'Sending' my horse away to be schooled? pros and cons

[anniepeace]

My green horse: part 2!

So my lovely 8yo ISH gelding who I have had two months and I am rapidly learning has done very little!

I am on a steep learning curve and due to his lack of basic education he is very unbalanced, not straight and not working from behind. I am thinking about him going to a trusted trainer who has been woking with us already for 4/5 weeks to work on these basics and help his be fitter and stronger....
I am having lessons with him and taking things slowly....as well as getting his teeth, back, saddle and everything checked. But I am not the most skilful/balanced or experienced rider and don't feel able to help him with these fundamentals.

However I don't know if it is the right thing to do? What are the pros and cons? (apart from missing him!) I will be able to visit as much as I like but he will be over an hour away. I need to make a decision but just at a bit of a loss!

Thank you for any words of wisdom and advice

 

[Proridersj]

I have alot of clients that go through this... And it can be a hard decision to make...
But
On the plus side you will have a horse tomorrow that you didn't have today as long as you trust the trainer because you don't want to give your money away for nothing... Secondly make sure you ride the horse when he is at the trainers yard so you can get a feeling of what horse he's turning into and how things are coming along... I always wants my clients to ride the horse whilst it's still at my yard so they can feel a difference in the horse.
Bottom line is... Go with your gut instinct.... In my life it seems to never be wrong!
Hope this helps

 

[Kylara]

Generally (from my experience of offering this) you'll send away and horse well get intensive training for however many weeks doing things you want, so in this case probably general schooling with a focus on balance etc. I offer one discounted lesson a week with my liveries to help keep owner in the loop about progress, training and to help get both working well together.
Schooling livery is not cheap and may need to go for a few weeks to get the most out of it.
Some of mine get taken out to small local comps or next door to play on the xc.
Cons would be if a long way away may not see for a while, and having to pay 2 lots of livery.
In my opinion the pros outweigh the Cons if you choose the right trainer

 

[paddi22]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing. i sent one away before and it was the best thing i ever did, well worth the money. We would have been struggling with the same issues for months as I didn't have the skillset to fix the issues. It's essential to follow up with lessons with the trainer so you are on the right page and understanding where you and the horse are at. Definitely the right thing to do though, otherwise it';s just easy to spiral into a loop of getting stuck with the same schooling issues. An unbalanced green rider and an unbalanced green horse aren't going to improve eachother at all.

If you think you are lacking balance or skills, its worth going to a good dressage teacher seperately from the horse and working on the lunge on balance etc. And working on getting yourself up a few levels, and riding well schooled horses who give you the feel for what you should be looking for when you ride.

It is a big investment, but in my experience, its worth paying a lot on more for you and the horse to do, say, an two intensive months, rather than wasting cash on a lesson per week where you havent got the skills to progress you or the horse during your schooling time. At the end of the time, you and the horse should come back completely different.

 

[JillA]

Just make sure you visit as often as you can, and if the trainer you have chosen discourages visiting, choose another (I know you say you can but distance limits, but for anyone else thinking about similar). A friend recently sent her unbroken but kind and honest new acquisition to someone she trusted and he came back worried, underweight and unbacked after several weeks. Visit lots in the selection process and then lots more while he is there - from a time point of view there isn't a lot of saving but you are buying their expertise, so make sure it is worth it