First lessons

[charlottlefish]

Hi, I'm a 15 year old and I've loved horses since I was 7. However, I've been unable to ride due to a multitude of reasons. Last summer, I went to one of those pony experience days and loved it and as well I completed my work experience at my local rs. My parents are worried that as I have my GCSE's in roughly a year and mocks next December, me starting taking lessons twice a month will mean I will for some reason fail all my exams. Does anyone have any tips for convincing my parents? And any tips for my first lesson(s) if they say yes? As well to get into my dream equine college I'll need to be doing WTC in roughly a year, do you think that's possible with riding twice a month and possibly more in school holidays?

Thank you so much if you can help me
Char

 

[carthorse]

You could try asking them if they'd agree to lessons on the basis that your grades don't drop and you continue to put in the same - or more - hours of homework. Is it possible they're using your exams as an excuse though? Lessons are expensive and will also take a fair bit of their time unless a good school s very close. They may also be concerned about you going to equine college since working with horses is notoriously badly paid as well as being physically demanding, sometimes dangerous and often dead end - I have to admitmy advice to most people would be to get a job that allows you to keep a horse of your own and keep them as a hobby. I thonk you need to sit down with them and talk it through properly, find out exactly what their concerns are and what yo can do to reassure them and maybe persuade them to let you start riding.

As to whether or not you'll be at the standard you need in a year's time, it's impossible to say because it depends on how quickly you learn as well as hhow good the instruction is.

 

[charlottlefish]

@carthorse Thank you for the reply and that's what I'm worried about with exams but I'm not sure what for as they've had previous excuses and I've managed to work through those. I even got to the point of convincing that they phoned up another riding school (I didn't ask them or anything they just did it) to ask about prices but that didn't go anywhere as it was too expensive. I'd do volunteering to get the lessons (do a full day volunteering the same day as my lesson) and the riding school I'd go to is roughly 15 mins away but they would just go home after dropping me off so I'm not sure that's too much of a worry. And as for equine college, I haven't really brought it up much. I've mentioned it once or twice a few years ago and they were a bit against the idea but the only other job I'd want to do requires mass amounts of studying and I wouldn't have much time to take riding lessons and I'm just not willing to put in that much effort for a job that I could only work at one company for so (realistically) I'm not going to get that job which leaves becoming a riding instructor as my only other option. Do you think I should still try to pursue it or just stop now?

 

[carthorse]

I'll try and work through this bit by bit so bear with me.

Riding lessons at good schools are expensive, and cheap ones are nearly always cheap for a reason. Cheap lessons, particularly for a beginner, are a waste of money as the chances are the instruction will be of a low standard on horses who may well be unsuitable or not really up to the workload. They may be operating in a way that invalidates their insurance, which while you hope never to need is still important.

Which brings me to the next point of working for your lessons. Good schools will have enough employed staff so don't need helpers, plus the chances are you wouldn't be covered by that all important insurance. So a school that would take you as an unpaid and uninsured helper is unlikely to be a good school. Also, and no offence intended, but you don't know enough to be helpful and from a school's point of view it would cost them more than it's worth to teach you and get you up to speed. If they're willing to take inexperienced helpers and have them work unsupervised then run for the hills!

If your parents are worried about riding taking away from your studying then they're almost certainly going to seeworking all day for a lesson as a waste of studying time.

What other job were you thinking of? At 15 I really would recommend keeping your options open, and equine college isn't going to do that. I don't know what you think a RI's job includes, what the qualifications involve and what the wages are but the reality is long hours that involve more than teaching for poor pay and often poor working conditions. Honestly you' do better to study for a bit longer to get a good job then learn to ride and get a nice horse of your own that you can enjoy. Talk to career staff at your school and look into other jobs, there must be more than one career that plays to your strengths and interests! Planning your whole working life on one pony xperience day feels rather foolish to me, it certainly isn't a realistic taste of working with horses or even of riding and owning one.

 

[Skib]

Good schools will have enough employed staff so don't need helpers,

That is not true here in the London and Surrey areas. Our largest riding school with lots of ponies, mostly stabled, does have teenage helpers at the weekends . Years ago they workerd in exchange for a lesson. Now I believe that due to minimum wage and insurance they receive pay but also take part in a free group lesson at the end of the day.

But the teenage helpers are not beginners. Most of them will have learned to ride at that RS, some will still be taking lessons, and may be joined the Pony Club there, So the parents have paid.

Some of my family grew up in a less wealthy part of London and there teenagers could help out with group lead rein lessons and so earn a group lesson themselves.

 

[charlottlefish]

I'll try and work through this bit by bit so bear with me.

Riding lessons at good schools are expensive, and cheap ones are nearly always cheap for a reason. Cheap lessons, particularly for a beginner, are a waste of money as the chances are the instruction will be of a low standard on horses who may well be unsuitable or not really up to the workload. They may be operating in a way that invalidates their insurance, which while you hope never to need is still important.

Which brings me to the next point of working for your lessons. Good schools will have enough employed staff so don't need helpers, plus the chances are you wouldn't be covered by that all important insurance. So a school that would take you as an unpaid and uninsured helper is unlikely to be a good school. Also, and no offence intended, but you don't know enough to be helpful and from a school's point of view it would cost them more than it's worth to teach you and get you up to speed. If they're willing to take inexperienced helpers and have them work unsupervised then run for the hills!

If your parents are worried about riding taking away from your studying then they're almost certainly going to seeworking all day for a lesson as a waste of studying time.

What other job were you thinking of? At 15 I really would recommend keeping your options open, and equine college isn't going to do that. I don't know what you think a RI's job includes, what the qualifications involve and what the wages are but the reality is long hours that involve more than teaching for poor pay and often poor working conditions. Honestly you' do better to study for a bit longer to get a good job then learn to ride and get a nice horse of your own that you can enjoy. Talk to career staff at your school and look into other jobs, there must be more than one career that plays to your strengths and interests! Planning your whole working life on one pony xperience day feels rather foolish to me, it certainly isn't a realistic taste of working with horses or even of riding and owning one.

Sorry if this didn't come across clear in my first post but I am not completely clueless. I have been studying horses for 8 years and have met people who own horses that know less about them than I do. I have been around horses recently too for a few days for work experience so can now groom and tack up horses as well as bring them in and out from the field and lead them in beginner lessons. I can also muck out, make feeds, change water, etc.

 

[charlottlefish]

That is not true here in the London and Surrey areas. Our largest riding school with lots of ponies, mostly stabled, does have teenage helpers at the weekends . Years ago they workerd in exchange for a lesson. Now I believe that due to minimum wage and insurance they receive pay but also take part in a free group lesson at the end of the day.

But the teenage helpers are not beginners. Most of them will have learned to ride at that RS, some will still be taking lessons, and may be joined the Pony Club there, So the parents have paid.

Some of my family grew up in a less wealthy part of London and there teenagers could help out with group lead rein lessons and so earn a group lesson themselves.

Exactly, the stables I'd volunteer at also do riding for the disabled and their whole motto is that riding should be for everyone which is why they let everyone volunteer. And the jobs volunteers do aren't just things to do with horses, there are loads of volunteers doing things such as sweeping the yard and things like that

 

[carthorse]

Sorry if this didn't come across clear in my first post but I am not completely clueless. I have been studying horses for 8 years and have met people who own horses that know less about them than I do. I have been around horses recently too for a few days for work experience so can now groom and tack up horses as well as bring them in and out from the field and lead them in beginner lessons. I can also muck out, make feeds, change water, etc.

Ok, that is a bit different than your earlier posts though it sounds like your hands on experience is small and with horses suitable for beginners. I suspect that in a work, or even college, environment you'd quickly learn that knowing a lot of theory from books etc is no substitute for hands on experience with a range of different horses. You'd very likely find that those owners you dismiss asa knowing less than you would none the less be far more capable when it came to handling real horses in real situations and particularly when there were problems.

I'm not trying to be a bitch, but I do feel that you're looking at making a big decision with very little real knowledge and experience.

 

[Skib]

Different people learn in different ways. I am a book reader and amased a whoe library of books on horses. I also learn by imitation, so watching an RI ride or watching videos (these days on line) helped me a lot.
At your age, you have to do what your parents say. I was at boarding school and had two hacks a year in the Christmas holidays, if I was lucky. Once I started work, in London, it didnt cross my mind to ride. I rode a Lambretta scooter and learned to drive a car.
It wasnt till I retired and our kids went off to university that I had the time and money to learn to ride.
I regarded it as much like school learning.
First year in an RS like learning the alphabet and times table. Then a lesson a week plus a hack. I learned to canter by hacking.
After two years , time for A levels - that is specialising. For me this was dressage and hacking. No jumping. Plus helping out on a yard once a week.
And taking the BHS stable management course, learning to pick out feet, groom and tack up.

This is a three way relationship - the YO, or RI, (human to human), the horse and yourself the student. It doesnt matter how much you already know. This country is populated by teenage girls whose only desire is to spend time with horses or ponies. So demand exceeds suppy.

As for the time scale that depends on how you are taught, your own ability and the cost. My OH in his 60s had private, expensive school lessons with an experienced teacher and a safe horse with a very smooth canter. He was cantering after one year. The foundation for his canter was a great deal of sitting trot. Then walk to canter transitions.

 

[newforest]

What did you do in your work experience?

Personally being bitten by the horse bug doesn't necessarily equate to working with them.
I initially wanted to do exactly that. But discovered a huge difference between the average riding school pony and the big wide world of horse ownership.
At a riding school you can say, thank you but I don't like this mount and then choose something else. If you go into the professional you will be expected to ride and improve the horses way of going.
The riding school pony that happily follows the one in front, is totally different from riding one that thinks for itself.
Horses is a lifelong road of learning anyway, so don't be in a rush or pressure yourself.
Even if you can w/t/c in a year's time, that feel will be totally different if you carry on riding for another ten years.

 

[Skib]

The riding school pony that happily follows the one in front, is totally different from riding one that thinks for itself.

Not all yards work and train their ponies the same. I rode the safe, old RS mare. I rode first and the RS escort followed, riding a horse that was new to the yard.
We sometimes alternated, we halted and overtook each other. But one way or another I got used to riding first and from that it was a small difference to start riding solo. It isnt so much a question of horsemanship as how a person feels when riding on a horse. I was pretty ignorant but when asked if I coud hack alone I just said yes and set off. I felt happy on a horse and the communication between me and the horse was OKay. If I had understood that horses are herd animals and spook when frightened, I might not have started hacking solo.
But the mares I have hacked solo seem easier to ride than when they are in a group competing to lead.

 

[carthorse]

Not all yards work and train their ponies the same. I rode the safe, old RS mare. I rode first and the RS escort followed, riding a horse that was new to the yard.
We sometimes alternated, we halted and overtook each other. But one way or another I got used to riding first and from that it was a small difference to start riding solo. It isnt so much a question of horsemanship as how a person feels when riding on a horse. I was pretty ignorant but when asked if I coud hack alone I just said yes and set off. I felt happy on a horse and the communication between me and the horse was OKay. If I had understood that horses are herd animals and spook when frightened, I might not have started hacking solo.
But the mares I have hacked solo seem easier to ride than when they are in a group competing to lead.

Regardless of how they're trained riding school horses are chosen for safety, willingness to tolerate rider mistakes, and being easy enough to take multiple riders. Once out of a school that can change, many a rider who's considered advanced in a riding school has come unstuck when they move to privately owned horses, particularly if they've taken on something that is suited to their perceived rather than actual skill. This is probably even more true where people have ridden at good schools since they're the ones who take particular care when selecting school horses and also in maintaining their schooling.

What I, and I expect @newforest , are trying to say @charlottlefish is that you've only had very controlled and safe experiences with horses. You haven't come across the sensitive ones, the sharp ones, the badly trained ones, the youngsters, or ones with problems. And if you decide to go ahead and work with horses you will be expected to deal with them and no amount of book learning is going to be enough because no horse has ever read a book. They can be useful to give you ideas on approaches to try but you have to have the experience to see what you're dealing with and stay safe in situations that can escalate quickly.

If you're absolutely certain you want to be a riding instructor I'd suggest this. Finish school and get the best qualifications you can. For a few years work in another area and use that time to get a lot of hands on practical riding and handling experience over a wide base not just riding schools. Then if you still feel it's what you want to do work through your BHS or ABRS stages to become a qualified instructor. You might also want to look at other careers that are available in the equine industry, there are a lot of options out there.

 

[newforest]

Regardless of how they're trained riding school horses are chosen for safety, willingness to tolerate rider mistakes, and being easy enough to take multiple riders. Once out of a school that can change, many a rider who's considered advanced in a riding school has come unstuck when they move to privately owned horses, particularly if they've taken on something that is suited to their perceived rather than actual skill. This is probably even more true where people have ridden at good schools since they're the ones who take particular care when selecting school horses and also in maintaining their schooling.

What I, and I expect @newforest , are trying to say @charlottlefish is that you've only had very controlled and safe experiences with horses. You haven't come across the sensitive ones, the sharp ones, the badly trained ones, the youngsters, or ones with problems. And if you decide to go ahead and work with horses you will be expected to deal with them and no amount of book learning is going to be enough because no horse has ever read a book. They can be useful to give you ideas on approaches to try but you have to have the experience to see what you're dealing with and stay safe in situations that can escalate quickly.

If you're absolutely certain you want to be a riding instructor I'd suggest this. Finish school and get the best qualifications you can. For a few years work in another area and use that time to get a lot of hands on practical riding and handling experience over a wide base not just riding schools. Then if you still feel it's what you want to do work through your BHS or ABRS stages to become a qualified instructor. You might also want to look at other careers that are available in the equine industry, there are a lot of options out there.

Yes that's what I was trying to say.
You need to be confident and competent with all horses in order to work with them.
Learn to lunge a horse properly as the majority of people at college will fail that.
You might actually be happier learning all about them and keeping it as a hobby.
How many not so good experiences have you had?

 

[newforest]

Not all yards work and train their ponies the same. I rode the safe, old RS mare. I rode first and the RS escort followed, riding a horse that was new to the yard.
We sometimes alternated, we halted and overtook each other. But one way or another I got used to riding first and from that it was a small difference to start riding solo. It isnt so much a question of horsemanship as how a person feels when riding on a horse. I was pretty ignorant but when asked if I coud hack alone I just said yes and set off. I felt happy on a horse and the communication between me and the horse was OKay. If I had understood that horses are herd animals and spook when frightened, I might not have started hacking solo.
But the mares I have hacked solo seem easier to ride than when they are in a group competing to lead.

All riding schools will train the horses to be safe enough for the level of rider they are planning on putting on them. They will also take out new ponies and youngsters with a ride because the idea is they are joining the stables.

Everyone is learning all the time.
What you say about the mares being better solo is because you are riding a leader. Mine is a natural follower, so she will want to slot in behind another horse, or person. It's possibly why the inhand stuff I do works well as she's just follows on.
The op is a total beginner so she's a long way off taking all this on board.

 

[charlottlefish]

Thank you all for the replies, I will take everything into account

You might also want to look at other careers that are available in the equine industry, there are a lot of options out there.

What other careers do you think would be beneficial to look into? I know that I wouldn't want to be a farrier or equine dentist as they don't interest me. Equine vet is a maybe but I suck at biology and I'd need a good grade in that for my GCSE's to do that

 

[charlottlefish]

I've been thinking more about this and I think I'll just go back to trying to get grade 9's in computing and maths and my original plan of going to Oxford uni and I'll revisit this in a year after (hopefully) starting lessons at my local yard

 

[carthorse]

Thank you all for the replies, I will take everything into account

What other careers do you think would be beneficial to look into? I know that I wouldn't want to be a farrier or equine dentist as they don't interest me. Equine vet is a maybe but I suck at biology and I'd need a good grade in that for my GCSE's to do that

Off the top of my head physio/chiro/osteo, saddler, nutritionist, vet nurse, groom (though again likely to be poor pay and long hours), sales.

I do think going back to your original plan is best and keeps your options open. Maybe use holidays to get more hands on experience - winter as well as summer so you get to experience the dubious pleasure of being soaking wet and wading through mud day after day!