Why don't more riders join the BHS?

Are you a BHS Member?

  • Total voters
    0
Sixteen Hands said:
Over 3 million people in the UK ride a year (okay some will be one-off's).

The BHS has 74 000 members which is rising by about 2% each year.

I just wondered what the reasons are why more riders don't join the BHS?

BTW - I don't work for the BHS - but do declare to being just a "riding" member!

Over to you...
Click to expand...

i dont actually know what the BHS does, when at a riding school i was never told about it or anything like that. when i started sharing horses my mum got me riders insurance incase anything happened and so that i was covered for public liability on the roads/ if i went to a show. i was also covered for this with my driving mare, on the BDS insurance.
what actually is the benefits of BHS and what does it do? i think people do lots of exams with them (stage 1, 2 etc) but ive never actually heard about them?

i am a little confused though..
in england we do not have to pay for our healthcare, therefore why should we have insurance to cover this? i am always very confused, or is it just another con from the insurance companies?
 
The BHS act on behalf of the many horse riders and carrige drivers in Great Britain. They do a lot of work as regards bridleways (access) road safety, welfare, training and make representations on behalf of horse riders and carrige drivers to local and national government. In other words they act on behalf of your interests.
 
No, because I have my PL insurance through BD and don't want another set of (expensive) memberships. If I stop being a BD member at some point I would rejoin BHS purely for the insurance. I don't find the magazine interesting personally...

Re exams - I did my stage 1, 2 and RRS, with a view to doing my AI (my Mum is an AI and did her exam in the 70's) as I've taught since I was young, worked as a groom and in a riding school, competed at national and international level in more than 1 discipline and bred, broken and brought on horses. HOWEVER I am also a professional in another sphere (scientific consulting) and the exam system (modular) and timetable is not designed to suit someone who works (all exams are mid week and not in school holidays). I know why this is (fitting with slow periods at exam centres) but it makes the AI only possible for full time horse people, excluding some people who would be talented teachers but aren't full time horse people...

No sour grapes here btw, passed every exam I've entered with BHS 1st time ;0)
 
I am a Gold member and have been for several years now. With my 5 horses, its cheaper for me to have the 3rd party bit omitted from my normal horse insurance policy and have this covered by my BHS membership instead - and especially as my 31 year old isn't covered by any other insurance anyway.

I was speaking to a BHS area rep about this at a show a year or so ago, and she said that approx. 85% of the membership in her Region joined for the 3rd party insurance and legal helpline.

I also support the work the BHS does in terms of access and welfare, however I don't care much for their exam system, and have never felt any inclination whatsoever to sit their exams - the syllabus IMHO seems to view everything in terms of black or white, whereas where horses are concerned, things much more often come in shades of grey (and not necessarily 50 of them!)
 
Not a member, find the BHS dictatorial, hidebound, out of touch and smug. I did their exams and was a member for that, but never bothered joining again (and got the qualifications, BTW). I think if someone is taught the "BHS way" and doesn't branch out and learn from other sources they will have next to no chance of ever realling being able to ride or train. Bad theory, not based on practical experience.
 
Aaaand another thing... The BHS way is long winded and most employers I have worked for after being at BHS yards have told me to 'bloody get on with it' the first time they seen me fold a rug to put it on etc.

I just think they way the need examining needs reviewing. and the prices!

I could sit both UKCC1 and 2 for the price one BHS exam would cost... and then Horse Scotland will also partially fund my UKCC's.

Think I will just sit level 2 though....
 
What many of you fail to realise that the 'BHS way' is a tried and tested method that helps you learn to work in a methodical and safe manner. They know it's not the only way but over the years the methods they have chosen have proved safe and you can't teach every method.

Sure there are many ways to do things and BHS have chosen certain ways of doing things that may seem pointless at times.

Caol Ila - there IS a right way to put on a rug and it is totally to do with safety and the 'what if' situation of a horse getting free while a rug is partway on.

Rugs should be done up in this order
1 Back Straps (crossed) 2 Front straps 3 Belly straps 4 Neck straps

Some years ago while working in a racing stables I witnessed the horrific death of a racehorse because someone had forgotten to do up the leg straps. The horse was turned out and went prancing and bucking across the paddock, the rug started to slip and within seconds the horse in panic mode had gone over two fences and was galloping up the centre raceway with the rug hanging around its neck, it fell when it stood on the rug, got up turned around and galloped back towards the stables knocking over two horses on the way and almost trampling the handler leading them. It then tripped again and this time did not get up. When we got to it we found a dead horse, its neck broken and all its front teeth smashed out of its skull.

If the stablehand who had put the rug back on the horse after work had rugged in the correct order the leg straps would have been done up first and the accident would never have happened.

In days gone by when stabled horses wore a rug and a blanket we rugged with just a roller. We did the roller up first to secure the rug, then we did the front. But in this day and age with the majority of covers with legs straps, they need to be done up first - then if the horse gets away then the rug will slide straght off backwards.

I personally feel that the exam system has suffered badly from the 'colleges' that offer BHS exams in their courses, because instead of learning as many of us older people did 'On the job' we have people going through college gaining sufficient theoretical knowledge and with minimal practical experience to pass the exams.

I trained with the legendary Pat Smallwood of Radnage and with Sylvia Bunney - both of these wonderful ladies passed on their knowledge to us in a practical way. We didn't just learn the theory we put it into practise all the time. I remember one girl at work who had trained at Suzannes RS passed her AI but had never been allowed to actually put on a Kaolin poultice, she had no idea of how much to use and for how long to heat it for - all that sort of work was done by the head girl. Whereas I was expected to look after any of my alloted horses if they were sick or injured.

I would still prefer to employ a BHS qualified person as I do know that they will have studied the syllabus and passed at least a minimal standard of horse care and riding. With someone who isn't qualified you only have their word for their ability or the word of an employer who you may not know and who may not be a good horseman.
 
AntxGeorgiax said:
i dont actually know what the BHS does, when at a riding school i was never told about it or anything like that. when i started sharing horses my mum got me riders insurance incase anything happened and so that i was covered for public liability on the roads/ if i went to a show. i was also covered for this with my driving mare, on the BDS insurance.
what actually is the benefits of BHS and what does it do? i think people do lots of exams with them (stage 1, 2 etc) but ive never actually heard about them?

i am a little confused though..
in england we do not have to pay for our healthcare, therefore why should we have insurance to cover this? i am always very confused, or is it just another con from the insurance companies?
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused about your last paragraph where you are confused! Do you want to expand a little?
 
Used to be a member, but let my membership lapse after they stopped offering discounts on books (this was long before Amazon et al.). At the time, they didn't offer any other material benefits - I already had excellent insurance with GA for my horse. I liked the credit card with the Welshies on it though!
 
I am quite cross with some of the replies. How often in the DG pages do we see "contact the BHS" for whatever reason? Some people reply to say they don't need the BHS, but you do, because it is the one central point of contact. If all you doubters joined the BHS would have more money and be able to do far more for everyone.

Anyone who rides on a bridlepath "needs" the BHS.
 
Does everyone that rides on a bridlepath 'need' the BHS though?

A lot of the issues involving ROW are legal ones and advice can be found elsewhere and while the BHS may be useful, I wouldn't say it was a necessity. Unaffiliated rights of way groups could be just as effective with the correct evidence I would imagine.

I think part of the problem with the BHS is that it is possibly trying to do too much - access, welfare, road safety,examinations, competing etc. Just a random thought, but perhaps it would be better to have separate organisations for each where people can support whatever part of the organisation that they wish to?
 
Can't quote as on my phone but Jenni I'm sorry but I agree the BHS should have failed you for that unit!

The whole point of that unit is for them to see that you can tack up and fit tack correctly. They don't want to hear that you didn't check the fit of the saddle so even though you knew the saddle fitted as you was with the saddler when it was fitted, how on earth are they to know that! You should have said "yes I have checked the following areas it and it fits here, here and here" that's what that unit is for.

And as for using stable bandages for exercise, that is a big no no. There is a difference between stable and exercise bandages but obviously the horses owner doesn't know this as they wouldn't have bought them for the job or maybe you don't know how to spot the difference. You should have not been so complacent that you knew the horses and the tack.

I am pro BHS. They do excellent work and without them the industry would be in a right state.
 
The BHS used to have rather old-fashioned ideas about why horses behave the way they do. However, I was pleased to see Sarah Widdicombe's very sensible and down-to-earth book with the BHS name on it, suggesting that they were updating their thinking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Natural-Horse-Sarah-Widdicombe/dp/0715324969

I don't know if this trend has filtered through to the BHS Manual of Horsemanship yet - the last edition I bought was the 10th, in 1993.
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
Can't quote as on my phone but Jenni I'm sorry but I agree the BHS should have failed you for that unit!

The whole point of that unit is for them to see that you can tack up and fit tack correctly. They don't want to hear that you didn't check the fit of the saddle so even though you knew the saddle fitted as you was with the saddler when it was fitted, how on earth are they to know that! You should have said "yes I have checked the following areas it and it fits here, here and here" that's what that unit is for.

And as for using stable bandages for exercise, that is a big no no. There is a difference between stable and exercise bandages but obviously the horses owner doesn't know this as they wouldn't have bought them for the job or maybe you don't know how to spot the difference. You should have not been so complacent that you knew the horses and the tack.

I am pro BHS. They do excellent work and without them the industry would be in a right state.
Click to expand...

I too agree that you should have visibly checked the fit of the saddle purely for the benifit of the examiner. Stable bandages are not suitable for a horse to work in. They have no stretch so don't fit snuggly and are likely to slip while the horse is worked.
 
Wagtail said:
I also know BHS approved yards where I would never keep a horse! Practices like only topping up water if it is less than a quarter full and only feeding small amounts of haylage very infrequently.
Click to expand...
I thought about keeping Boris at the yard where I used to ride before I got him and I had a good look around the other horses boxes on the yard. I was very surprised to see that some only had worn rubber matting, or a handful of shavings, or nothing, or a smattering of straw :eek: When I asked about this (as my OH's aunt and current YO has lovely deep straw beds, or shavings if the client wanted) with the staff, I was told "We don't like it if they eat the the beds"... so?!? Having a horse stand on concrete or a worn out mat for hours on end is acceptable is it?!? And they're BHS approved.... and the instructors aren't great either (with the exception of 1 or 2)... and since mini-me has gone to another yard, her riding has improved massively!

That said, I am a member of the BHS (gold) and found them great with the legal help line and of course the insurance. However, got an email yesterday giving 2 days notice of a meeting I would have loved to attend :mad:
 
Last edited:
A single cohesive group which can act as a spokesperson for all riders of whatever discipline must be a good thing - and if they can say they are representing the vast majority of all horse riders in the country they would have a great deal more clout when dealing with Parliament. Bridleway access, horse welfare and road safety etc affect the whole equestrian community and the more members mean the more political power.
 
I am a Gold member, purely for the insurance. I don't think much of the mag, doesn't even take 5 minutes to skip through it, and the SW part seems to be Dorset events in the main. I'd happily pay slightly less and forego the mag!
 
Used to be a member, but chose not to renew.

There are no PROW near me, I ride on roads. I have insurance as a member of EGB. There was never anything in the mag to interest me (they seem to totally ignore endurance). The BHS fellow at a then local large riding school was a prat & I didn't appreciate his training methods (people paid a lot for lessons & he was more intent on sitting in the corner, drinking coffee, working out the next days rote), if that was an example of their 'best' gawd help the rest. Once when I was a member I rang the legal helpline, to be told go to CAB (which I would now do anyway & save a phone call).

The thing that really annoyed me was that when I chose not to renew they kept on sending me 'red' letters telling me my membership was overdue, as though I owed them something! These letters went on for months, always 'red' as though I was in debt with them, rather than I had chosen not to renew.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top