I'm having a tough riding week and need to vent.
So Lesson 1- Small group. Open order. Horse I know very well who gets lots of novices on him because he's just so genuine and an instructor I've had only a few times and never had a problem with. I got the horse really stretching over his back, soft and round and stepping under himself instead of his usual short, choppy hollow stride (yeah, he gets socked in the mouth a lot). I got told off because 'he's a school horse and shouldn't do that.' Then after 20 shallow loops(no exageration), I threw in some leg yield because it was getting painfully boring for both of us. Instructor asked what I was doing and the other instructor in the school told her- duh! Instructor then told me we had to work as a ride. Got a second telling off because 'workng on the bit wasn't good for him.'
Lesson 2- Individual on a horse I've been riding for the better part of a decade and would buy in a heartbeat but her owner will never sell. Usual RI is amazing and we use a set warm-up to get her bending and soft and ten do lots of lateral work which horse LOVES. Substitute RI wasn't interested. Insisted on teaching her own way (not a bad thing if you bring something great to the table), no interest in how we normally work. Capped it all off my insisting I shorten my reins and pull horse into an outline while smacking her forward. All it did was get her to bend from the poll. Urgh! I've always prefered a few steps of straight leg-yield to an over-bent one that goes all the way to the wall but what do I know! I know that she was falling out because she wasn't warmed up. With a horse you know so well, you can feel when they've just said 'Sod this!'. I got that today.
Should I have been bolshy instead of just gritting my teeth? Am I being a cow to think that just because I'm paying I know less than the one being paid? How does everyone else cope with RIs who get on their nerves?
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5 replies
horsemadmom · 03/07/2013 14:52
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