when I got there, I also offered (in the summer) to help hose down and on other occasions groom, take tack off, help in general but didn't get to. I often wonder why, because to get the whole experience is more beneficial to the rider. I suppose with the health and safety police and compensation culture we have it is a minefield as to what you can be allowed to do at a riding school nowadays. Personally I would prefer (and I'm sure most riding instructors would too) if I got there and had to get the horse ready to ride myself, have my lesson and then un tack, put horse back in stable or field etc. As a kid I had to muck out, feed, groom, look after the goats! and help lead the little ones on rides at a trail riding centre and I learnt so much more. It's a shame you can't seem to do that now
 
I'm 28, and have ridden since the age of 6, but only once weekly in an RS environment. Mainly cos my parents didnt have the money, partly because I was based in London, so limited turnout/hacking/whatever.

However I was a complete stable brat and I was welcomed at weekends/holidays to come groom, learn how to tack up, muck out, sweep, whatever was needed. I do think its unfair to tarnish all RS's with the same brush. At my first RS, I did basic pony club, and progressive riding tests and through my school, I competed in some Prelim unaffliated dressage in the London Schools Competition. I (without sounding up myself) won this three years in a row (with high 80+) scores, beating children from private schools, with their own ponies. Eventually I was banned as they changed the rules, so that only private schools could enter. (putting me off competing altogether)

I hate the way on here, people sometimes describe RS riders as complete novices. Yes I realise I could learn more on my own horse, and thats something I intend to get once I return to England. But I don't consider myself a complete novice (waits to get shot down.)

I can do basic stable care and am happy to ask for help if needed. I learnt how to leg yield, turn on forehands, flying changes etc (never jumped though due to lack of facilities). At one school, I rode some horses that had been rescue cases, were spooky, nappy, had been beaten etc. One was an ex-racing arab that needed to be completely reschooled.
If it was felt I was being to yanky with the reins, they would be taken off and put on the noseband etc.

Now in Spain, I ride an elderly mare once a week for its owner, he speaks no English, my Spanish is limited. So I trundle about in a school but we do all the things mentioned above. My main focus at the minute is correct my position errors. (I've always suffered from carrying my hands too low and riding with too-short stirrups.) Then perhaps we'll work on doing something else so we don't get too bored. (not sure what though - does that make me one of those RS people who are lost without an instructor?)

I realise some RS are worse than others but I don't feel that my experiences have been of bad ones. I've learnt a lot, I'm still learning.
Perhaps the above sums me up as a novice rider and I prove the RS critics right, and I'm expecting to get shot down for saying this. But only feel of myself that I'm a novice around horses on here sometimes. I live in envy of the man who rode with me the other week doing a beautiful passage on his PRE which I doubt my current gallant steed is capable of, but one day I will be doing that, and I'll have the chance to learn to jump.

Rant over. I made no sense whatsoever.
 
I’ve always seen it as a bit of a cheap shot to judge someone just because they have learnt to ride at a riding school.

Let’s not knock people for not being in a position to buy their own horse!
 
rhino said:
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'...

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 :)
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I do think there is a lot of generalisations going on. I rode at riding schools once a week for 21 years as I couldnt afford my own horse. As I was a volunteer at my local riding school I was able to tack up, muck out, groom etc from a very young age and had a pretty comprehensive knowledge of wound care, feeding, fitness programmes etc - I just never had a horse to put all my theory into action! I definitely dont have the competition experience though and I have never been hunting (but it doesnt interest me anyway)

Now I have my own I am SO glad I spent all that time on the basics of schooling and applying them to different horses. I am also glad I had somone constantly correcting my position, seat and application of the aids as most things, from sitting a buck or riding a horse through a spook or a correct transition are easier when you are sitting correctly.

Riding schools definitely vary in quality so you have to be prepared to move on as some have you doing whatever other people are doing because it is easier for them. My last riding school had the more experienced lessons working in open order. We'd warm our horses up individually for 10 minutes and the RI would ask us what we felt (stiffness to one side, rushing transitions, coming above bit, coming behind the bit, sluggish to leg etc and asked us to suggest a plan for how we could improve it's way of going - in 50 minutes - with RI commenting on anything she could help with along the way.

I loved it, although it was a bit annoying knowing that the improvements would be undone by the time you rode the horse again 6 weeks later, which is why I dont think i learned anything new in the latter years and wanted my own horse - never got past leg yielding, shoulder in and direct transitions!

However having bought a schooling project as my 1st horse, I feel I have been well equipped to teach him everything I know in preparation for moving up to the next level. I would also say that because I am so tuned into the feel of my own horse now, I no longer feel as confident I can get a tune out of anything else as I am too used to having my mind read - I am definitely a lazier rider now I an owner!
 
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Again Doogal, sounds like you went to a good riding school, the kind that Marmalade seems to run. There are a lot of not so good, and downright dangerous riding schools about though, which do not prepare people for horse ownership the same way.. And as a lot of people learn as children, perhaps with non horsey parents, they don't always know enough to be able to distinguish between the different riding schools. :)
 
hudsonw said:
My experience of a riding school was turn up on a Sat morning to an already tacked up horse, get on and spend 10 mins getting the stirrups to the correct length after the last rider and then stand there whilst everyone else gets on/stirrups right. All this whilst being watched by the 10 girls that helped out at the yard at weekends b1tching about whoever was riding their favorite pony/horse!!
10 mins of "warming up" a few laps of trot, canter to the back of the ride then the same on the other rein and then cooling down which consisted of letting the horse walk with no rein contact. Dismounting and leading back to the stable to untack.
Pay £25 and then go home!

Lets just say i only did this once.

I'm not saying all riding schools are like this and I'm sure there are some very good ones out there but it might be why riding schools get a bad rep?[/QUOTE

After having to give up my horses for financial reasons, a friend asked if i wanted to come with her to try a local RS with her, she has horses too al be it retired TB's so we both know the ropes and when we arrived at said RS we weren't allowed to leave the tack room/ reception without a member of staff, we weren't allowed to speak to the horses who were stabled basically we were helped to mount, weren't allowed to do our own stirrups or girth and told to go in a specific order!! i really didn't enjoy myself and need i say will not be back there,
in contrast to this where i learned to ride, you had to be able to manage the horses from the ground first before they let you ride, you paid a couple of £ and spent the day learning how to muck out, groom, tack up, bring in, do rugs feed etc, i thought this was brilliant and would spend my weekends helping out until i was good enough to start riding. sadly this place shut down many years ago and i'm yet to find another the same :(
i think there's a huge difference from just being able to ride and being ready for your own horse. The establishment where you start out really is the most important first step IMO.
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It's not just instructors though, I wonder if the average RS pony/horse is a lot different compared to 20 years ago.

Looking back, a lot of the ponies I rode as a child could be pretty nappy and forward there was actually a lot of falling off. There were some steadier/lazier horses but they were ALL capable of work properly once they knew you meant it and there were definitely a few strong/flighty ones reserved for the more experienced riders.

In comparison, as an adult RS rider I didn't felt overhorsed or fall off once in 10 years - whilst I'd like to think this was down to my superior horsemanship skills, I seriously doubt it was :rolleyes:)

I left 1 RS with a very good reputation because they kept giving me a horse that it would have been less effort to carry round on my shoulders than ride in my lessons - It was more like a gym work out.

I dont think it is fair to expect people to pay £25 to sit on a horse they'd have to beat up to get a passable working trot, and whilst he would have been great for RDA work, I doubt if anyone could actually learn anything about riding on him.

Perhaps there is just too much pressure on RS these days to provide a safe environment and safe horses and eliminate all possible risk - which is going to affect the kind of riders it produces.
 
nixxyz said:
when we arrived at said RS we weren't allowed to leave the tack room/ reception without a member of staff, we weren't allowed to speak to the horses who were stabled basically we were helped to mount
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Interestingly I went to a very nice, smart London RS last summer for a lesson (basically perving over my friend's instructor, of whom she was rather fond :D) and I had the opposite. Although they'd been informed I could ride, they didn't know me at all - and still sent me off to tack up! I did actually find someone as I had no idea where the mare's tack was or anything :cool: They were generally very "up" on H&S, I think, I get the impression this was a misunderstanding... FWIW, my friend's instructor was also great - very classically minded, we had a nice chat about schools of classical equitation whilst I worked the mare in open order with my friend, and the whole experience was much more similar to that which Kat describes. Sadly, he wasn't as fit as my friend had led to me to believe, but you can't have everything. He was something of an exception though - many of the instructors seemed to spend more time chatting than actually teaching the more experienced clients (this I gather from my friend, since I have no first hand experience of the other instructors).

I learnt to ride at an RS about 15 years ago. They were less responsible, imo - there were a number of accidents on the yard and in lessons / hacks while I was there, some due to inappropriate horses (mostly green-broken of the local traveller), some due to stupidity. I used to work there and I recall leading ponies in lessons from the noseband was considered "normal" under some instructors. I also remember almost passing out after spending 15 minutes leading a 14,2 in trot over jumps :cool: It was all very trivial stuff, mostly, and at least I used to get hands on experience - and I got my cob from there - but I think a little more regard for H&S isn't a bad thing.

That said, I've done far stupider things on my own horses ;) I think it's rather a shame that beneficial "risks" - e.g. riding bareback - maybe not be taken at a good RS, to the detriment of the rider's education.
 
hudsonw said:
My experience of a riding school was turn up on a Sat morning to an already tacked up horse, get on and spend 10 mins getting the stirrups to the correct length after the last rider and then stand there whilst everyone else gets on/stirrups right. All this whilst being watched by the 10 girls that helped out at the yard at weekends b1tching about whoever was riding their favorite pony/horse!!
10 mins of "warming up" a few laps of trot, canter to the back of the ride then the same on the other rein and then cooling down which consisted of letting the horse walk with no rein contact. Dismounting and leading back to the stable to untack.
Pay £25 and then go home!

Lets just say i only did this once.

I'm not saying all riding schools are like this and I'm sure there are some very good ones out there but it might be why riding schools get a bad rep?
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This EXACTLY!

Only I did it for 2-3 years as none of the riding schools I went to really taught me much, either - not because the instructors weren't qualified, but because they spend the whole time barking at us for miniscule things rather than actually teaching us how to do things. All of my experience has come from applying what I know hands-on - almost everything that I know is completely self-taught, because from an early age I realised that if I wanted to learn something and do it well then I had to do it myself. When first taught to ride it was literally a case of if you wanted to go faster then kick, and if you want to stop or turn then pull the reins. My twin sister learned this way with me, but now if ever I mention the use of the seat, outside rein or the use of weight and leg in canter, she thinks I'm making it up! I found it incredibly frustrating and have wasted hundreds of pounds on perfectly qualified, inadequate riding instructors.
Having worked at and observed riding schools and equestrian centres for years, most people there ride because they love it and have no other option - not because they're learning anything new. Ok, so it's all experience, but when one is only riding once a week (or every 2 weeks for me as I couldn't afford it) it is very difficult to improve or apply anything one has learned.
Naturally, I would have thpought that when one first starts learning to ride, the lessons are focused around them and as they progress and can independently monitor their own riding, the lessons become more focused on how to improve the horse's way of going (simultaneously improving the rider).
Never again. When I get lessons, it will be from a more knowledgeable and experienced friend or a professional trainer. Hence why I moved on to sharing, as I just was getting nothing out of it - I wasn't only not learning but ended up arguing in every lesson with my last instructor because we just didn't sare the same methods or principles of training.
This is quite a sore subject for me as I've just spend so much time and money and really dented my confidence trying to get somewhere with my riding...but that's all well in the past now, thank goodness! Grr...
 
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Perhaps, if we can all agree that there are some good riding schools out there, and that they can teach you to ride and care for horses to an extent that you aren't a complete bumbling idiot/danger to yourself and all around, then maybe as responsible horse people we should all make it our business to find out where they are so that we can direct any new/novice riders in their direction.

It is tough for riding schools to be profitable in this day and age, if they are doing a good job then help them out by sending potential clients to them rather than rubbishing all riding schools and lumping them all in with the awful ones.

If you don't know where your nearest good riding school is have a look on the BHS website, and go along for a look. If you like what you see you might even benefit from a lesson on a schoolmaster or a lunge lesson yourself! :p
 
JFTD said:
Interestingly I went to a very nice, smart London RS last summer for a lesson (basically perving over my friend's instructor, of whom she was rather fond :D) and I had the opposite. Although they'd been informed I could ride, they didn't know me at all - and still sent me off to tack up! I did actually find someone as I had no idea where the mare's tack was or anything :cool: They were generally very "up" on H&S, I think, I get the impression this was a misunderstanding... FWIW, my friend's instructor was also great - very classically minded, we had a nice chat about schools of classical equitation whilst I worked the mare in open order with my friend, and the whole experience was much more similar to that which Kat describes. Sadly, he wasn't as fit as my friend had led to me to believe, but you can't have everything. He was something of an exception though - many of the instructors seemed to spend more time chatting than actually teaching the more experienced clients (this I gather from my friend, since I have no first hand experience of the other instructors).

I learnt to ride at an RS about 15 years ago. They were less responsible, imo - there were a number of accidents on the yard and in lessons / hacks while I was there, some due to inappropriate horses (mostly green-broken of the local traveller), some due to stupidity. I used to work there and I recall leading ponies in lessons from the noseband was considered "normal" under some instructors. I also remember almost passing out after spending 15 minutes leading a 14,2 in trot over jumps :cool: It was all very trivial stuff, mostly, and at least I used to get hands on experience - and I got my cob from there - but I think a little more regard for H&S isn't a bad thing.

That said, I've done far stupider things on my own horses ;) I think it's rather a shame that beneficial "risks" - e.g. riding bareback - maybe not be taken at a good RS, to the detriment of the rider's education.
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Unfortunatly it wasn't a miss understanding they knew we had horses of our own and could ride before we turned up ( was all discussed in great detail on the phone) . They had numerous signs up not to approach the horses or interact with them, we were also told not to stand and watch any on going lessons in the arena :confused: . Basically you went there to ride and that was it. They have some cracking horses tho and the place was imaculate(sp)
i definatly agree there are some good and bad, i guess its all trial and error as to which suits the person.
 
I learnt to ride at a riding school, or several!!, as I come from a non-horsey family. I started at 6years old and had weekly lessons until I was about 13 when I started loaning (under supervision of YO) at a livery yard.

To be honest all I learnt was the basics. Walk, trot, canter, jump. We were never taught how to work the horses/ponies correctly. It was just a case of walking large and trotting/cantering to the back one-by-one. When I got there the ponies would have just finished the previous lesson and we would be sent to the most 'suitable' pony for our exp/height/weight. There was no stable management side of things. Just simply riding. No theory behind the riding. Just an instructor shouting up-down-up-down as you trotted around the edge!

Maybe riding schools have changed in the past few years?? I'm only 21 so this wasn't an age ago! :D
 
i think i have learnt more about problems while riding (refusing, bolting, rushing etc) while riding at various riding schools than loaning a schoolmaster pony for 2 years. if i had just bought my horse after riding the schoolmaster i would not know what to do at all! i have also ridden a lot of differant types of horse from lazy to spooky which has also helped me with my horse. with the loan i did learn a lot but a lot about how the horse had to be costantly on an outline which i don't do on my own!!
 
My riding school experiences - and we're not talking that long ago as I didn't ride as a child (family were totally non horsey). Was allowed to canter in my first lesson, jumped in my 2nd :rolleyes:, was on a just backed 3 year old within a couple of months and was allowed to ride in field/out hacking unsupervised in about 6 months. H&S? What H&S?

There were good points though, a real mix of horses and ponies, NONE of them easy (or at least a couple were but I never got to ride them :D ). Plenty of riding without stirrups, bareback, jumping without reins etc.

It worked for me, but I think put many others off. It also meant when I got ginger horse I had an awful lot of learning to do; luckily I am an avid reader and watch lessons/competitions whenever I can to pick things up :)
 
I was lucky in that I found a wonderful riding school at a young age, where I stayed for the next 7 years till university. There was a wide mix of horses - all with a bit of spirit and different ways of going, and we were taught to be independently minded, thinking riders, as opposed to 'follow the leader' riders who couldn't survive outside a school. Unfortunately, I know this isn't the case for many, but my riding school education allowed me to have my own horse and ride her competently, before I continued to 'learn' as a horse owner...I still had lessons on other horses when I had her too...all too quickly you can end up being only able to ride your own horse!
 
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