What would you think if a school horse did this?

[teapot]

A good riding school can do a lot to keep their horses sweet.

At the RS where I have ridden the staff regularly ride the school horses to keep tabs on how they feel. If any horse has a rough lesson for any reason, a member of staff will ride it next to reinstall the right buttons. Clients who are deemed not suitable are not rebooked.

They really do look after their horses well.

The one I ride at has a good attitude towards horses and their workloads too.

I just also know the practicalities of trying to balance it all with the pressures of running a business too, and what is potentially sacrificed in the process. One of the reasons why I left the industry tbh.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Oh this was waaay before 2018!
Now I feel old ?

Here is the current legislation for you, fairly substantial changes from the 64/74 Act. Hiring out horses licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

[Starzaan]

Here is the current legislation for you, fairly substantial changes from the 64/74 Act. Hiring out horses licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Thank you, interesting. And like you say, big changes!
Luckily I have no intention of going back to managing riding schools. Just rehab and luxury livery for me thanks haha!

 

[*MissEquestrian*]

My lesson today I had a new horse, I was told he’s angry he’s grumpy. Asked if he was safe was told oh he’s fine under saddle.

The instructor said they’d check the girth as he bites, I had hold of him they checked his girth and as she did he lunged forward and tried to bite me, I wasn’t fazed so that’s not my issue. He then whipped his head around ears pinned and tried biting the instructor followed by a cow kick. At this point I wasn’t sure if I should get on him but I did.

under saddle he felt unbalanced, lost his footing a few times in walk and trot felt so awful I declined the rest of my lesson.

I know what I think but I’d like others opinions before I mention it to the riding school.

My first thought would definitely be “he’s in pain”. Poor guy! If the reason was he acting up was simply because he’s unhappy about being ridden, it’s unlikely he would keep losing his footing, and would show his displeasure in another manner. I would try to get him vet checked before he is ridden again!

 

[Zoeypxo]

i would send a complaint to the owner of the yard voicing your concerns, post a bad review. Possibly complain to either BHS or ABRS?
You did the right thing. Most clients probably wouldn't have had your knowledge and unknowingly carried on riding the poor horse. Well done.

i worked in a RS for quite some time and we had one that would spend the whole time in lessons pretending he needed a pee. Eventually he became quite unwell and turned out he had a kidney infection!

riding school ponies do get sour. We used to turn ours away in herds for 2-3 months a year to try and stop this happening .

 

[Zoeypxo]

Firstly I agree with previous posters that this horse sounds like it’s in real pain, and is screaming ‘I have ulcers!’. Well done you for cutting your lesson short.
I can assure you, there are a lot of riding schools that treasure their horses and treat them beautifully, there are some awful ones, but this isn’t the norm. Something you can do is call and report them to the council. As a riding school they have to have a licence, and EVERY horse must be on that licence. I used to manage an equestrian centre with 300 horses total, 106 of which were riding school horses. If we bought a new one part way through the year, we couldn’t use them in lessons until the council representative and their vet had come out and assessed, photographed and recorded the horse. If this horse is in pain, and not getting the proper care, a report of this behaviour to the council will be the most effective way of getting it dealt with. Feel free to PM me if you’d like some more info or to know any more about it all.

300 horses?! Wow . We had 55 and it was tough work

 

[Starzaan]

300 horses?! Wow . We had 55 and it was tough work

When I started I thought ‘I am NEVER going to know all these horses.’ But somehow it became totally normal.
However, licence inspection days were horrific, and like a carefully planned military operation ?
We had some really useful tools to help us though - particularly a computer programme that we had to input every new horse’s data into, and it kept track of shoeing, vaccines etc so we could much more easily keep track.

 

[LittleBlueBird]

Thanks all so much, I’ve cancelled any further lessons now and I’ve had a lovely chat with a lady looking to part share 2 of her horses, I’m going to meet her and perhaps ride next week. If she allows me to hack and school I could ask my instructor to teach me so it might all work out well.

 

[Cob Life]

A good riding school can do a lot to keep their horses sweet.

At the RS where I have ridden the staff regularly ride the school horses to keep tabs on how they feel. If any horse has a rough lesson for any reason, a member of staff will ride it next to reinstall the right buttons. Clients who are deemed not suitable are not rebooked.

They really do look after their horses well.

My instructors yard is like this and she will even hop on mid lesson to tell if it’s me that’s struggling with something or the horses so she can advise me where to fix it.

She adores her horses, they all get regular physio (6 weekly), plenty of turn out and hacking which I believe goes a long way in stopping them going school sour

 

[Red-1]

I do think that school horses can get wily. I had one that, when faced with a novice, would do exactly as they said. He was well educated, so novices would end up doing walk/canter/walk in quick succession or all manner of lateral work. he could do some on a lunge, but really he decided that he would only work for riders who were already balanced. I have also had horses who would switch off and go on a go-slow for a more novice rider, and this would even be if they tried to lunge them so not to do with their balance necessarily. Many a rider ended up in a rising walk LOL.

In contrast, this horse sounds to be in pain. Horses as a rule are not vicious when they are happy and pain free.

I am glad you got off and refused to ride. I would report it to the council.

I hope your new share is your reward from the gods for your integrity.

 

[Birker2020]

Under what power of entry would you suggest they attend ?

Whomever is responsible for riding stables operating within the law. Sure its the BHS if its a BHS approved riding school.

Clients complaints can trigger an insection visit, this must have been what happened in my case when I complained. Like I say my memory is sketchy as it was 30 years ago.

 

[PipsqueakXy22]

It is sad how normalised this kind of behaviour is at riding schools, most seem to just ignore it. 2 of the 3 riding schools near me have horses that are like this amongst other issues, personally wouldn’t go back and support a riding school like that, even though the only good one near me is an hour away id rather drive

 

[teapot]

Whomever is responsible for riding stables operating within the law. Sure its the BHS if its a BHS approved riding school.

Clients complaints can trigger an insection visit, this must have been what happened in my case when I complained. Like I say my memory is sketchy as it was 30 years ago.

The mention of the complaints procedure on your screenshot is about the policy the riding school has for clients to make a complaint to get a highly commended approval rating. That’s a complaint to the RS, not the BHS.

It takes a lot for the BHS to do a spot check on a riding school. The BHS has zero legal powers - they are an advisory and approvals body that’s it. The only law is the licensing agreement which is governed by Defra, and implemented by the local district council, not even county council.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Whomever is responsible for riding stables operating within the law. Sure its the BHS if its a BHS approved riding school.

Clients complaints can trigger an insection visit, this must have been what happened in my case when I complained. Like I say my memory is sketchy as it was 30 years ago.

The power of entry, gathering of evidence, surveillance of premises and all other possible actions, by authorities for all sorts of business premises not just riding schools is highly regulated as is any subsequent improvement notice, suspension, revocation or prosecution. In addition if a domestic dwelling is on site, further regulation is in place. Complaints have to be evidenced and that evidence has to be measured as to its level of reliability and relevance in comparison to the legislation that is allegedly in breach. The task is often frustratingly difficult and often impossible.

In today's modern times the vast majority of incidents or problems whether factual or invented, are aired on social media rather than taking the appropriate and fair route via regulators or authorities. Although the premises involved in the OP's question has not been named.

 

[LittleBlueBird]

I do think that school horses can get wily. I had one that, when faced with a novice, would do exactly as they said. He was well educated, so novices would end up doing walk/canter/walk in quick succession or all manner of lateral work. he could do some on a lunge, but really he decided that he would only work for riders who were already balanced. I have also had horses who would switch off and go on a go-slow for a more novice rider, and this would even be if they tried to lunge them so not to do with their balance necessarily. Many a rider ended up in a rising walk LOL.

In contrast, this horse sounds to be in pain. Horses as a rule are not vicious when they are happy and pain free.

I am glad you got off and refused to ride. I would report it to the council.

I hope your new share is your reward from the gods for your integrity.

Thankyou, I’m so nervous. The riding school has done nothing for my confidence I’ve had such a hard time with the horse I was usually on, constantly having to ask him just veering off to the middle and being told I needed to be more bossy. Tried the other one (that I got off) and he was super responsive barely any leg needed. So I am still none the wiser if it’s me am I crap rider that every horse will see coming or was it the horse. Incidentally everyone I’ve spoken to says the same thing about the first horse, he’s totally shut down no one finds him easy. Except of course the school owner.

 

[LittleBlueBird]

It is sad how normalised this kind of behaviour is at riding schools, most seem to just ignore it. 2 of the 3 riding schools near me have horses that are like this amongst other issues, personally wouldn’t go back and support a riding school like that, even though the only good one near me is an hour away id rather drive

Totally agree, it’s not normal and I see a lot of people making excuses because for them to admit they see means they have to step out of their comfort zone and do something about it. I see and although I might be a big softy when riding and around animals in general I have a loud voice when it comes to mistreatment of any kind and I’m happy to use it.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Aren't rs given notice of when they will have their annual inspection so can prepare for it?

Shouldn't it be like an Ofsted for a school, where they get the call the day before and the inspection takes place the next day/s? Surely they'd get a better picture of the day to day running of the place?

 

[Red-1]

Thankyou, I’m so nervous. The riding school has done nothing for my confidence I’ve had such a hard time with the horse I was usually on, constantly having to ask him just veering off to the middle and being told I needed to be more bossy. Tried the other one (that I got off) and he was super responsive barely any leg needed. So I am still none the wiser if it’s me am I crap rider that every horse will see coming or was it the horse. Incidentally everyone I’ve spoken to says the same thing about the first horse, he’s totally shut down no one finds him easy. Except of course the school owner.

I think you will be fine as long as you are honest or even underplay your ability and confidence. You seem to have the backbone to stand up for what you can see. Many private horses are fine for inexperienced riders. If you get bad vibes when you go, there is no need to even get on. You are still in control. Make sure they ride the horse first and only ride if you think you really want to.

 

[Birker2020]

Here we go, BHS as I said earlier.

 

[Snowfilly]

Aren't rs given notice of when they will have their annual inspection so can prepare for it?

Shouldn't it be like an Ofsted for a school, where they get the call the day before and the inspection takes place the next day/s? Surely they'd get a better picture of the day to day running of the place?

Trouble with that is licence day is a huge amount of work, and most schools I know need the full staff on hand to deal with it. Which, on a random weekday when only half the staff are in because most of them cover weekends and evenings, leaves the situation of literally not being able to present and handle all horses in time.

 

[Zoeypxo]

Trouble with that is licence day is a huge amount of work, and most schools I know need the full staff on hand to deal with it. Which, on a random weekday when only half the staff are in because most of them cover weekends and evenings, leaves the situation of literally not being able to present and handle all horses in time.

correct! We used to have about 10 members of staff in on licensing day. All horses groomed/washed & tacked up and yard tidy swept before 10/11am. Tbh it was a fun day!

 

[teapot]

Here we go, BHS as I said earlier.

Sorry to burst the bubble but in the three years plus I was working at a highly commended riding school, we did not once ever have a spot check. We knew weeks in advance of any visit, inspection or otherwise.

That post is almost ten years old. The BHS and their policies have changed dramatically, and my comments are based on far more recent experience.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Here we go, BHS as I said earlier.

The BHS do not regulate riding schools and have no power over them or their right to trade. Neither does the BHS have right of entry. There is nothing in law that legislates the riding school to be BHS approved. Many are and many are not, it is choice not mandatory.

The local authority has to have a qualified inspector to enable unannounced entry. That inspector has the power to suspend immediately or with notice or issue a revocation notice or issue an improvement notice. The local authority licenses under the legislation I provided further up the thread. It is mandatory for all riding schools to be licensed.

 

[PipsqueakXy22]

Sorry to burst the bubble but in the three years plus I was working at a highly commended riding school, we did not once ever have a spot check. We knew weeks in advance of any visit, inspection or otherwise.

That post is almost ten years old. The BHS and their policies have changed dramatically, and my comments are based on far more recent experience.

I have to agree I was a livery at a BHS riding school and probably was the worse yard I’ve ever been on.
they can also (and did) tidy up for the inspection.

 

[Shilasdair]

I do wish people wouldn't give advice on subjects they know little about.

The BHS are a charity - they have no legal powers in anything. At a push, they could rescind approval from an Approved RS, but they would lose the annual fees (£480 for large yards) so very unlikely.

BHS welfare officers have no legal status either - and are generally well-meaning horse owners who have attended a couple of days training at the BHS headquarters. Their knowledge, if not their enthusiasm, can be limited.

Councils do have the responsibility of licensing riding schools- but ask yourself how many equine experts does your local council employ? It is often farmed out to local vets to undertake an inspection - and local vets tend to be pragmatic, passing mechanically unsound horses (schoolmasters tend to be older with the inescapable health issues that age brings).

Finally, the OP is adamant that in her judgement, there is a welfare issue - but many RS clients are new to horses/riding and despite being well-meaning, often lack knowledge/expertise themselves. It can also be a bit of a temptation to blame the horse for your own shortfalls as a rider (it's badly-schooled, lame, sick, unsuitable) rather than 'I haven't given Dobbin the right aids, I must work on this'.

And a word of warning to the OP and others looking for horses to share - there are many genuine share horse owners out there - but there are also owners who are scared to ride their own animals (often with good reason). Always see the horse caught, tacked up, and ridden in all environments before YOU get on.
I had a sharer for my Tb mare - she made me ride my horse up and down the road on long reins in trot to try to get her to bolt for home as someone had told her Tbs did this routinely.
I happily complied until the sharer was satisfied - and went on to share my horse for years.