Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Post by Karen Hops » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00


For all those who responded to this post,  Thanks so Much!!

Looks like I've jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

I found a new instructor, not dressage, hunt seat.  I had a terrible
experience and have been knocked to ground 0 in confidence.

I rode a young Paint gelding.  His demeanor was lazy, she had me tack
him up with a copper twisted wire snaffle, and wear blunts.  I was
told that there was little contact with the mouth, and she had my
stirrups so high, I felt like a jockey going to the races.  Having a
low back fusion, I could not bend enough to get a good seat.

To shorten the story, this horse kept falling into the center of the
ring, and I had NO control.  I tried to half halt, gather him up to
get him back on the rail.  I used my inside leg as hard as I could
short of outright kicking.  Nothing helped.  We spiraled into an
outright fight, him bucking, me fearing the jump we were headed to
crash into.  I went into defense mode and pulled him into a circle to
regain control.  I was yelled at for doing this.  I'm sure I was
wrong, but no one was helping me out of this situation so I had to do
SOMETHING!

She told me to turn his nose into the rail at the spook, and put more
leg on him.  So I did.  He responded a little better the first time
by, but started into the center of the ring the next time.  I didn't
battle him (I can learn), but we are headed for a collision course
with the jump again.  I did what she said...pulled his nose toward the
rail....his inside shoulder fell into the spot I didn't want to go,
and I'm pushing with everything I have on my inside leg....which was
totally ignored by the horse.  I am tired, frustrated and scared.

I convinced her to lower my stirrups to get a better seat.  She
finally relented and WOW, what a difference...she just kept saying, "I
can't believe you never rode with a short stirrup before"?  Is that
something you say to a student??

We rode on, and he started up the same tricks again.  The instructor
got on him and was blatantly kicking this horse with the inside spur
constantly.  She told me to gather and let go....in other words,
collect him and release.  I lilterally did what she told me, I
gathered him up then released the pressure on his mouth and his sides.
It seemed to make the horse more confused and rebellious....it was so
awful!!

She did not ride this horse the way she was telling me to ride the
horse, and when I pointed it out to her, she told me, "When an
instructor tells you to do something, you sometimes have to do
something else to get the horse to do what you want".  At this point I
had to blow off some steam from the frustration and replied back, "If
this were my horse, I'd work for the next three weeks to teach him how
to get off my leg rather than kicking him with a spur constantly".

I might have offended her, and I'm sure I was wrong.   Why did it get
so bad?  What could I have done to build my confidence and this
horse's confidence to get through these blow-ups??

The horse would rise above the bit and hollow his back and ignore me,
running sideways into objects.   How can I correct this before a crash
takes place??  What did I do wrong??  How can I work through my fears?

I feel so helpless and stupid.

Thanks Again,

Karen

 
 
 

Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Post by Jim & Laura Behni » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00

<snip of lesson from hell on a poorly trained (and probably, IMO,
sore) lesson horse>

Quote:
>She did not ride this horse the way she was telling me to ride the
>horse, and when I pointed it out to her, she told me, "When an
>instructor tells you to do something, you sometimes have to do
>something else to get the horse to do what you want".  At this point I
>had to blow off some steam from the frustration and replied back, "If
>this were my horse, I'd work for the next three weeks to teach him how
>to get off my leg rather than kicking him with a spur constantly".

Sounds like *you* know more than the "instructor" ;-)

Laura Behning
morgans at mindspring dot com
http://www.mindspring.com/~morgans/Laura.htm

 
 
 

Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Post by Richard Bish » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00


writes:

Quote:

>For all those who responded to this post,  Thanks so Much!!

>Looks like I've jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

>I found a new instructor, not dressage, hunt seat.  I had a terrible
>experience and have been knocked to ground 0 in confidence.

>I rode a young Paint gelding.  His demeanor was lazy, she had me tack
>him up with a copper twisted wire snaffle, and wear blunts.  I was
>told that there was little contact with the mouth, and she had my
>stirrups so high, I felt like a jockey going to the races.  Having a
>low back fusion, I could not bend enough to get a good seat.

In my state, twisted wire bits are ILLEGAL!  This person is a Very Bad
Trainer, Very Bad Rider and needs to be avoided.

Find another instructor.  Just because someone says they know how to
teach doesn't mean diddly.  Obviously this woman doesn't.

<snip>

Quote:

>What did I do wrong??

You were right, she was wrong.

Quote:
>I feel so helpless and stupid.

Get away from this woman.  She is an idiot.

Quote:

>Thanks Again,

>Karen

Sue

 
 
 

Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Post by Rachel Swa » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00

I'll second this, whole-heartedly!  This person is not
qualified to train you and/or the horse in question.
Find a different school mount & a different (real) trainer.

Best of Luck!
--

Rachel & Belle
Portuguese Bend - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
rachelswan at earthlink dot net

Quote:


>writes:

>>I rode a young Paint gelding.  His demeanor was lazy, she had me tack
>>him up with a copper twisted wire snaffle, and wear blunts.  I was
>>told that there was little contact with the mouth, and she had my
>>stirrups so high, I felt like a jockey going to the races.  Having a
>>low back fusion, I could not bend enough to get a good seat.

>In my state, twisted wire bits are ILLEGAL!  This person is a Very Bad
>Trainer, Very Bad Rider and needs to be avoided.

>Find another instructor.  Just because someone says they know how to
>teach doesn't mean diddly.  Obviously this woman doesn't.

><snip>

>>What did I do wrong??

>You were right, she was wrong.

>>I feel so helpless and stupid.

>Get away from this woman.  She is an idiot.

>>Thanks Again,

>>Karen

>Sue

 
 
 

Dressage Trainers: Thank YOU!!

Post by CATHERINE ALEXANDRA PAFO » Wed, 18 Feb 1998 04:00:00

Quote:
>Looks like I've jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Oh dear! Look at it this way - it can only get better from now on. Let me
assure you - what you're experiencing is far, far from normal.

Quote:
>I found a new instructor, not dressage, hunt seat.  I had a terrible
>experience and have been knocked to ground 0 in confidence.
>I convinced her to lower my stirrups to get a better seat.  She
>finally relented and WOW, what a difference...she just kept saying, "I
>can't believe you never rode with a short stirrup before"?  Is that
>something you say to a student??

I don't know anything about hunt seat - but if you've never ridden with short
stirrups - you never have. Millions of people haven't. It's a silly thing to do
when you want to do flatwork - but giving the intricacies of the show world,
that's probably what you're expected to if you adhere to that particular
discipline.

Quote:
>She did not ride this horse the way she was telling me to ride the
>horse, and when I pointed it out to her, she told me, "When an
>instructor tells you to do something, you sometimes have to do
>something else to get the horse to do what you want".  At this point I
>had to blow off some steam from the frustration and replied back, "If
>this were my horse, I'd work for the next three weeks to teach him how
>to get off my leg rather than kicking him with a spur constantly".

YES! This 'instructor' sounds like an absolutely clueless person - instead of
teaching you good horsemanship she makes you kick and pull, and when that
doesn't work, berates you alternatively for following and not following her
'instructions.' I'd have blown up a long way before that!

Quote:
>I might have offended her, and I'm sure I was wrong.   Why did it get
>so bad?

You were RIGHT. Not everyone who takes money and puts people on their horses
knows how to ride, and more so, how to teach. You still have the responsibility
for your own safety, and THAT is something you can't just hand away. You MUST
speak up if you feel you're in danger. For your own sake. Yes, you might
misjudge the situation - but after the first buck it's not ***y likely that
you actually did. And even if it were something a good and experienced rider
could master with little effort - a scared beginner will get hurt. So if you
don't feel up to something, and the instructor can't disperse your fears -
don't do it. It takes more courage to be called a coward than to break your
bones.

Quote:
>What could I have done to build my confidence and this horse's confidence to
>get through these blow-ups??

As you said - go back to the beginning, ride around slowly in a  mild bit, make
sure he responds to your aids, give him back the confidence in the rider he
needs - but in this situation, where she determines the equipment and what you
do with him - you can't. For your confidence seek out a schoolmaster - a nice,
gentle, friendly horse that does what you ask of him.

Quote:
>The horse would rise above the bit and hollow his back and ignore me,
>running sideways into objects.   How can I correct this before a crash
>takes place??  What did I do wrong??  How can I work through my fears?

You didn't do anything wrong. A horse like that takes weeks, months, maybe a
year to correct. In a lesson situation with an imbecile 'instructor' you can't
do anything.
An important key is your position. Sit up straight and keep your hands down.
The curling up, falling forward and pulling on the reins reflext most riders
fall prey to is exactly the wrong thing to do. You are far less likely to come
to any harm if you sit up straight and balanced with a long leg and keep your
heels down.
There are methods of dealing with a horse that doesn't concentrate, and many
techniques of conquering your fear, but they would go beyond the scope of this
post.

Quote:
>I feel so helpless and stupid.

Helpless you may have been - but stupid only applies if you come back for more.  
This is not good riding. You're not going to learn anything there. You will
just be scared to death - and sooner or later an accident will happen. Turn
your back on that stable and seek out an opportunity to ride where kicking and
pulling isn't encouraged. If you want to learn dressage, look for a good
instructor. If you can't find one right now at this time and place, look for
other opportunities - it is better to work on your seat and skills when out on
the trails, then to be scared shitless by a so-called instructor.

Maybe the two links below help a little bit as well.
Catja

<http://SportToday.org/~cap96/horseman.html#fear>
<http://SportToday.org/~cap96/classic.html#Instruction>