Can anyone offer me advice about change of riding stables for DD.

[OrmIrian]

She has been riding every fortnight for about 5 years. I know nowt about riding, but I assume she's doing OK as she seems to be sitting the right way up on the beast and doesn't fall off

She moved from her first stables earlier this year to be with her friend. The new place is great for hands-on experience with the ponies - she gets to tack up, groom, clear shit (woopdewoop!) and various other jobs. problem is the 'various other jobs' appear to include weeding the garden around the stable and chopping wood for the owner's rayburn . But DD would be fine with that if the owner wasn't a bit of a mardy cow.

The local college has a riding school that has a good reputation for teaching children to ride. It's more expensive and probably more formal but DD is quite interested to give it a go. But there is no way she'd get to help out with the horses - you pay for that priviledge it seems!

So.... option 1 stay where she is, carry on with the stable work and grumpy owner. Option 2, move to a better riding school but miss out on the grooming etc.

BTW she is considering training as a physio and then later specialising in equine physio so hands-one with horses is potentially quite useful.

DD is torn. I am ignorant. Please help.

Ooh difficult one. Is it possible to alternate stables and go to each one once a month? At the moment does she only get to help out when she turns up for a lesson or is she welcome at other times as well? (am thinking you could tell them you can only afford once a month for a while but she'd still love to come and help if possible). Perhaps she wouldn't think once a month at the other place was enough to make a difference though. Don't know really, just thinking out loud!

Thanks pixel. I don't think once a month would work - owner already makes snidey digs about her only coming once a fortnight - and DS2 who has a lesson on the same day has his times messed about for that very reason because she has to give the weekly riders more flexibility . I think that once we make the move it will need to be permanent. DS2 could go back to the old stable perhaps.

Sounds like our old yard! Owner was such a mardy cow (thought that was a Leicestershire expression!) that children used to make effigies to torture. Have you thought about a part loan/pony share? Not necessarily any more expensive (although actually it would be as she'd still need lessons, so maybe ignore that bit of advice, unless it would be feasible).

A woman at our yard was looking for a sharer for her horse and ended up with a teenager who can't ride him (yet) but just wants to look after horses, so she comes up and looks after him a couple of times a week. She's blissfully happy, horse gets looked after and everyone's happy so maybe dd could advertise services (backed up by you if she's a bit young). It might be worth some adverts in tack shops for dd's services as unpaid groom so she gets horsey hands on fix, then she could go to better yard for lessons?

Just thinking out loud, but riding schools are not the only source of horsiness!

Thankyou older. I think that sounds like a good plan! DD was telling me that she'd heard of people owning ponies that could no longer ride them who wanted people to come along and ride them for them. She said she'd love to do that. I told her 'over my dead body'! She's only 12 and never ridden anywhere on her own. But if all that was wanted was the share of the care it might work.

I don't know where 'mardy' comes from - i've just always known it. And I'm from Glos originally.

OrmIrian, I too wouldn't let a 12 year old ride on their own (and I wouldn't let one handle horses with no experienced adult around until they'd been doing it for a good while) so you'd be best to look for a pony that's kept at a yard with other liveries around, or resign yourself to getting your wellies on and getting involved, but it isn't insurmountable.

Shame you're not near to us OrmIrian, I have plenty of poo to shovel and muddy ponies that dd could play with to her hearts content, but there must be people like us near to you too.

I think it is very important that she learns all the stable management stuff that comes with having a pony. If the smarter stable is a Pony Club branch centre then maybe she could stay at the stable she is at but do the pony club camp at the other stable in the summer?

Thanks older! I wouldn't mind getting stuck in if need be but I suspect I'd drive her mad doing it all wrong

furminator - it isn't a Pony Club centre. Funnily enough the old stables was - but we had issues with the lessons there as the classes were quite big and they never seemed to progress.

So we're stuck with old stables - lots of work to help out with (some of it pony-related ) and new stables - better lessons but no stable work.

Anyway - we have had a chat and she is very keen to move regardless. I think I'll book her in for an assessment lesson and we'll go for there.

Thanks everyone for your advice

Aha! Just checked the website again. They offer stable management lessons too. Will have to ask about those as there is no price.

Thanks for the all the advice. Quick update. DD went for an assessment last night. it's much more formal but very friendly. We were shown all round, all questions answered, and then she had a 10 minute assessment ride. He is happy to take her on - they aren't open weekends and there are limited places so that is a good thing I guess - but she needs a few private lessons to iron out bad habits. I was a bit taken aback - much more strict on things like how to hold the reins and mount but that is because they deal with college students most of the time who are training to deal with horses professionally. But DD was beaming like the sun when we left so I guess that's it!

One more lesson at the old stable and then her first private lesson on 5th december. They are open over the holidays so I might try to book her in for a stable management session too.

Still got to decide what to do with DS2. i don't want to leave him at the old place really as I don't think she'll react too well to losing the fee for DD's lesson plus all her free labour! But DH is taking that on

It sounds great. dd1 learnt to ride at an incredibly formal place which took things very slowly but she is now a fantastic rider.