how to move on from weekly lessons

Molzer2

Hi, first time poster here, apologies if this type of question has been asked loads of times before.
I know nothing about horses but started taking my daughter to weekly lessons two years ago when she was 7. Two years on she really loves it but I'm thinking it's going nowhere, she never gets feedback, no analysis, no "competition" or the like. Nothing just turn up, pay your money, do the lesson and bye bye for another week. Some days she could be put on the really quietest pony she started on and even though she never complains she does always hope she'll get a livelier one!
She says to me that she'd love to do different, we send her to "camps" there at school holiday time and she enjoys the less glamarous bits too!!!
She does say that she'd really love to be able to ride the pony on her own and do her own thing and I can totally understand this. She loves reading and watching little videos of ponies on youtube everything and anything from tips on loading to foaling!
I really want to encourage her but feel something needs to change to keep her interested. Is the next logical step to buy a pony for her? ANy advice would be appreciated.

monflat

I wouldn't go down the road of buying a pony yet


Go to different school get her to save a few euro do and pay for a private lesson on a different pony.

Do you mean she is still being led around on lead rein?

Book her in to a camp in a different centre
Talk to the instructor or better still the manager tell them your concerns .

Rips

You could get her a loan, or a share of a pony.

There are some yards then, that from the age of about 12ish, she could hang around the yard on weekends and help out. 9 is a bit young.

That's what I did as I child, my parents paid for weekly lessons, but I spent the whole weekend at the riding school. There are not so many places about like that now because of health and safety, but they still exist

Molzer2

She's progressed from the lead rein to be fair, it's just that she goes the same time every week but there could be from 4 to 7 in the lesson and invariably they will be at different levels, the instructor may not know them etc etc. It's just different instructors, different ponys, different participants, no feedback you get the gist, some days the instructor will push her past her comfort zone which really excites her, more days it's like what she was doing in 2012.

Impartial advice appreciated!

Rips

Speak to the instructor about moving her group? Or look around for another riding school.

Rips

Does she get to go hacking at all?

professore

Definitely look for another centre. They should be streaming her based on ability. My daughter had a similar experience in one school, she's at another now and it's a million times better.

The first centre had camps during the summer, which you had to pay for, kids spent most of thedays mucking out stables, feeding the horses etc. That's grand for an hour or so a day, but most of the time?

Molzer2

Rips wrote: »

Does she get to go hacking at all?

Once on a camp

Molzer2

professore wrote: »

Definitely look for another centre. They should be streaming her based on ability. My daughter had a similar experience in one school, she's at another now and it's a million times better.

The first centre had camps during the summer, which you had to pay for, kids spent most of thedays mucking out stables, feeding the horses etc. That's grand for an hour or so a day, but most of the time?

That sounds familiar! I'm glad I posted this, thanks.

Esroh

I am a qualified instructor and from my experience you get 2 types of Equestrian Centre.

1) Run on the basis that you grade your lessons and move your clients around so as to have riders of the same level in the lesson. You are aiming to improve your clients riding by challenging them . Here they need a pony which will happily work in the ride but also willing do individual work. Instructors must also be interested and challenge themselves

2.) Run on the basis that aslong as people keep coming back thats is all that matter. Anyone who wishes to be challenged will move on.
Here the important thing is that the Ponies are quiet and often you will find that the are kept inthe same ride order for every lesson.And if you watch closely enough the ponies are actually working off the instructors voice.

If things have been going along this way for 2 years with instructors changing but with the challenging days standing out as special then to me you have a Type 2. And if
you want your daughter to improve you need to change. Do a bit of research on the centres in your area. Go and talk to the Owners/Managers and Instructors. And watch a few lessons. Its easy to see if the children are being challenged. Talk to the parents that are there.

Re Camps.
Remember that lessons do not stop during these weeks so ponies do double the work which means it cannot be all riding so its important that there is a proper programme of animal husbandry and stable craft to fill the time. Mucking out and sweeping the yard , tack cleaning, grooming etc are all part of this but this should not be that the kids are used as paying labour for the week. Again I have been in places where this has been the case. So if you are going to send her to a camp ask to see the
schedule for the week. A good centre with enthusiastic instructors will have it well planned.

Hope you find the right place. Any kid who questions how much she is improving and being challenged has the gra for riding and deserves to find someone who will nurture that.

nearzero

The yard I am on runs shows in the evening pretty much every week throughout the year with a few breaks, and all the kids who go for lessons are encouraged to come along & rent a pony & do some SJ or dressage or XC. It makes them more confident because they have to mount up themselves, warm up themselves - learn their course or test & go in & have a go!

Their instructor who is also the YO, is there on hand to help them if they go wrong or need advice but she lets them get on with & it gives them great confidence & its fun & they have her support if they need it.

It also gives her a great idea of how they are progressing & if they need to move into a different lesson group because of how they are advancing. Plus they get to ask for their favourite pony to ride & they can swap week to week or do another round of SJ on a different pony if they want too!

Its great craic & very social-able & supportive atmosphere - all the yard kids give them a hand too which is fab! I would recommend finding a yard with a bit more going on for your child that she feels she can test her skills in a supportive environment. Our yard also does beach rides & hacking & XC trips off the yard which is great!

You can also sometimes lease a school pony from a yard which is great way of progressing, sometimes the horse is still used in the school meaning if your child does have the time to commit to 5/6 days riding, the yard is still exercising the horse. It can be a great way of getting an idea about horse ownership before taking on a full lease or buying. Best of luck with it!

aonb

Good advice so far OP - think you definately need to either talk to the riding school owner, or move to a new school, or get your daughter some 1-on-1 lessons - or all three! If your daughter is happy then you are not wasting your cash, but if shes getting a bit fed-up or frustrated, then you definitely need to look at getting more value for your money - which as a parent is what this comes down to isnt it?

My daughter started out just like yours. After a year or two of riding weekly around in circles, with the odd trot/jump my daughter was chaffing at the bit We started getting her private lessons - which brought her on hugely. Then we found a school where there were little 'shows' in the evenings. The pony camps at the yard were good fun too. But basically a riding school is just churning out the little girls, the ponies are usually bored and lazy (understandably) The problem with riding schools too from a 'camp' point of view, is that there are too many fanatical little girls (!!) who dont want the other kids to be handling 'their' pony so the quieter or less experienced kids dont get a look-in.

Do you know any 'horsey people' who might let your daughter have a ride on their ponies?
Where are you based?
I would definitely not go down the route yet of getting a pony for her - at 9 she is too young, and it will cost you a fortune. In a year or two if she is still v.interested you could look at a pony share, when she can manage a pony on her own - canter/jump competently and safely.

(Having said all that, we did end up getting our daughter a pony, then a 2nd pony, she has a horse now and is riding in Dressage Ireland competitions, it seems like a lifetime ago those weekly ride around in a circle lessons!!)

Ave Sodalis

Is there any small yards with a few horses where your daughter could go help for a day once a week or anything like that?

monflat

sup_dude wrote: »

Is there any small yards with a few horses where your daughter could go help for a day once a week or anything like that?

Shes only 9 thou maybe a bit young for that

Ave Sodalis

monflat wrote: »

Shes only 9 thou maybe a bit young for that

Which is why I suggested once a week rather than the whole time. Even just to get more of a feel of horse ownership rather than the regulated school where you go in, get a lesson and leave. Just to give a helping hand sweeping and grooming and so on. I wasn't much older but far less experienced than 2 years when I did much the same, and I found it to be brilliant. You get experience that you wouldn't get with just lessons such as how to treat injuries (even if you can't do it yourself yet), the different types of tack and what there uses are and different ways to muck out and stuff.

monflat

sup_dude wrote: »

Which is why I suggested once a week rather than the whole time. Even just to get more of a feel of horse ownership rather than the regulated school where you go in, get a lesson and leave. Just to give a helping hand sweeping and grooming and so on. I wasn't much older but far less experienced than 2 years when I did much the same, and I found it to be brilliant. You get experience that you wouldn't get with just lessons such as how to treat injuries (even if you can't do it yourself yet), the different types of tack and what there uses are and different ways to muck out and stuff.

God I don't know
my personal opinion = I wouldn't let my 9 yr old off for a day unsupervised for part of it.
Insurance wise and all that goes with it these days are different.

I get where you are coming from in my day we were there from Mornin feed to evening feeds
Times are different thou now

Do places still allow that sort of thing ?

Rips

monflat wrote: »

God I don't know
my personal opinion = I wouldn't let my 9 yr old off for a day unsupervised for part of it.
Insurance wise and all that goes with it these days are different.

I get where you are coming from in my day we were there from Mornin feed to evening feeds
Times are different thou now

Do places still allow that sort of thing ?

Some places do, they rely on unpaid labour!! But not a 9yr old. 12yrs and up usually.

Rips

A lot of yards that are not just riding schools but do breaking livery, would have a spate of young riders, riding for free on stuff that needs hours (once its well broke) in return for yard chores.

Ave Sodalis

monflat wrote: »

God I don't know
my personal opinion = I wouldn't let my 9 yr old off for a day unsupervised for part of it.
Insurance wise and all that goes with it these days are different.

I get where you are coming from in my day we were there from Mornin feed to evening feeds
Times are different thou now

Do places still allow that sort of thing ?

I can't see them being unsupervised. I mean, since she is nine, she'd be more of a shadow and watcher than anything else and in a yard with several horses, rather than just one or two, then the owner would most likely be out for a lot of the day. If the yard is too big, like a competition yard, then yeah, it's too busy and too dangerous but someone with 5-10 horses I can't see there being too much of an issue. Public liability should cover insurance and yards of that size usually have that (in my own experience). I know of 4 off hand that would allow it but I'm afraid I'm very far away from the rest of the country

monflat

sup_dude wrote: »

I can't see them being unsupervised. I mean, since she is nine, she'd be more of a shadow and watcher than anything else and in a yard with several horses, rather than just one or two, then the owner would most likely be out for a lot of the day. If the yard is too big, like a competition yard, then yeah, it's too busy and too dangerous but someone with 5-10 horses I can't see there being too much of an issue. Public liability should cover insurance and yards of that size usually have that (in my own experience). I know of 4 off hand that would allow it but I'm afraid I'm very far away from the rest of the country

No but for sometimes they would be left to their own devices unsupervised
etc.
It would be great if there was somewhere that did that sort of thing but really you as an owner wud want to be fair patient to have a few 9 yr olds hangin around .
Unless you were using them as light riders on ponies etc.

Thats my opinion I wouldn't be letting my 9 yr old off to a place for a few hours .
I think 12 yrs old would be more safer

If the child kept a pony there on livery it would change things but still..
Since I have my own children im very skeptical

Molzer2

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I called to the owner this evening on my way home from work, I outlined my concerns and he was delighted I spoke with him. He will observe her himself next Saturday and will speak to the instructor, we'll organise a 1:1 next week some evening and come up with some sort of plan. It's not the biggest yard around so it's hard to see how he could do some of the things outlined earlier so I need to collaborate with him to try to move things on!
Some of the descriptions of the services on offer as outlined above sound absolutely great, I don't think I have a whole lot of choices where I live but will also call to a few other places over the next few weeks.
I'll let you all know how things go, thanks again.

Molzer2

The lesson on Saturday morning went great, she got a lively pony to ride and they did grid work and doubles which were new. Little one couldn't take the smile off her face!
I'll call over the next few days and get a bit more feedback from the owner / instructor and see where it goes.

Kevhog1988

i went to a riding school for two years from the age of 10 to 12. Just like your daughter i progressed well but got sick of the same old thing. The final straw was when dad came to watch me and i was riding off a unbroken pony during my "lesson". Basically the instructor had me riding all the naughty ponies and expecting me to pay for the privilege. We moved on from that to Dad sending me to cousin of his who breaks horses. Helping out, riding off the ponies, getting them schooled, hunting. All this was done on the basis that i didn't get paid by the cousin but i got plenty of experience and the chance to hunt, xc, sj for free.