Riding schools - What's your opinion?

[Queenofdiamonds]

I have been a member for a few days now, And i have picked up a little.. not dislike exactly.. I'm not sure, For riding schools from a few comments.

So, What do you think about most riding schools?

If you could do it differently what would you do?

What 'rules' would you implement if you were in charge of all riding schools? Anything that really bugs you? Or that you really like?

I don't mind some of them. I used to work in one and it was fun, And my boss was always willing to listen to those of us that cared for the animals regarding concerns over it - IE if one looked like it could do with some time out, She would be happy for us to turn it away for a few weeks, And then bring it back into the school ourselves etc. Most of the horses, especially the ones used mainly by novice riders, Other than the smaller ones we couldn't ride, Got a decent schooling session a week between us. A few i've been to don't seem to do anything like this.

The only thing i didn't like was the bitchyness between the younger girls/liveries, but i guess that comes with being surrounded by hormonal teenage girls.

Also there was the element of competition i mentioned in my previous thread about 'advanced lessons' which i have never encountered anywhere else in the horsey world. I wouldn't know what any of my horse owning friends are doing in their lessons!

 

[Lolo]

Depends entirely on your riding school. My sister and I learnt to ride at one, and went back when we were between ponies. I regained my confidence at one. Al rode a RS horse to get full marks in her GCSE PE and then reused the video in her AS and got a high A again...

[youtube]8P5ctswmLxY[/youtube]
RS horses aren't all plods...

 

[Meowy Catkin]

The problem with my local RS is that they get the riders jumping quite big fences before the riders are ready, to keep them interested and therefore coming back for more lessons.

 

[JessPickle]

I think there is a lot of snobbery when it comes to riding schools. Mostly from people who simply don't understand why these kids don't simply buy a pony and get out of such a place!

Yes some riding schools will have bad reputations, but the same applies to livery yards and any business in this world!

At the end of the day, most people learn at riding schools and it's simply a case of finding one to suit you. I spent age 7-21 at the same riding school (age 15-21 I had my own horse on working livery who I share with my dad)

Horses I've encountered in riding schools I've worked/been too have a much better life than many horses I've seen kept at top competition venues. At least they are generally worked enough to avoid them being insanely overweight/laminetic!

 

[flirtygerty]

I was brought up around Newcastle Upon Tyne, few places to ride unless you had your own, parents couldn't afford it or to be honest, understand my love of horses.I was not alone in being a willing slave to our Rs, nothing was too much trouble, we learnt a lot of theory not a lot of pracitable.
So even today, I don't know the terminoligy, which I did point out at the local inner city school, Stepney Bank, I learnt nothing, the few lessons I had there, the classes are too big, the instructors too busy.
I need one to one instruction on my horse, Hexham/Consett area to teach an old dog new tricks, my lad is being wasted. Any offers

 

[Kadastorm]

i work at a riding school but its completely different to others as we are a charity. we have fewer people per lesson so that they get the maximum out of their ride, we do exams and many trips out and about to shows/sponsered rides or hacking around the local countryside. our horses are not worked for hours on end and we teach alot of stable management and encourage all clients to help do jobs and care for the horses.

Difference is, we are not a profit making establishment and therefore, we are not forced to cram as many people into a lesson as possible or work the horses from dawn until dusk. etc.

the feedback i receive about other local yards is that their lessons are usually boring because there are so many people in a lesson that they dont get to learn or do much but pay alot of money.

i dont have an issue with riding schools, everyone has to start somewhere, but there are good and bad ones. some treat the horses like machines, others take good care of their ponies, some dont actually care about teaching their pupils, just the money and others throw themselves into trying to improve the rider and get them moving upwards.

(i dont know if im making sense, very tired!)

 

[Tnavas]

As an ex riding school proprietor I aimed to provide quality tuition on freemoving well schooled safe horses and ponies - I had 32 of them so it's not that hard to do.

The helpers on average 25 of them at weekends got theory and practical experience plus a free ride at the end of each day. They had the choice of a free lesson or playtime - they had a pony for an hour at the end of the day.

The helpers were allowed to attend Pony Club and take the horses out to events.

There was a maximum of 6 riders in each class. Beginners would have private lunge lessons same price as a class lesson but for just 30 mins. Once they were rising to the trot with confidence and had had a canter they were allowed into a group lesson.

Groups were graded according to the ability of the riders. As we often had two private lessons going at a time new beginner groups were started approximately every 8 - 10 weeks.

We tried a group of lead rein beginners but this proved to be slower for getting riders going so we reverted back to privates.

No one was allowed to jump until they had been riding for a minimum of 6months in weekly lessons, and could canter confidently.

Holiday courses covered the HM side of riding and around 90% of riders would attend one or more each holiday - we also had certificates so that riders felt they were progressing.

We used to run games and clear round jumping in the holidays and our school ponies would wipe out the outside opposition.

One of my school horses eventually made his way to the UK and became a 2* eventer.

Copper -competing in a working hunter class

Whicket Eventing

Donaghue schooling - eventually 2* eventer in UK

 

[Chestersmummy]

I learnt to ride at a riding school and it was fantastic. I was in a group lesson with about 5 in it and we each got 1 to 1 tuition throughout the lessons. Because of that I managed to quickly move up from the beginner ponies to the slightly more fizzy ponies and eventually onto the horses. In fact my riding instructors dad kept his horse on livery there and no one else would ride him as he was naughty, lazy and nappy so evedy week I got to ride him and the owner said that he had never seen anyone ride him so well. I used to go to own a pony days where we learnt everything from mucking out to the various points on a horse. I feel that without my time at a riding school i wouldn't have learnt some of the things i know now. I certainly wouldn't hesitste to send my kids when i have some to learn to ride at the riding school.

 

[maresmaid]

Riding schools are a brilliant place for people to have the opportunity to learn to ride. Some are fantastic at starting riders off correctly, some are not so good at getting it right, but riding schools have a hard job to do. They have to keep their clients interested and motivated and enjoying their lessons, as a result if they adopted what might be a much better way of teaching some individuals to ride - perhaps weeks and weeks on the lunge for example to get a person in the right balance, it would prove to be expensive for the rider, and your average beginner might not see the point of doing it all and give up. I think that riding schools do a great job of introducing people to riding who might never get the opportunity otherwise. I think some riding schools do a great job of training good riders and inspiring people to become horse owners. Unfortunately not everyone has access to the best riding schools and certain types of people who may have had weekly lessons on riding school horses do sometimes come across as having an unrealistic view of their own capabilities. The reality is that many many of us who have gone on from riding school lessons, to owning, training, and competing our horses, and often had lessons from top trainers, have found that we had to relearn - about many basic things which are never taught well in a large class situation. So there is concern that so often a person who has had weekly lessons at a riding school for 18 months often starts to consider themselves an experienced or even advanced rider and appears to have no concept of how much they still have to learn and this makes it hard to assess people who want to share / loan / or buy horses.

 

[Kaylum]

I was a YM at a riding school. The owner would turn up at 10ish to take the lessons if she could be bothered otherwise it was up to me to muck out and get ready 11 horses and ponies.

Its not just the horses and ponies its about the staff, I was never paid overtime, and was working an 11 hour day. In the holidays and at a weekend parents would drop their kids off some of whom where 6 and would leave them there all day. I couldn't watch them as I was teaching, but apparently the owner said it was ok.

So that's one rule its ok if you have booked a pony day or stable management lesson, but horses are dangerous, the older kids were sometime worse running through the yard screaming, and if I had to take a ride out they were left on their own.

So no kids left unattended by parents. I don't mind them helping out but if there is nobody thereto supervise them.

 

[Montyforever]

There's good and bad RS I think, I was more annoyed that I didn't want to ride so obviously never got the free rides but was never offered anything else until I worked two evenings in the week as well and then got half hour of groundwork lessons while people could turn up Saturday not really do that much just mess about and get a hours riding lesson?! Was very frustrating so just gave up in the end and got my own and worked on private yards instead

 

[Ibblebibble]

As with any school, riding or otherwise, there are good and bad What i do wish is that instructors could be more honest with their pupils! now of course this would not make good business sense so it's never going to happen but you see so many people who have been riding for years at the same school and have really not progressed, not because of the quality of teaching but because they just do not have the abilty But these pupils think they are doing fine and as in the case of my old sharer, think they can ride horses who are way above their ability and then throw their toys out the pram when you explain they are just not up to that level yet. one of her instructors is also my friends daughters private instructor so i've had chats with him about teaching, he admits he teaches differently at the RS to how he teaches his private clients. private clients want to be told their faults (nicely of course) he says he will set up exercises so that they fail so that they can learn how to correct things but he wouldn't do that at the RS as the pupils wouldn't like it!
I think a lot of the 'problems' with an RS is that a lot of the riders don't want to really learn, they want to go and ride and be told how well they are doing and that is it, those type of riders overshadow the ones who really do want to learn and progress.
Must be like juggling with snakes trying to keep everyone happy while maintaining a good name for the establishment!

 

[debsg]

The good ones are great, but there are some baaaaad ones out there!! I liveried Blaze at a big one when I first bought her, the owner (who I taught when she was a kid) had turned into a power crazed egomaniac and was a pain in the arse to deal with, tried to stop me hacking out, wouldn't let me use the xc course without her being there to teach me, cheeky cow!
And all the little kids bitching and fighting!! EEEK! Got out of there asap!

 

[milesjess]

They charge far too much. That's one thing I'd change.

Also my local RS I'd like to see a wider selection of horses as they are mainly your typical RS ponies.

I learnt/worked at one from a young age and learnt everything there. I loved going and that's really where my love for horses stemmed from.

 

[FabioandFreddy]

I've recently started having jumping lessons at a RS on one of their horses. I booked the first lesson as i was at a loose end and wanted to see what their XC course was like so thought i may as well book a lesson whilst i was there. I wasn't expecting a lot to be honest and also expected to be put on a plod that was hard work. I was pleasantly surprised! My steed for the day was a nice 17hh blanket spot appaloosa who knew top gears as well as low! Decided to carry on going and have been for the past 2 months now. 3rd Lesson was jumping grids with 95cm upright for the last fence. The RI always seems to have prepped for my lesson too doing different exercises in each. I do jump my own horse though, so not starting from scratch!
Have also took Fabio over for one of my lessons there, planning to mix between him and the RS horses (although only rode the Appy so far as like him). Feel its doing me some good having a different ride.
Have changed my opinion on them anyway, they don't just have cobs with group lessons doing a figure of eight a few times! (However, i always have a private lesson, i don't think group lessons are that beneficial for anyone)

 

[jesterfaerie]

I am currently an instructor at a well run RS. I have previously worked on a shockingly run RS; underweight unsound horses worked into the ground/total novice riders put into large groups without leaders/children left unsupervised as there no additional staff/etc.

Where I am now we regularly have customers from this riding school come to us and the standards of riding are extremely poor; they have previously been cantering and jumping but on assessment they are rarely capable of a decent rising trot. Some riding schools are there to just take money off customers, pushing them to run before they can walk. This one in particular would take on total beginners and within a few lessons would have them off lead so they could sit in the corner and teach. It is a shame as some I have come across are turning into neat little riders but have had their confidence knocked.

Where I currently am, we spent a lot of time working towards children riding off lead to keep them safe and confident. Helpers are put through their RS assistance cert, given a free lesson, customers are encouraged to do things for themselves to improve their stable management (i.e - putting their horses away/untacking) we do progressive tests for all customers and review their goals. Our horses are very forgiving and are slow and steady for the novices but are capable of working forwards and into an outline.

I do think some RS can produce some very capable riders and provide some good experience providing they are run well with happy horses and they look after their customers.

 

[Perfect_Pirouette]

Some are good, some are bad.

Ultimately, whichever someone rides in, unless they go 3 x a week or more they will not get as much experience as someone who owns/loans/shares their own.

There is only so much you can learn in one hour a week.

 

[Vixen Van Debz]

I would have grooms/stablehands on a wage: not rely on teenage girls to do it for free as it ends up disorganised and often there's a row/bitch-fest going on.

I'd have grooms bring horses for the next lesson on the dot: I used to look at the book and have the horse ready for the next lesson and it was ALWAYS on time! My current lesson usually starts one hour late, and that's with 15mins in-between. (The place I worked at ran back to back and was on time).

I'd have a range of horses, including schoolmasters. I hate that my last two yards essentially buy cheap bog ponies, break them in, loan them out for their first year or so after breaking, then use them in the RS. I'm interested in dressage and the current ponies have no idea what an outline is: I am teaching the ponies more than I'm being taught. (It is of course almost immediately wiped out by kids riding and being happy with lazy paces).

I'd allow electronic payment including booking online. Getting the right change is necessary, as yards often don't have change and make you feel like an arse for only having £20 notes from the ATM.

I'd put names on stable doors. I hate going onto a yard full of horses, getting told a name of a horse and having no idea which one it is, as I like to say hello and groom where possible. All biters need warning signs too: our yard has a few confirmed biters, and 95% time there are no warnings about them.

I'd have a proper crop-keep: I hate RS crops being missing ends, tops, horridly bent, sometimes with the white plastic shaft exposed. Keep them tidy, to hand and in good working condition!

I could go on...

 

[Tnavas]

Vixen Van Debs

My helpers ranged from 7yrs old to mid teens - I had a yard supervisor that kept an eye on all the kids when I was not able to. I kept an eye oout for bullying/bitching and grounded a few over the years - they weren't allowed to help for a month!

We got a lot of ponies from our local knacker man - its amazing what people chuck out mainly because manners have been forgotten! A few weeks of knowledgeable handling had them in line again.

All my riders were expected to own their own helmet (once they were cantering) and they all had to have their own short whip, once a rider went in a group lesson they were expected to allways carry a whip - learning to hold and use a whip correctly was important.

Helpers had a list of ponies/horses they were responsible for. They had to have the pony clean and tacked up for relevent lessons - we had 15 mins between classes to allow instructors to have a break, talk with parents etc. All horses and ponies came in by 7:30 on weekends - first lesson at 8:45. Responsibility was considered important and if anyone delegated the preparation of a pony to someone else they were still held responsible for the pony being ready.

The helpers prepared the lunch feeds - which they loved doing, as soon as the last pony had been untacked they then all took feeds around as quickly as possible. They were expected to pick up any dung and keep their ponies water topped up.

While ponies were out on lessons the kids would be out in the paddocks picking up poo. Other than that they were free to play with the ponies, up the hay barn and have fun.

I'm still in touch with some of my helpers, now 15 years since I've seen them, most have responsible jobs and I've had many letters of thanks for giving them a great grounding on the responsibilies of working. Several of them are now parents.

I always tried to remember an old Chinese saying - 'Work without reward is punishment'

only twice in 9 years did I have to be tough when mucking out wasn't done - the free ride was cancelled! We had a big debate - I wasn't being fair and me saying why shoould I pay you if you haven't done the work? They all eventually accepted the situation and the next week the paddocks were mucked out in record time.

I really loved having the school - one of my 'helpers' made a comment the other day about me being her 'weekend mum' - she now has her daughter riding at the same school.

 

[elliefiz]

I've ridden a few times at my local RS and have had a great experience. I own my own horse but hadn't ridden whilst he was in a different country for 3 years so wanted to get back into it before I brought him to the UK. Very very impressed with the way it was run and the lovely ponies - I didnt have a lesson as I was hacking out with an adult group once a week but they did insist I do a 30 min private lesson to assess my abilities first which I though was v prudent of them and which was enjoyable. I did get to watch some lessons and was impressed to see things like lateral work being taught- a far cry from my childhood lessons with 12 other kids and all we learned was walk, trot, canter and jump and our round the world exercises! My most recent experience did change my views on riding schools- I would now maybe consider sending my children to one where as beforehand I definitely wouldn't have bothered!

 

[RuthM]

Tnavas - I'd like to see a whole horse world like that.

I almost replied when you first posted because there was such a clear balance between consideration of horses AND the people, I think 7yr old kids are absolutely people!

I worked for rides as a kid and pretty much got no favours, I got stuck in the rough end but had plenty of riding. At 16 I got out of the rough end through the Youth Training Scheme and entered a yard that was disciplined, on time, and had super horses. Like you talk about people still in touch, I worked the same place for 20 yrs and have remained close friends. In my world 16was adult so they were never second parents, in fact one was a child, but they feel like part of my extended family and always will.

It is possible even in busy commercial yards to look out for the next generation in their own right and whether or not they have super parents.

 

[Tnavas]

Thanks RuthM - I guess having been one of the dedicated kids that worked every hour of the day at weekends and haunted the RS in school holidays and rarely got the precious extra lesson I remembered what it was like and I didn't want my helpers to feel like that. While I may not have got the riding I hoped for I learnt so much from the RS's I was at.

I'd still be there if the greedy school owner hadn't decide to not renew the lease. He certainly got a bigger and better school back - it wasn't running at a profit when I first took it over, with hard work and the dedicated help from the pony mad kids we built the school up into one of the biggest in NZ. At one time when we had our annual inspection the inspector from ILPH remarked that we were the best school she had inspected and wished we were based in her home town.

 

[Littlelegs]

Like anything else, there's good & bad. Two near me are at opposite ends of the spectrum. One is badly run, no one decent goes there so horses only ridden by beginners, they teach a lot of pulling & kicking & make out that being able to hold onto a horses mouth over a 2' fence is the height of experience. I once watched an advanced class learn lateral work, this consisted of jogging up centre line with a grip of steel on the reins, then pulling inside rein & kicking with inside leg, resulting in horses falling through outside shoulder to track. Apparently this was leg yield, shoulder in or half pass dependent on how overbent horse was. Complete disgrace, but sadly the poor riders are led to believe they are highly experienced.
On the other hand, another school will only keep the ploddy types for a few years to avoid souring, the horses for advanced riders are competed by some pupils & hunted by the family & are more likely to be taken for comp horses than rs horses. Very high standards of teaching, small classes & riders taught how to work a horse correctly. Also whilst they are praised etc, pupils are made aware that riding skill is not limited to the advanced classes taught there, & there's more to learn.
And in fairness to rs, its unrealistic to expect a pupil to achieve in one hours ride a week the same as a child raised round them riding daily.

 

[lizziegoos]

I attended a huge commercially run RS for 8 months P lesson 2xs a week moving to hack once a week & group once a week.I restarted riding after a 15 year break. the horses there work up to 10 hour days. No days off. My first instructor was energetic, caring of horse & rider, understanding & professional.She left.My second one drove me to leave.Stated I was a 'wally', laughed at me,degoratory comments & im bored attitude in all my p lessons.I had absolute canter fear to point of panic attacks, the lot (due to a horsey accident before starting there on a friends horse). Her attitude made my fear worse.Anyhow I found a small friendly RS closer by & what a difference it has made to my riding.Here I am now taking my stage 1 BHS (which I was told I was too old at the ex- RS to do), cantering diff horses (all panic attks/nerves fone) cantering poles/small jumps, cantering no stirrups in 20cm& 10 cm circles in group lessons i am the more advanced rider and have achieved 3 rosettes in 4 weeks of starting at my current RS. I have had to relearn my leg & hands outline - was taught very 'old school' at my ex RS. My horsey friend has stated the commercial RS kept me 'down' physicolgically to keep me paying out for lessons 2 xs a week. I was their fav.cash cow! The new RS i started stating I would be continuing other lessons elsewhere (as a test) but they couldnt care less about making me money out of me. THeir horses are alot more forward going and therefore enjoy my soft hands and not constantly told to kick kick kick just to move to a walk! At my ex RS I was told I wasnt never kicking enough.
Anyhow my new RS is perfect in all ways & I do groundwork & helping out for free to help my exp before purchasing my own horse when Im more experienced. My RS encourage all the basics of horse care & i have a quiz each week on a diff subject of this. So does all the other pupils young or old! My ex-RS told me I was too 'old' to learn stable management/care unless i paid them £25 to muck their horses out & they tell me bits of info.Yeah Right???!!

 

[igglepop]

I think my only thing with them is that lack of reality installed in riders advanced class isn't advanced. Yes there are good and bad schools I've went to one and left the class after 10 mins with a very vocal comment of "if the instructor can't see the hoping lame horse i don't want to know" went to another and was told they had horses that could teach me to sit bucks a rears, also told i would properly fall off but in the long run it would be worth it, i liked that one very much.