Teaching people to ride assertively for safety...

[RachelEvent]

Some ideas are needed here...

I teach part time in a riding school, and whilst some of our teaching is done in enclosed arenas, much of it is done out in an open park. All of the horses are very sensible types, but they don't get turn-out and definitely do have minds of their own on occasions.

I hate seeing 'obvious' riding and want to teach people to ride quietly, calmly and sit very still, use seatbones and weight to influence their horses speed and direction and way of going. However, sometimes for the sake of safety, I also want a rider that can tell their horse to "bl**dy well stop!"

Too many times now, I have seen riders steadly cantering off away from me, with horses only mildly ignoring their riders, and riders quite literally being 'taken for a ride' ... the horses always stop when I yell trot loud enough, or they reach the end of the cantering section, but the riders usually explain to me afterwards that 'they were doing everything they could to stop' , whereas to me it is not visible that they were doing anything. Of course, through most of the lesson I've been asking them to make their aids invisible... so how do I teach riders to ride softly and quietly, and also teach them to be very assertive in being able to put the brakes on, or hit the ignition, when required?

I know all these horses very well, and know that none of them have ever run off with me. I have no muscle to speak of on my arms, so we certainly aren't talking about brute strength!

x

[Skyhuntress]

It's a question of confidence. I'm being lectured by my RI right now because of the fact that I allow my horse to get away with things, despite being an assertive rider with other horses. However in my case, it's mentally overcoming the fact that he almost paralyzed me and ended my riding career, and getting over that and still riding him as if nothing had happened.

The only way to be assertive is to be confident in your own abilities as a rider and confident in your seat. Sadly, you can't just tell people to ride more aggressively. They have to start trusting that they know what they are doing before they feel as if they can offer correction.

[RachelEvent]

It's not about agression in any way - that's the point

I'm just finding it very hard to explain that I'm not condoning agressive or forceful riding, but that for safety's sake, we sometimes have to be able to ride in a very decisive way.

Sure, time and experience are the main factors, but we still have to acheive something instantly, so that I don't have an occasion where I see a rider cantering over the horizon back to the stables unable to stop. It hasn't happened yet, but it could quite pheasably...

[julia gulia]

Here's what I've always found very helpful when working with people who allow the horse to make the decisions. I explain to them that it is unfair to leave the horse to call all the shots because he is then not only responsible for himself but also for them. I encourage them to see things from the horses point of view...how do you think he feels about that? I find that once people are more focused on how secure the horse they are riding feels then they tend to forget about how they feel......if they are confident and calm then the horse will be confident and calm .......that visualisation seems to help them to be braver for the horses sake without being rough. It's like holding the horses hand so to speak.

[eml]

Unfortunately in the RS situation stopping is an art which is frequently overlooked in the early teaching as most horses willingly stop when catching up with ride or at the end of a normal canter stretch (or others stop :D)

I frequently get people in for private lessons and all seems to be going well until they get into canter...and have no tools for getting out again..no back of ride, no lazy horse who slows if they stop pushing.

I find you have to teach it as an exercise either using lots of canter past rest of ride and stop at front type exercises (instructor voice controlled horses help) or by putting them on a lunge and asking the horse to canter and asking the rider to return to trot.

[KateWooten]

another little factor to throw into the mix : when i had a local cowboy round for an afternoon to sort me out with some groundhandling, whenever i was around him, i was much less confident and assertive than when i'm alone, just because i was no longer able to react solely to the horse - i also had to run any action through my brain one more time to check it was what he would approve of - else there'd be no point in me paying for his lesson !

so, if you've had to spend time instilling 'softly' to them, that is going to be at the forefront of their minds when it comes time for them to put it into action. i guess what i would do, would be ..right from the start, whenever you mention "as little as possible" be very consistent in always having "and as much as necessary" in the same breath. right from the start, insist that any request is always continued, or upped, until there is a definite positive response from the horse. then set up a situation with a very definite canter-trot-canter-trot plan, with trees as markers for the transitions.

it must be quite a challenge to do all your teaching out on the route.

[LMayhewtx]

As a novicey rider, I will speak up from the student's perspective. :-) I hope you don't mind me responding, but I think this is something that less experienced and less confident riders have to learn about.
I think I understand what you are trying to say, because my ri is teaching me these things now. For exmaple, I can onyl kick as a desperate last resort, and I always seem to kick before the situation is desperate enough, or not at all. It is also confusing to understand different way to handle slowing down different horses. On one horse, when I ask for a downward transition, she trot, but not walk so I have to pull back and not soften until she walks. On another horse, he gallops instead of canters, but to slow him down, I need to do half halts, and let go with the reins a bit. It's confusing, and I've learned the appropriate ways to handle specific situations with different horses, but I don't know enough to always apply this knowledge correctly if I am on a different horse or in a situation that seems different.
For me, the way I am learning these things is by having my ri talk me through each situation at a time. As she tells me when to be more assertive, I getter better sense for when it is appropriate to be firmer, and tools for doing this. Are you able to do this with each rider in your lessons? Also, you could get on and show them how you would handle it.

[evilgiraffe]

so, if you've had to spend time instilling 'softly' to them, that is going to be at the forefront of their minds when it comes time for them to put it into action.

Exactly. A lot of people are so busy doing exactly what they think they've been told that they don't realise that they ought to just take the initiative occasionnally. If the horse is just bowling along and ignoring the rider, they need to know that it's okay to really try to MAKE the horse stop. Being safe is more important than looking pretty.

[RachelEvent]

Kate, i love the phrase "as little as possible, and as much as neccessary"

that pretty much sums it up doesn't it!

[KateWooten]

yes - it's neat isn't it, cos it covers both of the major problems - not being assertive enough to get a result, and not asking as softly as possible the first time. i think it's a clinton anderson phrase, but i bet all good horsemen say much the same thing.

[notpoodle]

oh dear :D

having been on the receiving end of this for many years, somehow unable to stop normally very docile riding school plods with the instructor tearing his hair out going STOP! LEAN BACK! DO A CIRCLE! DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! OH NO HE's CRASHED INTO THE BACK OF THE RIDE! whilst I was honestly trying my utmost to stop the beastie (albeit probably halfheartedly, because I was terrified!!) ... it isnt nice :o but then my instructor back then didnt even try to teach us to ride quietly, he was firlmly of the 'now pull! now kick!' school of thought :o

maybe you could practice transitions with them sort of one by one? ie ride walks round, first person trots off, comes back to walk after a couple of steps, trots again, walks, trots .... and then maybe the same in trot/canter?

oh and you can come teach me and angel any time :D she won't try to run off though!

Julia
x

[Bertie]

I think personally it comes down to confidence and experience, private lessons are great for this and helped me a great deal with this, for example a riding school horse (highly strung TB type) ran off with me in the indoor school, had done it before in full group lesson where I panic'd for the 1st ever and got off! The 2nd time it did it there was only 3 of us in the lesson, the other 2 people knew my history with the horse and stood quiet in the centre. The instructor remained quiet at all times (that was very him) and said just let him gallop round a couple of times till you get confident then slowly start to half halt him, now this is very specific to this horse but it helped me alot, it taught me that if you have the time and space you don't need to react straight away as that can be even more detrimental to the situation.

That one experience has helped me so much now I have a share and hack out a lot alone as it taught me the importance of remaining calming, not yanking away at the horse but sitting deep and squeezing your reins. Don't get me wrong, I've still been known to haul a little naughty pony in a tight circle when it's really going for it because you've resorted to drastic measures to stop it.

But from a pupils perspective as well many pupils, have from my point of view, a lack responsibility (not the word I want to use but can't think of right the word I want :rolleyes:), when you've got an instructor with you, they provide a comfort zone/cushion for you and you know they will always be there to help, shout advice whatever and allows you to be somewhat of a passenger, that really assertiveness and ability to decide only comes when you start do things more independently.

[lindiak007]

As a novicey rider, I will speak up from the student's perspective. :-) I hope you don't mind me responding, but I think this is something that less experienced and less confident riders have to learn about.
I think I understand what you are trying to say, because my ri is teaching me these things now. For exmaple, I can onyl kick as a desperate last resort, and I always seem to kick before the situation is desperate enough, or not at all. It is also confusing to understand different way to handle slowing down different horses. On one horse, when I ask for a downward transition, she trot, but not walk so I have to pull back and not soften until she walks. On another horse, he gallops instead of canters, but to slow him down, I need to do half halts, and let go with the reins a bit. It's confusing, and I've learned the appropriate ways to handle specific situations with different horses, but I don't know enough to always apply this knowledge correctly if I am on a different horse or in a situation that seems different.
For me, the way I am learning these things is by having my ri talk me through each situation at a time. As she tells me when to be more assertive, I getter better sense for when it is appropriate to be firmer, and tools for doing this. Are you able to do this with each rider in your lessons? Also, you could get on and show them how you would handle it.

I am a novice rider as well and have to agree with a follow student.

Sometimes my teacher wants me to do something ...let's say canter from trot and I do not do that, she shouts;-) (she is allowed) she thinks the horse is "pain in the ass", so she runs after him;-))) and I still do not do that. Well, she couldn't see that my shoe was totally of the stirrup and going into canter with unbalanced leg is not a good idea.


One day my horse was sooo bad and the teacher thought I was realllly not listening to her. I told her I was doing my best.Then I told her to try the horse and she told me that there was something wrong with the horse :-)))) the leg or so....and he didn't feel good...so was a bit crazy...

And many other examples...