Trainers: Quality vs Quantity

kc100

kc100

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 July 2012
Messages
1,051
Location
West Midlands
Visit site
I'm going to be a right old pest over the next few weeks in the run up to the new pony arriving and bombard you all with lots of questions so apologies in advance! So for my 2nd question this week, what I would like to get your thoughts on is as follows:

What is better, having a GREAT trainer but due to the cost of their lessons (£80, eek!) only having them once every 3 months ish, or having another trainer who is half the price more frequently i.e every 6 weeks ish?

Unfortunately money for lessons is sparse but with the new horsey she is only young (5) and hasnt done much so far, but has the potential to do rather well in dressage with great breeding and gorgeous movement. I want to make sure I get a good trainer to bring out her full potential but I cant decide what would be the better option - having more lessons with a mid-level trainer or having infrequent lessons with a very big name in the dressage world.
 
Hi kc100,
I don't think you always have to have lessons with a big name to get good training there are a lot of very good trainers out there that can train a young dressage horse and are cheaper. When I first started out I have a lesson a week with a very good dressage trainer (though not famous) and I paid £40 a lesson and she got me up to PSG level with my pony club horse! you really need to shop around and find someone that suits you, your horse and your budget. I think a lesson every 3 months is not always beneficial unless you are good at training yourself at home.
 
In my very humble opinion, someone who is a big name (in whatever discipline) wouldn't equate that they are a great trainer - some people are great at teaching and others are not. Obviously I'm generalising, and there are great riders competitively who are great trainers.

I personally think it's more benefical to have more frequent lessons - I only manage once every 2 weeks, I could squeeze another lesson in each month but I also have to pay for school hire which swallows that money which is annoying! Having that two week gap though gives me things to work on in between, and then the opportunity to see if we've made any small progress at our next session which I find useful.

Edited to add - there are plenty of great trainers out there that are not stupidly expensive - ask around!
 
Are you moving to a livery yard? If so I would ask around, and ask people if they mind you watching their lessons, see which instructors approaches you like or 'get'. Some people like to have their hands held, others like a good kick up the backside, so not all approaches suit everyone or every horse for that matter. And a cheaper instructor doesn't always mean they're low end.

If I were you with a new 5 yr old, I'd be looking for an instructor I could afford weekly or fortnightly lessons on before you start reaching for the big guns. A good instructor will help you put the basics in place, and these are the building blocks for a sound horse in body & mind, good luck.
 
Agree with the above comments and would rather find someone a bit cheaper and have more frequent lessons. Being a 'name' doesn't necessarily make you a great trainer and being 'cheaper' doesn't necessarily make you a worse one!
 
Oscar said:
If I were you with a new 5 yr old, I'd be looking for an instructor I could afford weekly or fortnightly lessons on before you start reaching for the big guns. A good instructor will help you put the basics in place, and these are the building blocks for a sound horse in body & mind, good luck.
Click to expand...

This...I'm sure there is a local trainer who would be able to help you with a young horse, and for a cost that is more affordable to have regularly.

FWIW I have a GREAT trainer (and a 'name') who is £45 a session....and he drives two hours to teach us. So they are out there.
 
I would agree with Oscar. If you're confident in your ability to put the initial basics on the horse then three monthly intervals might be fine for stepping up the work, although I think I'd still want eyes on the ground with a new horse as things don't always look like they feel. If you're not fairly experienced in making young dressage horses then I think you want to check in with someone more often AND have someone as a ready resource if you need to bounce ideas around.

No offence - for all I know you've made a host of young horses up -but as a general comment I think it's false economy to spend the money on a nice young horse and not budget for training. It's like regular service for a car - problems are always more expensive and difficult to sort than not going wrong in the first place.
 
I was in a similar position to you 18 months ago when I bought my very promising 5 y/o; he was a homebred and he still lives at the yard where I bought him from as that is were I kept my previous horse. I had (cheap and weekly) lessons at first with the woman who rode him before I bought him; she is a very good instructor and knew all my horse's quirks and so I thought she would be the best person to help me get to know him. After a few months a brilliant dressage trainer started coming to the yard approx every 6 weeks, he is reasonably well known and trains with a big name, and I get more specialist training from him.

So at the moment I spend £40 a month on a lesson from the dressage trainer, then I 'top up' with a couple of £10 lessons from either of the two qualified instructors on the yard each month. I find they really help with ensuring that I stay on track with my schooling during the month and it really helps me to have someone on the ground. If you have an instructor on the yard that could work for you alongside the expensive instructor, providing that he is a good trainer of course.
 
I'd go for the more frequent training. I had the same flat work trainer for 18 months but was forced to change and found a more expensive flatwork trainer locally £45 versus previous £30 per hour. I had planned to have less frequent lessons to offset the cost but instead am having far more frequent lessons as I am learning so much more and I can barely wait for my next lesson! But I live for lessons. I love to learn. Not everyone feels the same.

Good luck with your new horse!

I second the people above who have said ask about for recommendations and watch lessons before committing. There are some amazing trainers out there and you need a bit of luck sometimes to find the right one for you and your horse.
 
Thanks everyone - just a bit more info for reference. The 'big name' instructor has come recommended anyway, I know a number of people who train with her and really rate her so I'm not just being swayed by the name I promise!

As for having more frequent lessons, the new horse is still only a share horse, unfortunately I just dont have the money to buy a horse so sharing is all I can manage for now hence lessons are hard to fork out for as well - I'd love weekly or fortnightly lessons but that just cannot happen due to my finances. I completely agree with you BeckyD - I love lessons and look forward to my next one every time, I love learning and only wish I had more money so I could have more of them!

I've not had vast experience with young horses before so I am definitely looking for good instruction for us both, I completely understand that you can do a lot of damage to a horse at this age if you dont have people helping you on the ground so dont worry, I'm not trying to do this alone thinking I'm some superstar with youngsters!

I believe there are a couple of instructors who keep their horses at the yard so I'll try and have a watch of their lessons to see what they are like, but even at £30 or £40 per session once a month is still going to be a bit of a struggle for me so will that be enough?

I already know what new horsey needs work on so in my head I've already got about 8 weeks of schooling sessions planned, so I'm not totally lost with what to do - she was broken in draw reins so needs to learn to relax, her outline is very advanced for a 5 year old and she doesnt do well when asked to stretch or do free walk on a long rein so that's going to take a while to get her to learn that. Then canter is her next area to work on, her hindquarters swing inwards especially on the right rein so that will need work too.

I am quite lucky in that her owner is a dressage judge and she trains people in all disciplines so I might be cheeky and see if she can give me a few lessons here and there, its her horse after all so hopefully she'd want to help out!
 
I'm in a fairly similar situation - nice young horse with potential, so I want to make sure I'm not holding him back. I opted for a combination - he has been sent away for six weeks to get the basics established, and when I get him back I will have weekly lessons with a local, less expensive trainer and monthly lessons with somebody more expensive, probably the guy who has him atm. I will also have a lesson once a month on a schoolmaster to make sure my riding is staying correct. Going to have to scrimp and save to afford it all, but as somebody said upthread - there's no point spending all that money on a nice horse only to ruin it by trying to save money on lessons.
 
I personally need a lesson at a minimum every 3 weeks, much longer and I struggle. Every 10-14 days is my ideal for me, although I appreciate that is unrealistic for most people.

Expensive lessons don't always equate to good lessons! I think the majority of capable competitive amateur riders should be able to get suitable training in the £30-50 a session bracket.
 
Have a lesson with each then decide. I have been paying 25 a week since October last year and while small improvements occurred, nothing dramatic. The mare is young and difficult. I had one lesson with a name (although I thought 55 was a lot!). I can only afford that once a month but I reckon I got more from that lesson than all the others combined. I now have a clear plan I can work on by myself between lessons.
 
Thanks again all - been really helpful.

I think my plan of action will be to treat myself to a lesson with the 'big name' once new pony has settled in so it will be our first lesson together, see how we get on and what I think of her (I've never really liked any of my instructors apart from 1 who lives in Spain!). Then I'll watch a few of the instructors at the yard and try a lesson with one of them and see how that compares.

FfionWinnie - I wonder if you are right, it might be that I get more from the expensive one than I do the cheaper one and might be able to go a bit longer between lessons if what I get from the expensive one is really that good.

But we shall have to wait and see, I'll try a few trainers and see how I get on - getting very excited about new pony arriving now and cant wait to get going!
 
I definately dont agree with the 'NAME necessarily been the better instructor as people have said not everyone is a good teacher but may well be a good rider, i recently had a lesson with a BIG name in eventing and if im totally honest came away with very little, yet i have regular lesson with an extreamely good instructor but not well known at all and have achieved and learnt more with her than i believe any amount of lessons with this pro could achieve.My advice find an instructor that works for YOU and you horse and someone you get on well with and wants to see you both improve. Good luck x
 
I do agree you have to try a few to find the right one. I have been really lucky and found a super SJ and dressage coach (not that we have high aims but I want to be as good as we can be). Both compete at a high level and are also great at getting their teaching across. By the way I was happy enough with the first instructor until I started with the SJ coach and realised there were massive holes in what we were doing. The first instructor was a dressage rather than SJ person but the difference prompted me to just try this other dressage coach and again I realise we were treading water before. First instructor blamed me for the behaviour of the mare, second one seems to realise she is not easy (helped perhaps by her standing up and boxing the air twice within the first minute!) and we are starting from scratch instead of trying to sort various issues with me/her while missing out the first stage, if that makes sense!! I think the mare is just beyond the remit of the first instructor and the second one has sussed her out very quickly.
 
Al has weekly lessons with her 'proper' instructor, who doesn't charge much but is amazing, and then doesn't compete often in order to afford that. She then has lessons every 3 weeks or so with a different instructor to have another pair of eyes on them over SJ. This is the most intensive she's ever had lessons and this is showing in her results this year, as well as the marked improvement in her riding.
 
Also try to be aware even if an instructor is brilliant their style of teaching might not suit you. It's taken me a while to find an instructor where I can truly put my hand on my heart & say I love every lesson....even the ones that didn't go quite to plan (but these IMO are the most useful). The difference I find now & why I really rate my current trainer is that the lessons I have give me the 'tools' to work & improve on stuff away on my own :)
 
Oscar said:
If I were you with a new 5 yr old, I'd be looking for an instructor I could afford weekly or fortnightly lessons on before you start reaching for the big guns. A good instructor will help you put the basics in place, and these are the building blocks for a sound horse in body & mind, good luck.
Click to expand...

This exactly. I have been going to my RI for sometime now to get me and my mare to a reasonable standard. I have, just a few months ago, changed over to having lessons with my RI's trainer. However, I do think that if I had changed over to new trainer sooner, I would have wasted money as we weren't really at a place that she could have helped us so much.

Start with little and often and go from there :) x
 
I have a regular lesson with the expensive trainer (as often as I can afford) but a weekly lesson with another excellent trainer who also trains with my expensive trainer. So I get the same message and they discuss me and my horse when they meet up. However, it's not what you pay, it's what they give you and how you gel. I've had some lessons with wellknown names that frankly didn't work at all because they either didn't like my horse, or didn't like me or i didn't get on with them!!
 
Gosh you all have so much money for weekly lessons :eek:

I've had a lot of trainers in the past with my former share horse and never really clicked with any of them, aside from the one that comes over from Spain but he's only here twice a year so that's not much help to me right now!

As much as she is a 5 year old and needs a good education, she has been at a pro's yard for most of her life (broken there, turned away for a year and has been back in work for almost a year there now - they've taken her out competing too, only prelims but she's scored high 60's each time). So she's not a total baby with no experience, she's been in great hands and has had a great start in life. Hence why as much as I'd love weekly or fortnightly lessons, I know she'll be ok with slightly less frequent lessons, especially with the guidance of her owner who is a dressage judge.

I've done some research and found a trainer who is £40 per session that I like the look of so I'm going to give both the expensive trainer a try and the cheaper one a try as well, see who I get on with best and then take it from there - fingers crossed I get a pay rise soon so I can keep up with all you guys and your training!
 
I think your share situation is a bit different. Since the owner is experienced (although I'm surprised she does not want to teach your herself or recommend someone to you!) she is the one with ultimate responsibility for the horse and its future so if she is okay with your level of training, that's really all anyone needs to be concerned about. The people who are investing in large amounts of training are doing so because they have paid a lot to buy/breed their horses and they think of if as part of the package to produce the quality of horse they want to end up with. Other people make other choices, depending on what they want to accomplish, which is fair enough! :)
 
I think her owner is a bit worried about getting too involved, so she hasnt offered and I can sort of understand - she has another horse she part loans out and I think her approach is just to leave her loaner to it and doesnt want to get in the way or seem like an interfering owner. The horse could almost be a full loan if I wanted - her owner seems really keen just to give me as much flexibility with her as I want, I can have her 7 days a week if I chose to and ride as little or often as I want.

She is also incredibly busy which is part of the reason why she's loaning her out - she has 2 young kids, runs a livery yard (where the horse will be kept) and she's in the process of doing significant improvements to the yard, she is a judge and she teaches as well. So I dont think she really has the time for this particular horse hence why she was looking for someone with a bit of dressage experience to get the horse progressing, she's done well with the pro but the pro has so many horses that he doesnt have much time to take the horse out to competitions and start moving her out of prelim.
 
Sounds almost ideal though. The horse will still live with the owner so no conflicts over management, and at least she's around if you need to check in with her. Plus she is experienced with loaning out so unlikely to all of a sudden go insane/become hugely controlling. ;)

Have fun. :)
 
Depends on the situation. Ideally someone local and nice and cheap that you get on with, and get results from, possibly topped up with a different trainer once in a while
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top