Trainer or Instructor

[fairhill]

I was just wondering what the difference (if any!) is between having lessons with a trainer compared to an instructor... I've added a poll to make it a bit more interesting...

 

[eventingdiva]

don't know if there is a difference?! i called him a trainer because thats what he refers to himself as! x

 

[fairhill]

I guess I was wondering if there is a cut-off point where you start having lessons with a 'trainer'. Is it related to the level of riding/competing, or is it just arbitary depending on how the instructors refer to themselves, as it seems in your case.

 

[riotgirl]

Not sure of the difference tbh. I have sessions a couple of times a week from my lovely next-door neighbour.

 

[Marquire]

Both my lesson are with 'Trainers'.

One of them made a point of saying at the onset that they were not there to 'teach me to ride' but to help me improve myself and my horse by giving me the tools to train myself and him.

Either way he has come leaps and bounds so it seems to be working.

 

[Kelly1982]

I'm not sure of the difference either.

I have lesson once a month

 

[fairhill]

I like that definition! Makes sense...

 

[Cheesey2983]

Yeah thats the exact definition of a trainer that you get taught in college lol i swear your trainer just copied that out of a book

 

[fairhill]

so what's the college definition of an instructor? Or is the difference just in the cost of lessons....

 

[RunToEarth]

I was never sure of the difference, Bekka is like my life coach anyhows, so Im not sure what you would tag her as, but both Sue and Rob call themsleves trainers.

 

[dieseldog]

My 'trainer' is also a friend and gives me 'mates rates'

I tend to say 'I have lessons with...'

 

[0]

In my mind, an instructor teaches u to ride and teaches "happy hackers" (what i call people who don't compete) and probably unaffiliated competitors too and then trainers train (as said above - help you to improve as an instructor has already taught you to ride) serious competitors.
For example Peter Storr would not teach someone to ride (even if they are paying going rate) because that is an instructors job - he would take over and train them once the instructor has taught them to ride.
A trainer tells you what to do to improve and you do it, an instructor tells you how to do things

for example a trainer would say "get him rounder and then your half passes will be more fluent"
an instructor would say "if you feel down your reins and keep your leg n then this will make the horse rounder so that the half-pass................"

i suppose it's up to how good you are whether you are taught or trained. At the bottom end there are those that are definate instructor's then at the other their are trainers (eg Peter) and these trainers will never instruct and vice versa but then in the middle there are those that will adapt depending on the pupil!

that's my take on it!!

 

[teapot]

Really depends on the calibre of the instructor vs the trainer. My instructor wouldn't say "feel down the rein, then this than that to get the half pass" - she'd turn round and tell me to get on with it and say get him rounder so that the leg yield/half pass/shoulder in - whatever you're doing gets better.

You can get bad trainers and good instructors. I ride at a RS so I'm taught by instructors but I wouldn't say my lessons are a bog standard RS type lesson, neither are some of the horses.

Think it depends on your level of riding too, as to what you get out from your lessons