Schooling pet hates...

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Sophstar

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Now if you want to school your pony/horse, how, when, and what you do are all your own choice however in my mind I am asking the question 'what does an hour of full blast cantering round the school teach your pony or improve the fact there isn't much control there?':rolleyes:

I appreciate schooling isn't for everyone (my cob who used to flick the off switch as soon as he ever went in!) and some days you go in and come out not achieving very much, but I believe you should school with a goal/target to improve on, no matter how small or minor it is. When I schooled my cob an aim of reminding him he can bend left was a popular lesson:D

Another schooling pet hate I have is your horse is young, nervous and not very established on the flat BUT IT CAN JUMP, so you jump EVERY time you go in the school. Not schooling over jumps but have a blast, jump a jump...repeat till you have jumped enough...leave school.

Your schooling pet hates?:rolleyes::)
 
I have a few.. people who ride with really really tight reins, yanking on the horse's mouth whilst pushing them more & more with the leg until the horse is going round like a giraffe in really tight 10m circles.. oh & the horse is 4 & they wonder why it keeps injurying tendons/ligaments.

& I'm with you people who's youngsters have done no schooling but can jump massive!!
 
Schooling in general is my personal pet hate lol. I don't enjoy it, I'm not very good at it and I'd much rather have a nose in peoples gardens on a hack. lol
 
Schooling is my pet hate:p:D

I am one of those dreadful people who had a blast in canter as part of a session... the cob I rode was a bit sour in the school (he was an RS / RDA pony so got a bit bored) so for him, the chance to have a little hooley around was a welcome change and livened him up for other things.;)
 
Straight arms with sawing hands to get them on the bit... See it at PC camp with the 12/13yo kids who know that their pony should be 'on the bit' but haven't got the tools or knowledge to actually do it properly. Luckily, our branch is massively 'on it' about that, but it bugs me so much!

People who persistently kick for a long stride into fences because a flyer makes them look so cool. No matter that getting in deep is preferable and teaches more, and is most likely safer... (so guilty of that, but because I get so nervous I will suddenly kick for a long one)
 
Erm my inability to ride the pony properly for flat work :rolleyes:, he is a stubborn opinionated git and plays all my weaknesses to his full advantage :mad:. Dont worry though have an instructor working us both but its giong to be a long road.

In other people the sawing to get the head down :mad: and taking the horses teeth out over a fence because you cant balance and are insecure, I'd rather fall off than have a picture of my horse over bent over a jump where the rider is taking its teeth out (this was posted on fb by some one I know).
 
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People who think there's only one 'right' way of doing anything, rather than working with the horse as an individual.

And back in the days when I used to have lessons at a riding school as a child, being barked orders at...invariably by an interchangeable selection of women in green quilted coats called Sarah :D (no offence to anyone here called Sarah...other names are available)
 
claireandnadia said:
Schooling in general is my personal pet hate lol. I don't enjoy it, I'm not very good at it and I'd much rather have a nose in peoples gardens on a hack. lol
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I'm with you!

When I take my horse over to the menage we both give each other a look that says "really?"

Doesn't help schooling begrudgingly!
 
PaddyMonty said:
People who when asked the question "what are you trying to achieve in this session" answer "dont know really :rolleyes:
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Some people might say this because they are embarrassed to say "well I would really like to be able to ride like Mark Todd but I feel like I am a bit pants and I don't really know where to start - please help me".

It can be hard for people who don't have regular lessons to articulate their aspirations. Equally they may also be struggling to establish what a sensible realistic target might be.

For example, say newer horse owners who have previously only had structured 'instruction' at riding schools may initially need some help developing their ideas of what 'schooling' entails.

I don't think you were meaning these type of people so much though ;)
 
Like lolo, the hands thing. I hate seeing people doing what looks like the actions for 'row row row your boat' on the end of the reins.
People who immediately blame the horse without ever thinking they could be at fault.
Any equipment being used incorrectly or for the wrong reasons, this includes snaffles.
Endless kicking & booting.
And not keen in schooling endlessly in arenas. Much more enjoyable & constructive to school on hacks with occasional use of arena. Or riding in a field when hacking difficult. Except maybe for jumping.
People who try & school when their clueless on the subject. We all start somewhere but no excuse for not trying to improve yourself before you start on the horse, instructors are available for a reason!
 
PaddyMonty said:
People who when asked the question "what are you trying to achieve in this session" answer "dont know really :rolleyes:
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Unless she knows you or has actually planned a response, you'll get that from Al. Who does know exactly what she wants, but is queen of brain blanks. To the point at a rally she was asked to describe what her pony (as in what they'd been doing- everyone else had managed to say 'competing at x level, aiming for y'... Al replied with "She's bay".

But I do agree with you on principle, if they actually don't know!
 
Suziq77 said:
Some people might say this because they are embarrassed to say "well I would really like to be able to ride like Mark Todd but I feel like I am a bit pants and I don't really know where to start - please help me".
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I really meant plan for that specific schooling session such as more jump in canter, better downward transition etc etc.
Dont even get started on people wanting to compete succesfully yet have no specific goal or action plan to achieve it.
Guess I'm just too goal orientated. :o
 
- draw reins every session
- someone riding the horse behind the vertical and still yanking it even further (ok pretty much rolkur)
- galloping flat out for half an hour (though I do understand that with some horses, they need the rider to get off their back and have extended canter a few times round the menage to wake them up.)
- see- sawing the bit to make them round
- The horse going painfully slowly with his head stuck out in front of him. It makes me annoyed really if I see any horse going at a really slow trot (and I mean barely above walk).
- people nagging with their legs with massive spurs on (though I have been known to nag but don't wear spurs)
- people jumping every session
 
I used to see someone schooling who told us her horse was only safe to ride in small circles, so that was all she ever did, just 10m circles in walk, trot and canter the entire time, no going straight to warm up or cool down.
Another thing that annoys me is most people that use draw reins- I have seen them used correctly and know many people do, but it seems that everyone up my old yard who used to use them was only doing so to pin their horses head down- and then they pressured me to do the same!
 
PaddyMonty said:
I think we would get on very well ;)
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You might find teaching me slightly frustrating - my trainer bellowed "you're so bl**dy busy worrying you aren't as good as Mark Todd that you forget to relax and just get on with it" the other day :eek:

I do have a tendency to obsess slightly..... but if you ever find yourself in Kent l have two lovely six year olds that I ought to jump a bit more :)

Sorry for thread hijack, lots of my pet hates have been said already.

ETA: For anyone who may be wondering no, it isn't enough for me to be able to ride reasonably competently and yes it is imperative that I seek to emulate the very best even though I torture myself trying to get there
 
People who school/warm-up in a shared environment but don't know the rules (left to left etc) or know them but are so busy looking at their horse's neck they are oblivious to what is going on around them!
 
PaddyMonty said:
I have Mark Todds mobile number if you want it :p
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aaarrrrggggghhhhhhhhh wowowowow do you think he can help me???? :D

I saw him at Hadlow College back in March, pretty inspirational stuff really - just watching him ride different horses and talk about what he was feeling from them/what he was working on. It was also good to see that no one just gets on and has their horse going like clockwork from beginning to end of session :D
 
redredruby said:
A spreadsheet? Oh my, this fills me with joy :D

Please can you share a little bit? I love a good spreadsheet! :D
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Endless possibilities with spreadsheets
You can have multiple page ones with a page for each weeks exercise routine
Another for objectives for each schooling session
Then a 3rd for tracking performance against objectives
A 4th for planned comps with options for deviation based on outcome.
5th one for overall goals with milestones and timeline
The fun is endless. Best of all you can do it all at work. No one ever looks at the content of the spreadsheet you have open, just that you have one open. :D
 
...also people who stay only on the outside track and essentially just do laps around the school! even when I was being taught at a riding school, we never stayed on the outside track...people seem to think the inside track, circles, serpentines etc are forbidden land:rolleyes:
 
Last night my pet hate was being cannoned into by someone apparently teaching their horse flying changes. As the horse was going with its ears in riders eyes at break neck speed on the incorrect lead, I can only assume the exercise was not going well. Each to their own I suppose, but coming towards me and my 5yr old at this speed and ramming us into the boards was not the ideal way for us to prepare for a busy warm-up at RC dressage on Sunday! And if someone has asked you politely twice to watch where they are going, they should not look shocked and hurt when they are shouted at on the 3rd request to stop using my horse as a buffer when they cannot stop! Grrrrrrrr!rant over!!
 
redredruby said:
A spreadsheet? Oh my, this fills me with joy :D

Please can you share a little bit? I love a good spreadsheet! :D
Click to expand...

PaddyMonty said:
The fun is endless. Best of all you can do it all at work. No one ever looks at the content of the spreadsheet you have open, just that you have one open. :D
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Yep, this is how I spend my working week. I also have a page for competitions (one page per horse) with details of the event, date, venue, distance of venue from yard, estimated travelling time, judges, closing date for entries etc.

ETA: I haven't added a page for potential deviations depending on outcome of earlier events yet, I like that idea...... entries for some shows close so early that I have to do them in blocks.
 
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Suziq77, I know exactly where you're coming from. From being about 12 I had paper charts on my bedroom wall with schooling & aims with little boxes to colour in! And up until she injured herself always had a written plan for mine, now its just a case of keeping her where she is & having fun while she isn't showing her age. Youngsters & projects I don't plan too far ahead with but I do have goals & plans, just not too rigid as far too many variables. That said, I will change daily plans if I think that the horse just isn't in the most receptive mood for learning that day.
And re mark Todd- if you aim for the top & don't make it you will be better than if you aim low & succeed. Incidentally, I spent my teens modelling my position on Olympic dressage riders. I'm not there yet but a lot closer than I would be if I'd aimed to ride like the best rider I personally knew at the time.
 
My own personal schooling pet hate is that every day I am too hard on myself. I have a young horse and a very critical instructor so I always feel like I should be doing better, when really I should be happy with all the baby steps we are making. It's meant to be fun after all! If I get 5 mins of lovely trot, and 30 of rubbish trot, I'm learning to focus on the 5 minutes and work on the positives!
 
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