Hey, you guys remember I am the one who posted about the girl at our barn getting
kicked in the face, and I also posted about one of my students (only riding for 6
months) who went out (unknowing to me) and just bought a horse.
Another set of events at the barn yesterday really set me off. A students mom was
sitting fence side admiring another boarders horse... and got to talking about leasing.
During the lesson the boarder yelled out to me "Hey what about leasing my horse to
them" Knowing this horse is NOT even intermediate level safe I yelled back "well, lets talk about it later when I am done here". Well the boarder puts my students mother on her horse, and in short, horse took off with mom, saddle came lose and off mom went. SHESH! Mom had shorts on, no hard hat, no relase form signed! This barn I am at is
something else! As the world turns!!!
Here is the letter:
Dear Students,
I have not sent out a newsletter in a while, I really have no new news to share, but
some personal thoughts about 'barn business' and riding.
Several students are progressing to the 6-month mark, which is a time of developing
skill and confidence. Usually a student riding (1 lesson a week) for 6 months is finding their balance in posting trot, developing the timed use of their leg signals and hand signals. They are beginning to understand the importance of their balance and the use of their body weight in the saddle. However, as the Pope so eloquently put it, "A little learning is a dangerous thing".
If you were to ask me what my main concern is as an instructor I'd say the safety of
my students. If you were to ask me as a horse trainer, I'd say the 'sanity' of the
horse. This sort of makes a full and endless circle, the state of the rider affects the
state of the horse which affects the state of the rider, continued to infinity. In my
overall 19 years of riding, I have seen it all, and a lot of it all done 'bad'. I have seen enough unethical practices, unhappy horses, accidents, and loss of life (both horses and riders) that were do it sheer ignorance. In the stable or arena, ignorance is NOT bliss.
Beginners obviously have to be watched closely on (and around) a horse. Their
complete lack of knowledge (both explained and first hand experience) will cause
problems. They are not likely to think about the things they are (or are not) doing.
But, because beginners are under my watchful eye, this hardly turns into life altering
problems for either horse or rider. However, those that are wading into deeper waters
are starting to delve into the world of 'life experience', and are starting to leave the
safety of the instructor (a lot of times in haste).
The United States Pony Club rates child riders in the following progressions; pre-D,
D-1, D-2, D-3, C-1, C-2, C-3, B, HA & A. I will list in detail the D level to give some
idea of a logical, and safe ascension up the horsemanship ladder.
D-1: Candidate should ride with out lead line, demonstrating basic balanced position &
control in an enclosed area at the halt, walk and trot, with the ability to keep the horse on the rail in walk and trot, do simple changes of direction in walk and trot, and perform gradual transitions into and out of walk, trot and halt.
D-2: Same as above with the addition of cantering and the beginning of riding over
ground poles (jumping) at the trot, being aware of correct leads in canter and
diagonals in trot work. This also starts the beginning of riding 'out in the open' (ie field or trail work).
This is quite a hefty order, and does not even show the knowledge needed in the
stable management half of the testing procedure. Usually it takes a year to a year and a half for a Pony Club student to advance a full letter level (complete the entire D
structure). Pony Clubbers are not allowed to advance until they have been tested and
past the entire riding and stable management exam. I follow the guidelines of the USPC
as I was once a District Commissioner of the Clearwater Pony Club and a USPC instructor. Their standards are written out for a reason, your (child's) safety.
With this being said, as YOUR chosen instructor or your horse's trainer, my goal is to start from square one, and not proceed to square two until the proper skills have been acquired. This is the only way a horseman can progress safely and sanely. This takes a little more time than some other instructors, and some might find it boring. My goal is safe horsemanship, point blank. Anything worth building is worth building on a good foundation, with out it, any seeming success will only be false and will soon fall apart.
So with that being said, please understand you pay me to educate you, properly and
safely. And as a general rule, I tend to follow the standards of education set up by the USPC (you can find these on their web site in full at http://www.ponyclub.org) If this means you (as a student) must trot on the lunge line for 4 months and only be allowed to walk off the lunge line, then that is the way YOUR education will be handled. Each rider, each horse, and each combination of the two present me with a totally different experience from any other. Some people find their sense of balance, rhythm and timing easier and faster than others.
On the other side of the equation is the horses training. My goal is a happy, sound and well adjusted horse. A horse that has been trained in such a way that he is obedient,calm, trusting, and physical fit enough to fulfill his job as a family riding horse. Again,my methods here take longer than most trainers. I do not advocate the use of force,fear or pain. Such short cuts as head tie downs, harsh bits or spurs do not correct
problems, they hid them temporarily, only to fester until on day the problems explode back onto the scene. Part of riding is learning how to maintain the riding standard so you don't ruin or impede your horse's physical way of going or his personality. Part of
'TRAINING' is learning how to overcome these problems. It takes experience to know
how to properly correct a problem, not to just cover it up, again that is what you are
paying me for.
My ideal is to educate a student, not advancing him on the surface to go to
horseshows and win prizes, but to produce all around horsemen that can safely enjoy
the sport of riding for a lifetime, and to ride their horse in a way that their horses will lead a sound (physically) and happy & productive life.
As YOUR riding instructor, I am here to answer your questions and guide you thru your
first 2 years of your equestrian experience, or thru your first two years of 'classical horsemanship' (dressage based training).
With all that being said, have a good ride!
Kiersten Barnes
kicked in the face, and I also posted about one of my students (only riding for 6
months) who went out (unknowing to me) and just bought a horse.
Another set of events at the barn yesterday really set me off. A students mom was
sitting fence side admiring another boarders horse... and got to talking about leasing.
During the lesson the boarder yelled out to me "Hey what about leasing my horse to
them" Knowing this horse is NOT even intermediate level safe I yelled back "well, lets talk about it later when I am done here". Well the boarder puts my students mother on her horse, and in short, horse took off with mom, saddle came lose and off mom went. SHESH! Mom had shorts on, no hard hat, no relase form signed! This barn I am at is
something else! As the world turns!!!
Here is the letter:
Dear Students,
I have not sent out a newsletter in a while, I really have no new news to share, but
some personal thoughts about 'barn business' and riding.
Several students are progressing to the 6-month mark, which is a time of developing
skill and confidence. Usually a student riding (1 lesson a week) for 6 months is finding their balance in posting trot, developing the timed use of their leg signals and hand signals. They are beginning to understand the importance of their balance and the use of their body weight in the saddle. However, as the Pope so eloquently put it, "A little learning is a dangerous thing".
If you were to ask me what my main concern is as an instructor I'd say the safety of
my students. If you were to ask me as a horse trainer, I'd say the 'sanity' of the
horse. This sort of makes a full and endless circle, the state of the rider affects the
state of the horse which affects the state of the rider, continued to infinity. In my
overall 19 years of riding, I have seen it all, and a lot of it all done 'bad'. I have seen enough unethical practices, unhappy horses, accidents, and loss of life (both horses and riders) that were do it sheer ignorance. In the stable or arena, ignorance is NOT bliss.
Beginners obviously have to be watched closely on (and around) a horse. Their
complete lack of knowledge (both explained and first hand experience) will cause
problems. They are not likely to think about the things they are (or are not) doing.
But, because beginners are under my watchful eye, this hardly turns into life altering
problems for either horse or rider. However, those that are wading into deeper waters
are starting to delve into the world of 'life experience', and are starting to leave the
safety of the instructor (a lot of times in haste).
The United States Pony Club rates child riders in the following progressions; pre-D,
D-1, D-2, D-3, C-1, C-2, C-3, B, HA & A. I will list in detail the D level to give some
idea of a logical, and safe ascension up the horsemanship ladder.
D-1: Candidate should ride with out lead line, demonstrating basic balanced position &
control in an enclosed area at the halt, walk and trot, with the ability to keep the horse on the rail in walk and trot, do simple changes of direction in walk and trot, and perform gradual transitions into and out of walk, trot and halt.
D-2: Same as above with the addition of cantering and the beginning of riding over
ground poles (jumping) at the trot, being aware of correct leads in canter and
diagonals in trot work. This also starts the beginning of riding 'out in the open' (ie field or trail work).
This is quite a hefty order, and does not even show the knowledge needed in the
stable management half of the testing procedure. Usually it takes a year to a year and a half for a Pony Club student to advance a full letter level (complete the entire D
structure). Pony Clubbers are not allowed to advance until they have been tested and
past the entire riding and stable management exam. I follow the guidelines of the USPC
as I was once a District Commissioner of the Clearwater Pony Club and a USPC instructor. Their standards are written out for a reason, your (child's) safety.
With this being said, as YOUR chosen instructor or your horse's trainer, my goal is to start from square one, and not proceed to square two until the proper skills have been acquired. This is the only way a horseman can progress safely and sanely. This takes a little more time than some other instructors, and some might find it boring. My goal is safe horsemanship, point blank. Anything worth building is worth building on a good foundation, with out it, any seeming success will only be false and will soon fall apart.
So with that being said, please understand you pay me to educate you, properly and
safely. And as a general rule, I tend to follow the standards of education set up by the USPC (you can find these on their web site in full at http://www.ponyclub.org) If this means you (as a student) must trot on the lunge line for 4 months and only be allowed to walk off the lunge line, then that is the way YOUR education will be handled. Each rider, each horse, and each combination of the two present me with a totally different experience from any other. Some people find their sense of balance, rhythm and timing easier and faster than others.
On the other side of the equation is the horses training. My goal is a happy, sound and well adjusted horse. A horse that has been trained in such a way that he is obedient,calm, trusting, and physical fit enough to fulfill his job as a family riding horse. Again,my methods here take longer than most trainers. I do not advocate the use of force,fear or pain. Such short cuts as head tie downs, harsh bits or spurs do not correct
problems, they hid them temporarily, only to fester until on day the problems explode back onto the scene. Part of riding is learning how to maintain the riding standard so you don't ruin or impede your horse's physical way of going or his personality. Part of
'TRAINING' is learning how to overcome these problems. It takes experience to know
how to properly correct a problem, not to just cover it up, again that is what you are
paying me for.
My ideal is to educate a student, not advancing him on the surface to go to
horseshows and win prizes, but to produce all around horsemen that can safely enjoy
the sport of riding for a lifetime, and to ride their horse in a way that their horses will lead a sound (physically) and happy & productive life.
As YOUR riding instructor, I am here to answer your questions and guide you thru your
first 2 years of your equestrian experience, or thru your first two years of 'classical horsemanship' (dressage based training).
With all that being said, have a good ride!
Kiersten Barnes
