Sunday, March 15, 2015

ONE VITAL QUESTION PARENTS SHOULD ASK RIDING INSTRUCTORS

Parents, you need to know this about horses to make good decisions for your young riders' safety:  horses need good leadership from their riders to behave calmly for their riders. 

You might think students would learn that in riding lessons, but most don't. It's not that riding instructors have anything against your children. Far from it. It's just that most of them are following a trend that started long before they were even born. 

Back when riding started becoming a recreational sport rather than a necessity, the lesson industry adapted to the times. People wanted to learn to ride for fun, so instructors (with good intentions, no doubt) obliged by giving students more and more riding time so they could have fun. It's basic economics. But the law of supply and demand brought us to the point we're at now... where most riding students get only riding time. The problem with that is nobody learns how to be a good leader to a horse by sitting in a saddle.
 
Leadership skills are developed on the ground, by learning to recognize and handle the challenges horses are instinctively driven to present for their own safety... to make certain they are always following the strongest leadership. Without learning anything about it, it's easy for riders to assume horses should behave calmly once they've been trained. Truth is, no amount of training trumps a horses desire for strong leadership.

Without learning anything about it, it's easy for riders to assume horses become spooky, high-strung, aggressive and dangerous because something is wrong with them. The only thing that's wrong is that most riding students miss out on the "leadership" part of their education. 

Parents, our industry took a wrong turn ever allowing that to happen. But, economics being what they are, it's not going to turn itself around until you get involved. For the sake of your child's safety, get involved by asking your child's riding instructor one vital question...

"Will you help my child develop good leadership skills in addition to riding skills?"

If more parents asked this question, fewer young riders would wind up getting confused, frustrated, scared and injured by horses. 

The riding skills students develop serve them well only if they develop the leadership skills they need to keep themselves safe. You can help your child get started by ordering a copy of The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge so she/he can gain a clear understanding of horse behavior. And then ask the riding instructor to allow some lesson time on the ground so your child can learn to handle the challenges horses present. 

Supply and demand, parents. Ask for leadership education. I've yet to meet a riding instructor who didn't want the best for their students, so my guess is they will be happy to supply it.
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17 comments:

  1. Well said! I envy those kids who start out learning good horsemanship skills on the ground, which effortlessly transfers to the saddle. It comes so much more naturally to them than trying to teach myself as an adult. But now everyone is so consumed with showing and ribbons, no one "has time" for groundwork and horsemanship skills....

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  2. I'm glad someone presented this very well. I teach everyone that asks me if I give lessons that I do but they learn not only how to ride the horse but how to take care of it from the ground up as well. That way the leadership and bond is there when they do ride. It also in the end teaches the person (kid or adult) how to handle any situation that may occur with a horse while in their hands on ground or under saddle.

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  3. I disagree with this article. I learned by riding a whole lot for many many years, devoted time everyday for many years. No one taught me.

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    1. No one taught me either. I rode for years completely unaware that I was causing horses to buck, bolt and behave dangerously simply because I was not providing them good leadership. Perhaps you did not have that experience, but many riders do. I've worked with enough of them to know I would way rather work toward PREVENTING others from having to go through it. That's why I wrote my book and this article.

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    2. Hollie, just curious. Did you ride by yourself all of those years or did you ride with others. We all have different personality types so even if you weren't specifically "taught" by someone, you still could have picked up tricks, tips, influences from others, which is an indirect way of being taught. :)

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    3. Just because some people are "self taught" it doesn't mean that learning from an expert wouldn't be beneficial. Just because you learned on your own doesn't mean that you were doing it right, or that there wasn't a better way to do it.

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    4. I learned both ways. And I have had instructors who were NOT out for your best interest or the horse. I hate that today, I have to constantly ask (for friends) - so, do you teach someone to actually ride, or how to sit on a horse?

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  4. Thankyou Nelly Cooper for writing this book and article! I started taking dressage lessons at 11 and became a working student when my mum couldn't afford group lessons anymore. I learned so much about care, training etc. that I wouldn't have learned. We were taught leadership skills as part of our lessons as well as grooming and tacking horses to ride and cooling out and cleaning tack after riding. I was fortunate to learn from some of the best dressage riders in the world . Though I wasn't able to afford to compete, I had an exceptional education during my time as a working student. About 10 years later I bought my first horse, a long 3yr old Arabian stallion, who'd had his groundwork done. I was able to train him myself and eventually gelded him after getting a foal by him from my mare who was improperly started (beat til she fought back) and was pulled from riding and bred, deemed too dangerous to ride. I wasn't told that when I bought her bred back. I rode her bareback in a halter around her paddock for exercise til she foaled, then trained her in dressage and trail with no problems. Once my stallion was gelded I gave private lessons on him for $10. to local kids unable to afford group lessons $25. an hour! They were taught from the ground up grooming etc. as well as starting on a lunge line to develop seat and leg then "earned their reins" then no more lunge line. If they couldn't afford to pay, they could work for their lessons and learn in depth horse care, farm maintenance and how to lunge horses properly. Due to my health I had to give up lessons outside family. Those kids are now adults and when I see them they always thank me for teaching them to ride and care for horses. It's sadly lacking in lessons today. If your child wants to learn to ride, they should learn the right way! I will recommend your book to people when they ask how to find a good instructor!!!!

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  5. I was one of those 'dreaded combinations' a green rider with a green horse, 13yrs and 10 months actually. I think the years before I could ride him helped a great deal. With no pressure to ride, we focused on building a bond, and good manners. In the process, I became a leader, (tho there were ups and downs), and my horse became my partner, a partner to trusts me with anything and had incredible manners on the ground. I wouldn't say he is a beginners horse, but to someone who is at least an intermediate rider, he is very responsive and polite. We have been together 20 yrs, What we gained on the ground is what built our relationship, on that has endured a lot over the years. It is so worth the effort.

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  6. I have lost students for years because part of my lessons are ground work, grooming, etc and they just wanted to ride without the whole understanding of the full process.

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    1. Keep doing what you do. The best instructor I ever had was a 16 YO gal who made me sit bareback on her extremely fat, slick QH mare (like riding a barrel dipped in oil), and ride like they do in Austria for the Lipizzaners. I could focus on my seat, feet, legs, etc. before I ever picked up the reins. Amazing how easy it is to adjust your hands when your complete balance has been attained. Amazing how easy it is to ride in a saddle, when your muscles are already conditioned and trained to ride bareback.

      As a consequence, I ride the horse, not the saddle. (though I am fat and out of shape now). And I do not hurt the horse by riding the saddle and causing it to slide, roll, and pull. I outgrew that gal in four months - not because I was that good, but because SHE was.

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    2. I second that! Keep doing what you do!

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  7. I have had to give parents a forewarning that I teach HORSEMANSHIP not just riding. Horsemanship means learning to do groundwork, grooming, tacking, untacking etc.... Ive gotten attitude from most parents, but most of them appreciate them. I also let them know before hand that I am not their students groom, I will help and give pointers as needed (and lift heavy saddles for small children) but for the most part they are expected to do it themselves. Once they reach a certain point they are expected to have the horse caught, groomed, saddled and warming up BEFORE the lesson begins!

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  8. I agree with the article. Horsemanship is relevant to all aspects that can effectively HELP a youth later in life. In business, personal, and equestrian situations. It provides teamwork, body language , confidence, correction of problems before they turn into a bigger problem, goals, networking, friends of all ages wanting and rooting for your child's success. Also, being able to follow a leaders direction and faith that there is a choice that the child makes to succeed. Which, is a payoff for parents to see in their kids. Nobody can teach a kid that...the child chooses for themselves.

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