Should riding be taught this way?????

charlimouse

charlimouse

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I had a text from a lady I teach today, just to clarify that when a pony cuts a corner you should use your inside leg to push the pony into your outside hand, therefore creating the inside flexion etc. I replied yes, and asked why she needed to know. I was a bit surprised to hear that she had taken her friends daughter to a riding lesson where they had been told to pull the ponies head to the outside to keep the ponies out. The friends daughter is a competant rider, she doesn't have her own pony but rides a friends pony every week, and has done small RC competitions. She is more than capable of riding correctly, but now thinks that if the pony cuts in you just pull its head to the outside, which is completly wrong!!!!! I am constantly amazed at how badly many riding schools teach riding, and surely many of these people are the horse owners of the future????? Surely riding schools should teach correct riding, not just how to pull these unfortunate ponies around???? Surely a pony/horse that does not understand inside leg to outside hand is not schooled sufficiently to be used in a riding school??????

So what do you guys think, is it too much to expect that a riding school should teach correct riding
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???????
 
Hello!

When I went to a riding school corners was one of the first things they taught us! We were always told to flex! Is the riding school bhs registered?
 
If the daughter is young, then for a quick fix then yes- if she's over the age of about 10 or pretty experienced (rider, not the person who took her) then it's wrong. Until she's mastered basic control there's no point, especiually if they were working on their position...
 
I've ridden at far too many of these types of riding schools and fortunately know better now, and avoid them! However I did spend a few years riding at one place when I was younger, not realizing that I was learning nothing and my riding was actually getting worse O.o
Many riding schools I have been to use young, badly behaved, extremely old (supposedly retired!) and noticeably lame horses, and most horses have some serious schooling issues in one way or another.

When I posted the other week about looking for a riding school locally and stated in my post about why exactly I wanted to find a new RS, and the standards of some, some people seemed shocked by a few of the things I mentioned - especially riding instructors teaching not because they are interested in /teaching/ people, but just in the money. And yes - I have had a riding instructor state that as a fact to me. It's easy to believe when you see some of the poor standards of teaching
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Maybe it really is too much to expect that a riding school should teach correct riding... :/
 
most horses/ponies I have ridden in several riding schools I have ridden in have not understood what inside leg to outside hand means.

Interestingly at the end of my RS career it took me a long time to discover proper use of the outside rein.
 
My friends mum went to a riding school that used to have a very good rep. for some lessons. She was told to stop the horse she should lift her hands up and into her chest.
She was also told to have the stirrup on the bridge of her foot.
When my friend found out she went along and asked what qualifications the instructor had. The were doing an NQV, which I'm pretty sure means she shouldn't be teaching unsupervised and I'm not sure if they would be insured.
My friend is now teaching her mum her self.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My friends mum went to a riding school that used to have a very good rep. for some lessons. She was told to stop the horse she should lift her hands up and into her chest.
She was also told to have the stirrup on the bridge of her foot.
.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've seen this recently too, and hate to say it was stood open mouthed!!
As an instructor, I can see from both sides regarding the cornering issue! Often RS ponies are nose to tail and will whizz round corners to keep up - the children (youngish children) don't have any strength and can not ride leg/hand independantly, so their first line of control is to bend the pony the wrong way - in riding school terms 'steering'. Yes it is wrong, but with some ponies and kids its the way it happens - sadly.
 
My friends daughter is 13, there were adults in the lesson aswell. The girl is happy to walk, trot, canter, can jump about 2'6". My friend is annoyed because she has been teaching the daughter on the friends pony every week (she is not an instructor, but has been riding and owned horses for 40 years!)Now the daughter thinks my friend has been teaching her wrong, because a "proper" teacher has told her to pull the ponies head out. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!
 
The first riding school I ever went to (just outside Montreal, Canada), had us all pulling the outside rein for everything. I rode there for a long time (it was the only school I could get to by bus as I was a kid and my mum didn't own a car) and it's taken me a LONG time to get rid of that habit and even now, I still catch myself using the outside rein when I'm not concentrating.
 
As a general rule there is no point teaching inside leg into outside hand until the rider has mastered and understandfs basic 3/4 line to track leg yielding.

With riders that have not learnt this I would either ignore a small amount of corner cutting or put markers in each corner for the rider to go around the outside, rather than just saying pull the outside rein! The end result would be that the outside rein would get pulled to go around the marker, but I find it much more effectual(and less pulling) if there is a visible obstacle to go around.
 
I was always taught to put on the inside leg, to incourage the horse/pony to move away from the pressure.

It always worked with mine, and is correct, but to my amazment, after riding RS ponies, many of them dont understand this ' subtle' command, and sadly expect to be yanked into a corner.

Just like, to 'make' your pony canter you should kick like heck, WTF.

Sadly all too many RS intructors do not know how to ride correctly
 
I failed my BHS Stage One riding test on a pair of really shocking riding school ponies, as did all but one of the people who were there that day. I'm not saying I'm all that as a rider but I'm basically proficient. These RS ponies had no idea of the correct aids, subtle or otherwise and were clearly used to just ambling along doing their own thing at their own speed nose to tail.
 
Amazingly, insurance companies do not always insist that riding schools only use qualified instructors!

Obviously to qualify for BHS approval you have to use properly qualified instructors, but it's not always an insurance requirement. I was shocked!
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Sorry but riding schools drive me mad, why do they not teach people to ride properly! I have had a couple of sharers for my pony both from ridding schools and they dont even know what the right diagnol is???!!! Also know a few people that have lessons at riding schools and they are the same kick to make the horse move and pull hard on the reins to stop.

I know there are some good ones out there but seems like most of them are after the money.
 
Simple question.

Where was the rider looking and turning her body to? Most of us anticipate corners and look towards the exit from the corners before we even get there - so if the horse cuts the corner it is often only doing what you have (albeit unconsciously) asked it to do!

Adjustment to rider needed! Leave the pony alone!
 
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