Strange/unusual teaching methods

Bettyboo222

Bettyboo222

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How were you taught to ride?

The way I was taught is that you were assessed on a hack where you strictly wern't allowed any sort of rein contact, Then in your lessons following you were led in a headcollar and bareback (or a roller with stirrups once you progressed slightly) When you had a fully independent seat you were given reins then a saddle. I took me about 8 months to progress to having a saddle, it works though!

Other strange things my instructor did

1. made us rest bamboo canes across out elbows to teach us to carry our hands

2. Made us carry cups of water

3. Sit on a piece of coloured paper whilst cantering, everytime you lose the paper = 1 min of trot without stirrups

4. Around the world, half/full siccsors races

5. Ride on the lunge mimicing what the horse was doing with his front legs using our arms.

Please tell me some of you have funny stories too!
 
Done 1,3 4 and 5. I have also done lunge trotting without stirrups with a bamboo cane behind my back threaded through my elbows, ride bareback backwards. Jump bareback. Wouldn't do it now unless I had a whither less horse... I don't think my foo foo ever recovered. Learn Indian swing on a fence which had a few old blankets wrapped around it with baling twine. It hurt if you landed awkward. I just remember never getting good enough to get past sitting trot for years. All I wanted to do was canter! I did this later in life though....

I don't think these were strange or unusual tbh. It's how everyone learned before the BHS standardised everything and did away with classical methods of old. I think in Europe, many establishments still do this and it would make a huge difference here if we all learned to ride this way. When I first learned, it was on a saddle in a school but we did around the world and a few others just not the bareback bit.... H&S was already taking hold in the 80's...

Doubt many establishments now would get away with it nowadays... Shame.
 
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We used to have to do round the world or something called thread the needle I think? while our ponies were walking and if anyone slid off they owed our instructor a chocolate bar. After sliding off once no one ever did it again. Did all the usual things like sitting on a piece of paper in canter and if we lost it she would take our stirrups away for the rest of the lesson.
 
Never had formal lessons till I was a working pupil, just learnt with help from others, riding mostly bareback & doing mad kid stuff. Did work for a great, but slightly mad person though. He'd threaten to gaffer tape your elbows at your sides if they moved or to the reins if you let them slip an inch. Would also make comments like 'try some leg yielding in trot, but you're so crap you'll probably f up even something that simple'. Not the most orthodox method & not for anyone nervous, but for me I'd make more effort just to piss him off that I could do it. Quite a bad tempered man really, told me to do collected canter & changes once with his kids ploddy first pony just so he could scream I'd failed, but fairs fair, he did improve my riding a load.
 
Bettyboo222 said:
Oh! Did the YMCA over a grid of jumps as well! Forgot about that one
Click to expand...

I did that out of fun one day - needless to say.. I fell off and we knocked down 3 of the 4 jumps. It went like Y M -C S**t - Ow! :rolleyes::p

Like "americanqh" - I have lost many chocolate bars to a previous instructor. :p
I learned more though in half an hour than I did in half a year! :p
 
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I've done most of this, though mostly not at RS or under instruction. The joys of having total free rein with your pony as a teenager, due to non-horsey parents and non-interventionist livery :cool:

Used to trot J down to the field bareback, in headcollar, no hat, drinking from a can of coke :o Riding backwards, side saddle (without tack), playing musical instruments while riding, carrying flags, hacking in the dark (often bareback or tackless), jumping down grids without tack/reins/stirrups/putting jacket on/doing YMCA/ playing a recorder etc, dismounting however you see fit, throwing yourself into haybale jumps and pretending to be a stunt rider :cool:

In fact, after sitting on F about 3 times, I was on him tackless in my field in the dark :p
 
This thread is bringing back good memories! Amongst a lot of what has already been mentioned, our instructor used to make us do falling off practice. The one with the most enthusiastic dive off and good roll away technique got mountains of praise!
 
Does anyone remember the 'pirate' game? In a menage, the 4 corners were base and every where else was the sea, if the instructor yelled charge you had to get to the corner, if you were the last one you got a piece of tack removed. This continued until noone had any tack :)
 
I remember having my stirrups removed from my saddle for being cheeky to my instructor, then pony decided to be a turd and refuse to do any work. Cue instructor grabbing it by the bridle and giving it about 5 whacks on the arse with a whip, then saying 'good luck, he's going to fly' before letting go. Pony put head between legs and threw in a few mega bucks before tanking off around the arena. I did stay on though!
I also had a crate thrown at me after numerous threats that if I didn't get that pony over the jump he would chuck something at it an that would get him over the fence...I never doubted instructors intentions again after that! Lol I loved the lack of H&S, was a much better rider as a kid because of it!
 
was taught to "gallop" by a mad old traveller who ran a RS [ & i use the term very loosely] - once he decided that you were "ready" - all the kids & ponies were taken to the "big field" - pones were lined up - they all knew exactly what was happening - he then gave one of them a slap on the butt & off we went - if you didnt fall off you could gallop - i dont remember anyone ever getting injured there - the only accidents occured when his very evil goat ran up behind you & attacked you
 
We used to play tig & hide & seek (the race back to home version) in some fields that used to have some woods in. Favourite was racing up a hill with arms & legs out to side, stirrups crossed & reins tied. Also jumping anything that looked like it might stay still long enough. Another was jockey length stirrups & all around the world hacking bareback. Just added to the fun if pony cantered off whilst you were backwards.
 
Not so much a teaching technique, more of a "days gone by" thing that we got away with!

Prentending to be in the grand national with friends, on the beach on our little connies. Needless to say, stirrups wear so short (to get the proper jockey position) a wave came in, my faithful old pony did a body swerve and I found myself riding thin air. Sploosh, straight into the sea!

Pony eventually came back and we dumped saddles with a poor lifeguard and all road home barebackl through the town. Why? Who knows, seems like a great idea! We must of looked like the travellers had arrived in town!
 
I got my reins taken away by my old instructor. I was riding an ex race Horse and RI told me over and over again that I rely on my hands way too much too slow the Horse. She said she would give me one more chance and if I used the rein too much and not enough seat, she would take them. So she did. I done the whole jumping lesson after with my hands on my head!
 
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