What would you think, do or say in this situation

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SALLYT

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I had a lesson with my flatwork instructer last friday, and we were working on shoulders in etc and he was fine, we then gave him his neck and loosely walked round the school and after a few minuets picked up more intense work and this is where the problem arose.

He threw his teddy out of the cot and evaded anyway he could, we ended going backwards around the school at a great pace of knots, he would not go forward at all. My instructer told him to keep turning him on the left rein to break the going backwards and to keep doing it, so now not only was I going backwards I was doing whilst spinning round.

I guess it was a battle of wills and a couple of taps with the whip later normal service was resumed, we worked through the work he initially had the paddy about nicely and after 10 mins we cooled down and left it at that.

Now I know he has a side that he is stiffer on, but if he can evade he will and he does it so well.

Anyway at the yard last night the YO mentioned that a nother livery client who has about 11 horses up there and is held with regards in the CHAP world, said that he was disgusted in how I was asked to deal with it and wanted to drag me off the horse.

So was it wrong to work through his paddy, or should I have given up and tried again a few minutes later.I like my instructer and enjoy my lessons with her, she doesn't stand fools gladly be it humans or horses but is never cruel. Sometimes if we have worked hard she will often cut the lesson and say I think he has done enough or suggest that we have a light hack only the following day.

So would you just let it pass over your head, or would you say something to this other livery, my YO said that if it was her she would not have worked through it and would have stopped as it was cruel.

I welcome your comments as I am confused and slightly miffed that I have been spoken about and that the other livery couldn't have expressed his concerns to me, now I have another lesson this friday and feel slightly apprehensive about it all now.

Tea and cookies for getting this far.
 
ARGH, people who feel they have to bitch about the way other people deal with their horses really p*$$es me off. If they are being cruel/hurting the horse then fair enough, otherwise tell them where to stick it!! If you hadn't worked through it then he would have known next time exactly what he needed to do if he didn't want to work. I'd have done exactly the same thing as you. Got him working nicely/forwards again and then left him to reward good behaviour.

And if they do say anything to you then just reply with 'if I want your opinion I'll ask for it, otherwise go and do some Parelli with your own horse'!!
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Oooh, I'm actually really annoyed for you now. Its the fact that the other livery didn't even have the balls to talk to you himself. Gah... going off to get coffee now!
 
Only a short reply as supposed to be working, but I changed instructors and get alot more out of my mare now but she now also goes threw stages during the lesson where she completely throws her teddies out of her pram, bucks, leaps, spooks, tanks off, huge major tantrums. and everytime my instructor says to ride her threw it, it works everytime and I get a much better tune out of her afterwards! I find if I pull her up and try to stop it she gets worse and worse. Personally I think she's trying it on as the works more difficult and when she realises she won't get her own way she stops, puts her dummy in and carries on!!
 
Try and let it pass over your head. It sounds like you did the right thing without having to resort to smacking or a complete battle and you got through in the end.
 
Firstly IME where there are any more than two people at least one of them is being talked about at any one time! I'm sure they talk about you when you are having lessons that are going according to plan as well as when it all goes wrong. So I'd ignore the gossip, YO was stirring.

Secondly, if you trust your instructor then you would follow what she was suggesting - which you did. I'm assuming that the horse was making his own decision to go backwards and you were merely steering him, not forcing him backward. If he never does that evasion again her tactics will have worked! May have looked unpleasant to onlookers but if it had the desired result then so what.
 
I would have done as you did. Well done for riding through it.

Amazing how many riders have an opinion on something they have never had to deal with........

And your YO should know better - that's just stirring!
 
I'm no expert but it doesn't sound to me as if you were in any way cruel. I'd have thought that if you hadn't worked through it you'd just be asking for the same behaviour next time. You know your horse better than this other livery and as long as you feel you did the right thing I'd let his comments go right over your head!
 
I would have done exactly as you did.
Ignore what other people are saying, it's your horse you were riding him and you dealt with the problem as you saw fit and eventually you worked through the tantrum and got some nice work.
 
Have a good bi*ch about the YO and other nosey know-all on a forum to get it out of your system, then ignore them and do what what you want.
 
You have my sympathy as this sounds exactly like my yard - completely soft, clueless YO who is far too influenced by another livery client (supposedly a NH guru -yeah right!) who is only too happy to b**ch about other liveries to YO but will never say anything to your face. If it was me I would tell YO and other livery to mind their own business or if they have a problem to tell you directly not talk about you behind your back. And for what it's worth you did the right thing, stopping when he has a paddy just lets the horse know that he can get out of working by being naughty - hardly the message you want to instil in him! Stupid people
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I think your trainer sounds like she is guiding you in a really constructive way and helped you deal safely and fairly with a horse who thought he was going to pusuade you he did'nt need to do this more difficult 'use the hind leg thing'!!
Just because the other person has lots of horses does not actually mean they know that much about what they thought they saw. You need to see the whole picture in a situation like you have descibed and the horse has to learn what the limits are and allow you to determine those limits and then be happy in the reward. training is very black and white. Some people only see the negative and dont want to see you acheive and reward the horse.
You stick with your instructor. So long as you are happy, feel like you are progressing and your horse is developing then you are all working well together.
 
Thanks guys, No I love my lad and there is no way I would hurt him,

Jemima_too he was going backwards on his own accord, the problem was he wouldn't work forwards.

Loopylou, he doesn't have many paddys but when he does he has a major one and its normally when he finds something hard and doesn't want to do it.

The whole episode was over in a few minuets probably a lot less but it felt longer!.I know that there is bitchiness on yards but being as we are all lets say slightly mature in years and not young teenagers I thought we were all above this kind of thing.

Oh well life goes on, lets hope he behaves for me on Friday or I'll be reported for cruelty!.
 
we all no that if we give up then they win the battle so i would off done what u did and carried on just let it pass this time but if it happens again then tell him to mind his own buisness
 
yep, at least you didnt teach him that running backwards gave him his own way and brought the work to a stop. I love these 'well thought of' experts whose word is gospel and who obviously know more than trained professionals. Ignore the petty bitching and do what you think is right. Had you have been beating your horse into submission then I could understand disapproving comments but working through a paddy is another thing!
 
I would have done exactly what you did too. Maybe the other livery was concerned that your horse may have been evading because of a pain issue and thought it cruel to push him forwards - I don't know? However you know your horse and so does your instructor - rise above the stirring and carry on schooling your horse how you want to, just vent on here
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Partoow, the improvement in both of us in the past 6 months has been amazing, I initially bought him as a hacker, but the yard that I'm on is full of "dressage" type folk and it gave me a taste of hmm wonder if we could do something like that.
So he has gone from a total giraffe who was a lzy so and so to a horse that goes lovely in an outline 90% of the time and now works from behind rather than just on the forehand, and before this snipe I had many people say how fab he is going , its always the negative comments that linger with me- I'm too sensitive!.

My instructer has said that there is no reason why I can't go and compete now, but she would like the work he can produce to be a little more consistent and then he'll produce some really nice tests for me.
 
I would have done exactly what you did.. I had a mare who if she didn't want to do something would go into reverse.. so I kept her in reverse one day, went 2 miles down a lane in reverse .. she didn't evade that way again.. she went into training (racehorse) trainer said she went faster going backwards than forwards
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I think you did exactly the right thing, both in riding the horse through his Little Moment, and in not having a go at the stupid interfering know-it-all. Presumably if one of his horses had thrown a strop when asked to work, he would have instantly got off and fussed over it, thus proving to the horse that if it doesn't feel like working, it just has to have a bit of a paddy and the work will stop immediately.

I like the idea of backing the horse 2 miles down the lane ! Brooklyn went through a phase of stopping and planting if she didn't fancy going where I wanted to go, so Cazza showed me how to back her up and "reverse" her in the direction I wanted to go...the novelty of that little trick soon wore off and we've had virtually no problems with planting recently (except when she's nervous, which is understandable).
 
I'm a little bit puzzled by te spinning as well as running backwards bit. But (ignoring what the CHAPS guy said or didn't) your YO has really given it away, she would have given up and got off - which in my opininon would be the worst possible thing to do and only stores up trouble for next time - so she stirs up trouble and makes you feel bad.

You trust your instructor who helped you win a battle. I'd stick with them, it sounds like they've got more sense than the YO
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Ooooh don't people who can't mind their own business get on your nerves!!! I think you did the right thing too, if you don't get him to do what you want he'll try and evade all the more.
 
I would have done exactly as you did.

My 4 year old is testing me out at the moment. She's throwing in the odd paddy when she has decided she doesn't want to do anymore. If I let her get away with it and stopped working, I'd be asking for trouble and the very funny bunny hops she does would probably progress to bucking.

You did well, ignore the CHAPS bloke, it's you on the horse and your horse!
 
By the way, what exactly did your YO hope to achieve by telling you what this other bloke had said, other than stirring up trouble between you?

Now I've thought about it for a bit, you dont actually even know that he DID criticise your riding, maybe it was just your YO being jealous of your good handling of the situation. Condemning the CHAPS guy on a reported story is not fair. If he comes to you and tells you to your face that he thinks you ride like a pleb, thats one thing. "He said, she said" stories, relayed by third parties are quite another.

I reckon your YO is a bored drama llama and is trying to stir up a bit of trouble. Why else would she even bother telling you this?
 
My instructor has told me to do exactly the same as yours. My boy does an fab giraffe impression and heads for the nearest exit
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so my instructor has us on a tight circle and he does give in eventually
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If you give in and get off then the next time you get on it'll be just the same.
You could always tell this person to get on and show you how they would deal with it
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Well, my friend and I are both instructors (although we do other jobs for a living now), and we'd never dream of commenting on anyone at our livery yard's riding, or teaching, despite some fairly interesting sights.
That's just unprofessional.
S
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Trundle - I get on well with my YO and always pass pleasantries to the other person , I tend to keep out of the gossiping, it always get blown out of all proportion.

he wasn't criticising my riding, but my instructer's way of dealing with the horse's mood, and to be fair I have heard it from another livery that he didn't like what he saw, however he is entitled to his opinion as is the YO, I was just concerned that maybe I should have stopped rather than work threw it, but then I would be giviing in to him and that can't be right.

After thinking about it and reading all the other replies, I think I was right and if he didn't like what he saw then I'm sorry, but I will still be pleasant to him and treat him no differently and it will not affect my relationship with my YO because I like them . I certainly wouldn't go up to him and say she said that you said bah blah,

Just goes to show how people can view situations so differently.
 
I would have stayed on worked him through it and shown the horse that I won't give up because I am supposed to be incharge. I find that if you get off they think you have given up and sometimes its even worse if you try again later.
 
What exactly did YO/CHAPS man expect you to do - Get off the horse OR do something differently.
Getting off the horse would have sent out completely the wrong message. They might not like watching the lesson but you can tell them you are actually doing your horse a favour, because if he is allowed to go backwards at high speed this would be disastrous on a road hack......
Anyway, personally I wouldn't feel the need to justify my actions. It seems to me that where there are horses there are differing viewpoints and associated chit chatter and gossip. Best to blank it out.
 
I must admit that I was surprised to get a negative comment because 90% of the lesson he went fab, and she popped on him and remarked how elastic he felt and she was so pleased with the improvement in him, now she is an exceptional rider where as I'm not , so when I got back on him he probably thought oh numpty's back on I can do what I like, but no not this time and out came the teddy!. It certainly wasn't pain related as he has had EVERYTHING checked and passed with flying colours.

Oh well onwards and upwards,as they say, roll on Friday's lesson, at least Tuesday's lessons are at her yard.
 
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