Riding Schools/Mechanical Horses

[SirenaXVI]

After watching some lessons recently, I cannot help but think that Riding Schools these days are pushing people out of their capability zones. I saw riders bouncing around on backs and socking horses in the teeth whilst simultanously banging away with their legs - it upsets me tbh

Obviously, I am all for new people coming into the sport, but am I alone in wishing that riding schools all had access to a mechanical horse/s so that people could stay on them until they had independent seats and did not rely on their hands for balance?

 

[MICHAELA8228]

Mmmm, I agree that's it's not nice to see learners hauling horses around a school ( to be fair it's down to the individual instructor to not allow it to happen), I think that learning to ride on a mechanical horse would be like learning to fly a plane in a similator - you'd know what to do on paper but nothing can replicate sitting on a live animal, so I think your better off learning on board a horse from scratch, and use the mechanical one alongside your normal lessons......
I think the issue is more with the Instructor/School than the pupils themselves...........

 

[eatonbraynat]

IMO, i would want all learners to spend time initially on the lunge to gain balance and co-ordination before getting hold of the reins, i do feel sorry for the RS horses who get gobbed in the mouth constantly. They must hate their job.

 

[galaxy]

I think RS try and teach people too quickly to be honest. People pay for lessons and want to see results and improvement immediately, learning something new every lesson, even if they haven't mastered the last thing they were meant to be learning.

I have found that the case with some of my clients. I'm freelance. Not all off them but you do get the odd adult/parent that doesn't get why you are doing the same thing you were doing the week before.

 

[Thelwell_Girl]

Not all riding schools will have the funds to buy a £10,000 simulator! Also, they are nearly always 'big', i.e. the size/body shape of a 16.2 horse. Is that the right size for a child to learn on?

I know you dont say that all RS horses are socked in the mouth and hate their job, but it does seem (at least to me) like you are tarring us all with the same brush. Please correct me if I am wrong!

FWIW, I ride at a riding school, and we have everything from diddy shetties to biig WB/TB types, and yes some riders dont have the greatest hands or quietest seat, it is the instructors job to see that.

How else can you learn if you dont sit on a horse? I once tried a simulator and while it was educational and fun, it is not the same as riding an actual horse or pony.

ETA: I agree with galaxy23, some parents expect their kids to be GP riders within a year!!

 

[galaxy]

ETA: I agree with galaxy23, some parents expect their kids to be GP riders within a year!!

It's the adult learners too!!!! (and they're often rougher with their hands, mainly because the weigh more and adult balance just isn't as good as a childs)

 

[SirenaXVI]

Mmmm, I agree that's it's not nice to see learners hauling horses around a school ( to be fair it's down to the individual instructor to not allow it to happen), I think that learning to ride on a mechanical horse would be like learning to fly a plane in a similator - you'd know what to do on paper but nothing can replicate sitting on a live animal, so I think your better off learning on board a horse from scratch, and use the mechanical one alongside your normal lessons......
I think the issue is more with the Instructor/School than the pupils themselves...........

Yes the instructors and schools must take a lot of the blame, and perhaps once off the mechanical horse they could spend time on the lunge to further develop their seat and feel. People do have to learn but in this case you only have to look at some riding school horses to know that they are not at all happy and have developed a 'blank' look.

 

[SirenaXVI]

It's the adult learners too!!!! (and they're often rougher with their hands, mainly because the weigh more and adult balance just isn't as good as a childs)

Agree totally with this! I also agree that some (by no means all) instructors seem to push the learners too far too soon.

 

[teddyt]

No, youre not alone. Or if no access to a mechanical horse then how about going back to old fashioned principles and not being allowed to progress until youve got the basics? If a customer wont be patient and understand that they have to wait before they can do more then they shouldnt be riding! When i learn to ride i didnt jump for 3 years! I wasnt allowed to until i could walk, trot, canter with an independant seat and lots of balance and feel! That doest happen any more!

 

[baymareb]

I agree the problem is more with instructors feeling pressured to let the riders do more than they are capable of. I'm a big believer in small classes for beginner and plenty of hands-on instructing while they get the feel of things. I see a lot of programs that have huge beginner classes and there's no way a single instructor can focus on any individual long enough to teach them much.

I don't think many people would stick with instruction for very long if they had to ride a mechanical horse rather than a real one. Taught properly, there is not reason they can't.

 

[SirenaXVI]

No, youre not alone. Or if no access to a mechanical horse then how about going back to old fashioned principles and not being allowed to progress until youve got the basics? If a customer wont be patient and understand that they have to wait before they can do more then they shouldnt be riding! When i learn to ride i didnt jump for 3 years! I wasnt allowed to until i could walk, trot, canter with an independant seat and lots of balance and feel! That doest happen any more!

Personally - this sums it up perfectly for me, thats almost exactly what happened to me, mind you it was a very very long time ago as I was only 8 and I am considerably older now

 

[Jennyharvey]

We do a bit of teaching with a few quiet but non riding school ponies and horses. We are lucky that our horses and ponies dont wear bitted bridles, so at least we save their delicate mouths. I feel that if more people introduced bitless for riding school animals, maybe it would help with welfare issues too. Ive seen too many unbalanced hands pulling the reins seemingly unaware of what the reins are attached to.

 

[hannabanana]

I do to feel sorry for RS horses, having all kinds of people getting on and off there backs. But how else are people going to learn to ride? IMO, I think riding schools are trying to cram as many learners into the lesson for money, the more riders in each slot means more money to spend on the horses welfare or whatever. Not all riding schools work the horses into the ground, but the odd few unfortunatly do and it pains me to see. I have to agree though, the learners and their parents do seem to expect massive improvement in the rider within a few lessons (Especially the non-horsey type parents) and I suppose this puts pressure on the school as well, they may lose business because they are 'taking to long to teach them how to ride', so the customer goes elsewhere.
I never went to riding school but I have observed lessons and alot of them just seem to be bored ponies with kids flapping on there backs in trot (although to be fair the lessons i've seen; the learners are trotting by the second lesson). It is an unfair world, and I dont think that learners and schools should be criticised too harshly, learners will improve, and the 'good' schools are only trying to do best for the business. Although thats no excuse to be mean to a horse, or make it do more work til its exhausted because it makes more money.

 

[Katie]

I ride at a riding school and help out at weekends as well as excerising a horse. There will always be people flapping and yanking on their horses mouth, and it annoys me, but a 5 year old beginner or most other beginners just wants to get their pony walking on faster, trotting or stop without caring much about how they do it, and more experianced or older people seem to be better.

 

[hannabanana]

No, youre not alone. Or if no access to a mechanical horse then how about going back to old fashioned principles and not being allowed to progress until youve got the basics? If a customer wont be patient and understand that they have to wait before they can do more then they shouldnt be riding! When i learn to ride i didnt jump for 3 years! I wasnt allowed to until i could walk, trot, canter with an independant seat and lots of balance and feel! That doest happen any more!

Same!Like I said I didnt go to riding school, but I didnt even canter til after a year. I was on lead rein for 4 month, not 4 days, riding schools do push them too much, but like I said, its money that makes the schools ask too much from the horses and the learners, but the learners then think its normal to be able to walk,trot,canter and jump within a month

 

[SirenaXVI]

Same!Like I said I didnt go to riding school, but I didnt even canter til after a year. I was on lead rein for 4 month, not 4 days, riding schools do push them too much, but like I said, its money that makes the schools ask too much from the horses and the learners, but the learners then think its normal to be able to walk,trot,canter and jump within a month

And buy their first horse by six months

 

[hannabanana]

And buy their first horse by six months

I've seen it happen too many times

 

[tallyho!]

So where does this expectation come from?

Why do so many many people expect to be able to ride properly in a month?

 

[badgerdog]

We live in a society of instant gratification. Some people come into riding and don't expect it to be hard work (children and adults) and that it's a gradual process which takes years of practice to be anywhere near good.
I work at a riding school where we have 5 levels of ability. We have non-horsey parents trying to put pressure on the instructors because they think their child should be moved onto the next level but we never let them until they are capable to do so.
We have a lot of volunteers who lead in the lessons but other riding schools won't have the manpower to do this. We don't let people ride without a leader until they can steer and ride without socking the pony in the mouth.

We would love a mechanical horse but we are a charity and can't afford one. We don't think it would replace the riding experience at all but it would be a good addition to peoples lessons. We have some people who are terrified to canter but if they got an idea of what it felt like on a mechanical horse they could do it without the fear of the horse running away with them.

 

[SirenaXVI]

So where does this expectation come from?

Why do so many many people expect to be able to ride properly in a month?

Well it seems to be a combination of their instructors pushing them too fast too soon and, possibly because of this, their own mistaken belief in their own abilities

 

[galaxy]

Well it seems to be a combination of their instructors pushing them too fast too soon and, possibly because of this, their own mistaken belief in their own abilities

Well I'd like to think its pressure from the client and not the instructor.... What benefit is it for the instructor to get them doing more except for the will of the client? Not that I approve of it at all.

Luckily being freelance I have no pressure from employers and if a client doesn't like what I'm doing they can move on. I've certainly had that happen from new clients whose parents have bought them a pony and when I 1st teach them and see their position and take it back to basics, it hasn't been approved of. Some of them understand it when I explain, others haven't rebooked. It's the way it is. I like my clients to have good positions, and I'm very proud when people comment on how nicely my longer term clients ride.

In my local area, as that is all I can comment on, RS do not spend enough time teaching fundamental good positions and are more about "you don't fall off therefore you can ride".

 

[SirenaXVI]

We live in a society of instant gratification. Some people come into riding and don't expect it to be hard work (children and adults) and that it's a gradual process which takes years of practice to be anywhere near good.
I work at a riding school where we have 5 levels of ability. We have non-horsey parents trying to put pressure on the instructors because they think their child should be moved onto the next level but we never let them until they are capable to do so.
We have a lot of volunteers who lead in the lessons but other riding schools won't have the manpower to do this. We don't let people ride without a leader until they can steer and ride without socking the pony in the mouth.

We would love a mechanical horse but we are a charity and can't afford one. We don't think it would replace the riding experience at all but it would be a good addition to peoples lessons. We have some people who are terrified to canter but if they got an idea of what it felt like on a mechanical horse they could do it without the fear of the horse running away with them.

Totally agree re the instant gratification society.

I realise that a lot, if not most, riding schools would be hard pushed to afford a mechanical horse, it is a shame that there is not a scheme in place to enable those schools to maybe lease or long term rent them.
In the absence of one of the above, perhaps pupils should spend more time on the lunge, with a neck strap.

It a good idea to keep people on a lead rein for longer, however, I suspect a lot of them want to get off it before they are ready and an instructor would need to be made of stern stuff to cope with these people.

 

[badgerdog]

It a good idea to keep people on a lead rein for longer, however, I suspect a lot of them want to get off it before they are ready and an instructor would need to be made of stern stuff to cope with these people.

Our instuctors are made of stern stuff! It can be a nightmare but it's something we won't budge on.

 

[SirenaXVI]

Well I'd like to think its pressure from the client and not the instructor.... What benefit is it for the instructor to get them doing more except for the will of the client? Not that I approve of it at all.

Luckily being freelance I have no pressure from employers and if a client doesn't like what I'm doing they can move on. I've certainly had that happen from new clients whose parents have bought them a pony and when I 1st teach them and see their position and take it back to basics, it hasn't been approved of. Some of them understand it when I explain, others haven't rebooked. It's the way it is. I like my clients to have good positions, and I'm very proud when people comment on how nicely my longer term clients ride.

In my local area, as that is all I can comment on, RS do not spend enough time teaching fundamental good positions and are more about "you don't fall off therefore you can ride".

Being freelance you are in the position of wanting your clients to actually ride well, sadly, I would imagine, most RS pupils do not have access to an instructor who concentrates on position and basics! Sadly I think your last paragraph hits the proverbial nail on head!

 

[SirenaXVI]

Our instuctors are made of stern stuff! It can be a nightmare but it's something we won't budge on.

Good for you! Really glad to hear it

 

[Sol]

I think it'd be a great idea, would probably also stop the kids who just want to prat about on a pony from keeping up with it too..... YAY! Sorry, but when you can only get to a RS (as I often could between horses) and you want to LEARN to have other people on the lesson who just want to go in circles, don't want to learn at all, it's frustrating. Why don't they go trekking!? Yep, it bugged me. A lot.
Instructors though = big issue. There are so few good ones around And so few actually seem to /care/. That, and I was appaled when on work experience to see that the girls who were, basically, grooms were teaching various lessons (kids, adults, mixed) when they were barely older than me, no qualifications plus the advice they were giving was at times, completely incorrect and certainly not how you'd be teaching people to ride!
I think another issues is that private lessons hardly exist any more. Instructors don't WANT to give private lessons - it's far better for them (money-wise) to give a group lesson as the time they use brings in far more money, so they see PLs as a waste of their time, lunge lessons even more so for some reason (fewer instructors actually know how to give decent lunge lessons besides just walk/trot/canter with/without stirrups).
People are not encouraged to even try and aquire basic knowledge outside of lessons, where a person could very easily pick up even simple things from books/TV/internet - they just don't care. They see it as they should be able to come, ride, and go home. If you have no interest in learning, WHY RIDE?! Even when I used to help out at pony days at a local RS, a) the instructors/helpers had no interest in educating the kids other than the riding lessons b) tbh, the kids weren't thrilled about learning off the ponies! (I got sick of it though, started doing points of the horse/tack, made quizzes etc which in the end they did *sort of* enjoy xD)

I find it all quite sad, and yes, I realise that not all instructors/pupils/RSs are like this, but from my own experience, the majority are.

 

[stanNhazel]

As someone who runs a riding school I would like to state that we are definately not all the same. Whilst I agree that many riding schools are dreadfull places with very unfortunate, unhapppy ponies and staff that dont seem to care there are some around that are trying to improve their reputation. In my area I know of many places that should not be allowed a licence due to welfare and teaching standards and customer care. With regards to allowing people to progress too quickly before they have got the basics, this is something we definately dont allow. No rider comes off the lead rein until they can do a decent riding trot in balance with their horse and if the parents dont feel they are learning quick enough then they can have private lessons or go elsewhere! We have never put the customers over our horses as without them we would be nothing. All the horses are treated as my own and our customers are never allowed to haul them around with their reins. We are lucky enough to have a simulator ( £20,000 not £10,000 sadly!) and if we need to riders will go on there until they learn to respect the horses. All our children learn to canter on the simulator (unless they are tiny) but even our 4year olds love it and he stands 15.2hh and they dont seem to mind his size at all. Unfortunatley until the licencing and registration of riding schools improves shoddy places will be allowed to operate to the detriment of those of us who care about the industry and want to pass our love and knowledge on to others. Rant over!!!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I had some lessons on a 15hh simulator after I broke my ankle. I really enjoyed them and benefitted in that my muscle tone recovered. But it was nothing like riding a real horse, there was no feed back from him, as there is from my own horse.

 

[Shilasdair]

It is clear that those people who advocate learning to ride on a mechanical horse have never ridden one, nor taught lessons using them.
The experience, whilst perhaps useful for more advanced riders in terms of correcting positional faults, certainly doesn't equate to riding a real horse, and is of limited value in teaching 'feel' which is what I think you are all bemoaning the lack of.
S

 

[baymareb]

I would like to add that certainly not all places are full of unhappy ponies. My former RI (only former because I'm now 3000 miles away and it's rather a long commute) teaches beginners through experts and her entire string of lesson horses are used for all levels of riders. She also uses many of them to compete and most of them to ride to hounds.

They are happy ponies indeed. But she is an instructor in a million.