Standards in riding teaching AGAIN

[eahotson]

Watched a so called instructor a few weeks ago teaching a young girl who was extremely unbalanced in trot HOW TO CANTER! I know riding schools have their problems but surely they should be concentrating on the basics i.e a secure independant seat at walk to begin with and some understanding of the aids and how to apply them. This gives pupils a good foundation to build on if they wish. You trust your instructor and if they say something is correct you believe them.After 2 or 3 years of 'lessons!' you may, not unreasonably, feel that you should be able to cope with a horse of your own! Enter accidents, loss of confidence etc. When my step son wanted to learn to play the saxaphone we looked for a good instructor. We have no real knowledge of music or playing any instrument ourselves. His teacher/instructor entered him, as time went on, in graded exams all of which he passed and in a couple of years he was a competent player of the saxaphone. Compare and contrast to what happens in many riding establishments.

 

[AmyMay]

Canter is by far the easier pase - so actually wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[matthew]

Not if your heaving at the horses mouth to balance you and /or droping the contact its not!

 

[eahotson]

This girl was VERY unbalanced falling forwards and backwards and her hands shooting up in the air in TROT. Sorry but I feel there was something very wrong there. I have seen GOOD teachers teach total novices and they have NEVER done that.

 

[moocow]

totally agree. A few months ago i stoped going to a school cos of the exact sample thing. I watched a person who had only had 8 lessons be put into the advanced ride. He could (apparently) walk trot and canter. Th etruth of the matter was that he had a good sense of balance, sat quite relaxed and kicked for excelleration and pulled reins for brakes. He was put on a very quite riding school horse. But if that horse put a foot off the track, he would have been out the side door. the same riding school I witnessed the owner giving a lesson saying that the best way to ride is totally floppy and to go faster, give the reins and lean forward and then to stop, lean back and pull. This is a BHS approved school and i know for a fact they have never been out to inspect and just continually renew the approval every year.....

 

[eahotson]

I also have been to some very bad BHS approved schools. They seem to feel that so long as you have had a walk, trot and canter you have had a LESSON. My instructor knows quite a good young stage 2 aspiring instructor who went for some work and experience atone of these BHS places and she tried to teach a novice properly keeping mainly to the walk and was told to hurry up and get pupil trotting regardless really of whether they were ready or not.

 

[ArleyMoss]

I can tell you now for a fact that BHS approved Riding schools do not look at the standard of teaching, but look at horse welfare and standard H&S. The only reason I will be applying early next year, is I've found out I will get £500 knocked off my insurance bill.

I have to say, not all riding schools are bad, and at least 40% of my clients are ex-clients of other riding schools.

 

[ArleyMoss]

[ QUOTE ]
My instructor knows quite a good young stage 2 aspiring instructor who went for some work and experience atone of these BHS places and she tried to teach a novice properly keeping mainly to the walk and was told to hurry up and get pupil trotting regardless really of whether they were ready or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Give her our number when she gets her PPT, her standard of teaching is what we expect from our instructors and we even teach (wait for this) the clients 'to go off the leg' and kicking isn't allowed!

 

[annaellie]

God I wish the riding school owner were I worked had that policy. I taught at a large riding school and after doing a lot of dressage lessons on own horse and having sharp horses the concept of kicking is strange to me, but other instructors had clients like they were on thelwell ponies and when I came asked them to apply the leg aid they looked at me as though I was thick and 1 said oh you mean kick, This was the advanced jumping lesson by the way, so I took them all back to basics needless to say the horses did not respond very well to a squeze of the leg. After a year 1 client loaned a tb type her first words to me was if i kicked him the way I was origanlly taught I would be on ground more than on his back. There are some good schools but as you said some very bad.

 

[metalmare]

I cantered after about 5 lessons when I learned to ride but I had fairly good natural balance and the pony was a rocking chair. It doesn't seem to have done me any harm - considering how litle experience and practice I have compared to other people I think I have a pretty good seat. But if this girl was physically damaging the horse because she was so unbalanced then it doesn't seem right. Still, my 9 year old sister's seat is pretty poor and she has been cantering for years. But then I don't think she will ever have a good seat because she is not committed enough.

 

[ArleyMoss]

I've seen this, where they come from else where and either carry a whip or kick my horse, they are soon shown neither is rarely needed.

I get clients telling me they have been swore at, shouted at, got took off the horse and 'shown' how to ride, lead reins with jumpers in the same class.

I can't believe this hsit goes on, we also capped our group lessons at 4 people!!

 

[teapot]

Dont knock all RS - there are some bloody good ones out there - it's finding them, and yes you do have to pay for the priviledge.

We used to canter the kids who weren't that good in trot as they seemed to progress much better and got trot much quicker once they were cantering. They didnt hold the reins, just the saddle and we'd run along side them holding pony and their lower leg.

And teaching trot properly - if we had one kid who wasn't at same standard or was a bit slower getting the feel of it, instead of making them feel awful. We used to either get someone to help them (one kid - I personally taught within her group lesson for about 3 weeks so we could take the time for her to improve at her own rate)

 

[darksided]

I'm lucky to have found a fantastic one, with great horses, and we have an AMAZING instructor- she is seriously top-notch. Everything she says is constructive and helpful, and she is exceptionally patient and encouraging.
However I have seen people at schools elsewhere jumping before they are ready, and being put in the advanced classes before they have got their canter right.

 

[ArleyMoss]

[ QUOTE ]
Dont knock all RS - there are some bloody good ones out there - it's finding them, and yes you do have to pay for the priviledge.


[/ QUOTE ]

Trust me, I'm not knocking them all, there is good and bad in everything in life!

 

[eahotson]

I know one good riding school. There are some good ones BUT there are far too many bad ones. The BHS has started this pony club centre idea where you don't have to have a pony to join. Good idea in theory. The BHS is going to make a lot of money from it. Some of the centres will no doubt be excellent but there will be a lot of poor ones BUT people will think Oh must be o.k if the BHS says so.

 

[annaellie]

Its not about how many lessons someone has had people learn to ride at different rates its how there taught and if there balanced enough to move up. The school I worked on would have upto 8 clients on a lesson which I disliked having so many on but hey it was not my place to demand littler classes I asked but it remained the same but If someone was not up to the standered of the class they were on at the end when I give each rider a summary of how they done I would advise them to move to another class but but it in a good way so they did not feel bad. When you have 8 in a class you simply can not put enough time in one who is lacking behind because its the other riders on the group that suffer and I found trying to keep them in a class thats to advanced only stresses them out more cause they worry about what they will have to do next.

 

[teapot]

[ QUOTE ]
The BHS has started this pony club centre idea where you don't have to have a pony to join.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not a new idea - my yard's been a PC centre for about 3 years now and dont think BHS get any money from it

 

[eahotson]

Well under the new scheme I think they do as the children pay so much to join the pony club. They get a pretty jersey and a badge and in SOME places. little else.

 

[teapot]

Money goes back into the PC - seperate to the BHS

Membership is £50 a year and can get their badges, tests etc and generally have a good time

Membership to the BHS (over 21 rate) is £50 and you get nothing other than a magazine

 

[metalmare]

At my riding school the rule was (verl loosely) that you stayed in individual lessons until you could comfortably rise to the trot (if you don't want to canter you can trot around to the back then). I gave up on group lessons eventually because they were holding me back and I needed one to one attention. Now I just can't afford to go full stop.

 

[the watcher]

I don't think this is a new problem, I bought my first pony after 18 months of lessons..boy what a shock that was! Spent more time being thrown off for the first year than I did on board, I was at my wit's end until I found a very good dressage instructor for one to one instruction.
I do know of good riding schools, but now know that the one I went to wasn't one of those!

 

[darksided]

Lol that happened at mine. Then I didn't renew my membership and they started a winter showjumping series with a championship and stuff.... gutted!

I suppose I couldn't afford it anyway... over £30 for a pony club day and it's summat like £15 for every rally... I'd be completely broke.

 

[teapot]

All the kids at my yard were on LRHs only until they had the basics of rising trot - didnt have to be perfect but they had to have done it previously

All the kids are also hacked out every 4 weeks so they dont rely on an arena as comfort

 

[ArleyMoss]

[ QUOTE ]


All the kids are also hacked out every 4 weeks so they dont rely on an arena as comfort

[/ QUOTE ]

I like that idea!

 

[teapot]

In fact - every group from beginners to adults hack every 4th week, bar those who obviously ride at 4pm as it's dark so can't.

But yup - works really well. Also means kids and ponies dont get bored

 

[sojeph]

I think alot of it depends on how they feel about their horses. My daughter attends a riding school every week and her instructor certainly would not tolerate that! Her horses/ponies (every single one of them) compete/go out regularly either hunting in winter or to local shows throughout the summer and all pupils get the opportunity to take their favorite pony to one of these events when they are competent enough but not until. She absolutely will not tolerate any flapping of any sort

 

[ilvpippa]

my riding school is amazing the horses are not your typical riding school horses we have different ones at different abiliities old horses young horses etc and we are a pony club center and its really good as my instructor actuall does alot with it eg compatitions etc

 

[JessPickle]

I HATE how people generalise about riding schools they arnt all the same! plus I expect most people on here learnt to ride at one! but of course once you own a horse people feel its allright to slag of meer "riding schools"

Fine maybe this girl didnt have the most balanced trot but you probably havent watched every lesson she has had! They may have tried everything but found she just finds it very hard and wanted to try her with canter which is a smoother pace.

Pickle is a Working Livery at a brilliant riding school he isnt "ruined" by riding school clients! He is not smacked with a stick constantly, and everyone has to learn somewhere and I really dont care if someone with an unbalanced trot rides him

 

[rach1984horse]

I teach at an ABRS approved riding school. I've only been there for 3 months. The first thing I noticed was that the ponies are all well school, responsive rides that will walk/trot/canter/leg yield without a problem.
However a lot of the pupils there are pushed along quite quickly. I have a girl that has been for 10 lessons and has been put into my pony club with girls who were out doing XC during the summer and want to learn latteral movements etc. At the moment I'm discussing with the yard manager splitting the class because some are being held back whilst others can't keep up in lessons.
I'm not a BHS qualified instructor. I have an HND Horse Management, part of which was teaching. I hate seeing kids pushed too fast. I have one that was a nervous wreck when I started, and now having been taken back a step and the pressure taken off she's doing really well. Her Dad has said he can't belive the difference in her within a couple of months.

I think that within riding schools there can be good and bad instructors. People teach in different ways and I suppose a lot of it comes down to style of teaching and being able to adapt to different pupils.

Personally I'm not a fan of the BHS. Due to health reasons I don't jump, which makes me unable to do my stage 2 and have any chance of getting a BHS teaching qualification. Does this make me a better or worse instructor than someone with it? I don't know. But I go on the feed back I get from my pupils and parents.

 

[Rosyryan]

Sorry to be controversial, but the standard of competence in this Country at the bog-standard riding school is deplorable! Considering that the BHS approval should signify that a reasonable level of competence, welfare and safety are implemented at an establishment, I've sadly seem some establishments which must have been inspected by a visually and aurally challenged BHS inspector! Best incident to date was when a woman who claimed to be an AI ordering a very unstable child to get her pony on the bit! On the bit! The child could just about stay on at walk in a straight line!