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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

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Original poster

Thinking of ending horse share and returning to a riding school - advice please

47 replies

juniperjane · 27/01/2014 21:26

I am thinking about ending my horse share. I have been sharing for a year. I am a novice rider, and horse is a complete sweetie, really safe and sensible and I am so lucky to have found her after all the nutters I tried when I was looking for a share last year

However she is so lazy in the school, on a good day I can get her to canter the long side of the school, on a bad day I can get about three strides of canter and that is all. I have tried mixing things up, a bit of jumping etc to make schooling more interesting for her but she is just so reluctant.

So I have pretty much given up riding her in the school and now just hack, which is slightly better but not much better. She is slightly more active when out in company but when we go out alone she is really lazy, it is such hard work to get more than a few strides of trot or canter. She also tries to turn for home (although I am always firm and never let her). As she is kept at a small yard there is often no one to hack with so I go alone most of the time.

I am not sure why she is like this, must just be her personality. She is kept at a lovely yard, she is in really good condition, very well looked after etc.

She is generally an angel to handle, but her one bad thing is that sometimes she will plant her hooves and refuse to either leave / re-enter her field, on occasion it has taken me up to an hour to get her back in the field and often I have somewhere else to be and am in a rush so I really don't have the time for these games.

I am just not sure how much I am getting out of it anymore, some times I don't even feel like riding as everything is just such an effort with this horse, although the thought of ending the share makes me feel like crying as she is such a sweetie and loves cuddles and being groomed etc.

As I am a novice rider, I am thinking I might just be better going back to riding school, but all the riding schools I have been to in recent years have been disappointing.

Any advice would be appreciated. I cannot afford to keep the share and do lessons though.

Also, if I do end the share I am not sure how to tell the owner - she has just lost the lady who shares her other horse and was telling me how much of a nightmare it is as the livery yard has just put its prices up too. I know I need to just be brave and tell her, but she is such a lovely lady I feel awful letting her down.

OP posts:

PeanutPatty · 27/01/2014 21:55

Don't go back to a riding school. Start looking for another share. There are plenty out there. You've more experience now. You know what you do and what you don't want in a share. Take a new share on a month's trial. It's always hard telling someone you no longer want to share but as long as you give notice (a month usually as per your contract I would guess) you shouldn't feel bad.

5OBalesofHay · 27/01/2014 22:10

If you're a novice and not able to do lessons as well as loan then I think you should go back to lessons and think about a share in another year or so.

Is the horse lazy with other riders? Maybe get the owner to canter her in the school and see whether its you or her. Similarly, if you are having trouble on the ground, is it her usual behavior or is she taking the piss out of your lack of experience?

AbiRoad · 27/01/2014 22:14

Would the lady's other horse suit you, ie the one she lost the share for?

Pixel · 27/01/2014 22:16

Could you loan the lady's other horse or is it not suitable? Just thought you could get something more lively and you wouldn't have to dread telling her as she wouldn't be any worse off!

Pixel · 27/01/2014 22:16

Oops cross post.

Original poster

juniperjane · 27/01/2014 22:25

The lady's other horse is too advanced for me. I have ridden it before but it can be difficult to handle and I am not the most confident so not sure that would suit me. Also it is quite young and a bit spooky out hacking so probably needs a more experienced rider than me.

Regarding my horse yes I have seen the owner's daughter (who is a brilliant rider) ride her and yes she is really lazy still. Better than with me admittedly but still v.lazy!

OP posts:

JellyMould · 27/01/2014 22:33

I think you really need some lessons on the share horse. Ask around for a good instructor that will come to you. If it's laziness on the part of the horse, a few lessons will make all the difference. It doesn't have to be long term.

Floralnomad · 28/01/2014 15:07

TBH it sounds like this horse has the measure of you and is taking the piss a bit , if you are going to keep her you need to change your approach to her and show her who is in charge .

craggyhollow · 28/01/2014 15:27

Fwiw we had a pony like this

He was so nappy out hacking alone that he was no fun whatsoever

The only thing that revved him up was hunting

I also think you should look for another share

Pixel · 28/01/2014 16:42

Dhorse is like this. He's forward going and responsive out hacking (a bit too much for my likeing although he does listen and respond, it's just the general bounciness that worries me!) however in the school he is totally bone idle and you'd think he was a dead to the leg riding school pony. I've had loads of lessons on him and he has been schooled by other people all to no avail. I've never actually had a proper canter on him in the school . My instructor says it isn't me, (I ride all her horses fine and she trusts me with her dressage mare which I'm proud of as it doesn't happen often) and that anyone else would have given up on dhorse years ago!

OP, if your share horse is the same I don't think it is your fault and lessons on the horse probably won't help, especially if she is like it with the owner too. I know how hugely frustrating it is (believe me! ) so it really seems to be a choice of accepting the mare as she is, and the limitations to riding her, or finding something else to ride. What a shame you don't have anyone to ride out with as I get the feeling things would be better then.

mrslaughan · 28/01/2014 18:59

Juniper jane - I was in the same situations you, had a share, and to start with it was great, she helped get me through a low patch in my riding...she was what I needed at that time. But I wanted to continue to progress, but she couldn't be shagged to be honest, so lazy, wouldn't "give" anything, and actually started being very naughty to get out of working "properly"...problem was she got away with that with her owner, and I was not a strong enough or experienced rider to push her through this.

So I ended my share and was planning to go back to just riding school horses.

Then another share came up where I ride, he is a true schoolmaster, a retired eventer, and he is truly teaching me. Yes he plays games, and will try and get out of working properly (he knows every trick in the book), but he is not nasty and if you correct appropriately, he accepts and does as asked. What I have realised is that it is much more fun, and you learn much more and faster, on a forward thinking horse, than one you are constantly nagging.

So I say end your share and ride riding school horses, while you look for a more suitable share.

Booboostoo · 28/01/2014 20:22

Try at least one lesson with your share horse. You may be very surprised at how much easier she will be to ride once someone teaches you a few ways to respond to her lazyness.

Original poster

juniperjane · 28/01/2014 21:26

Thanks for all the advice.

Floralnomad yes I suspect she might be taking the piss with me, as I am a novice and not the most confident. Is there anything specific I can do to communicate to her that I am the boss? I do try to be firm, i.e. not letting her turn when hacking, and making sure I always get her back in her field eventually, even when she plants her hooves in the field before and it takes me half an hour to move her.

OP posts:

EnlightenedOwl · 28/01/2014 22:32

how old is she?

Floralnomad · 28/01/2014 23:52

. With the hoof planting try and turn her in small circles ,even if you really need to lean on her and push her around ,or if she won't go forward try and push her backwards ,any movement is better than none . Really be assertive ,she is a horse and there is no way you will damage her by shoving her a bit .

5OBalesofHay · 29/01/2014 00:06

You could try whizzing her feed up a bit, then be a bit 'boot camp' in the school. Direct transitions (walk to canter, or even better halt to canter) and ride a few strides of shoulder fore before asking for canter from trot to encourage collection and generally brighten her. Ride loads of spirals, pole work, collection and extension.

If basic schooling doesn't improve her then I would look for something a bit more suited to where you ate now, rather than where you where when you started with her.

Zazzles007 · 29/01/2014 08:38

I think you have a few problems which are compounding your particular situation. In a nutshell, these are:

You are a novice rider (nothing wrong with that, we have all been there).

You have a share horse who is pretty lazy and takes the piss (I agree with the poster above). This reduces your enjoyment of your rides.

You can afford to take lessons or share, but not both.

The thing is, if you are a novice rider, it means that you won't have a lot of strategies and tactics to deal with a lazy, unresponsive horse. In order to learn how to get a horse more responsive to the rider, you need to take lessons.

So its a catch-22, that really has a simple answer. Ditch the share and take some lessons for a while until you are 'less of a novice' and more comfortable with a few tools under your belt to deal with some of the more challenging situations that arise when you are riding a horse (any horse, for that matter, not just the share). Don't worry about what the owner will think, or feel guilty that you are 'letting her down' - you have to think about your own horse riding enjoyment. Just tell her that you want to take some lessons and become a much better horse rider, but to do that, you need to discontinue the share.

Then get some recommendations for some good riding schools and instructors, and try out a few until you are happy with one of them. If you are a novice, you 'should' be having at least 1 lesson a week for a year or two to get you out of the novice stage. Of course it totally depends on how prepared you are to learn, the consistency with which you can get to lessons etc etc. If you can find a good instructor who you can trust, let them guide you (at least somewhat).

Hope this helps.

PS Life's too short to pay for a horse that you don't seem to enjoy riding.

craggyhollow · 29/01/2014 09:06

I don't agree that it's necessarily because she's a novice. Some horses are just plain lazy and difficult. Yes you can find ways around or ways of improving but if you have a horse who just doesn't want to play ball, schooling helps for a bit but they are always looking for a way back to their old ways.

A lot of these kind of problems are caused by the herd instinct - horses not wanting to leave the herd. What's she like hacking in company?

craggyhollow · 29/01/2014 09:11

As I say, the one we had like this ended up being the most fab hunting pony but still awful in the school or hacking alone

It wasn't until we got our next pony who was very safe but willing and forward that we all started to enjoy it more!

DolomitesDonkey · 29/01/2014 09:15

I think back to riding school is a good idea - and I'd advise riding as many different horses as possible else you're going to run into similar problems over and over. Variety makes a rider!

Right now you've not got the experience to get the most from this mare - yet you're at a real danger of accidentally over-horsing yourself.

A bigger yard might help, although ime they lead to a plethora of unsolicited advice which makes my spider senses roar "feck orrrrf!".

DolomitesDonkey · 29/01/2014 09:17

Ps when you say you're mixing things up a bit in the school, what do you mean? It's so easy to fall into a boring routine and it's just as dull for the horses. Can you run through a few elementary dressage tests? Nobody is judging - just going to get you to strike off at different corners etc.

craggyhollow · 29/01/2014 12:45

OK I don't want to be the voice of doom but the pony we had started to ruin our confidence. It's really not worth bothering with esp as you only share

You sound thoughtful and as if you've tried everything

The idea of our pony doing a dressage test was sadly hilarious he used to stop twice along every length of the school

Original poster

juniperjane · 29/01/2014 13:46

Thanks all.

Horse is 17 so unlikely to change now!

50Bales would love to be able to do a walk to canter transition on this horse but cannot. Trot to canter yes (with a tap of schooling whip) but walk to canter have applied the aids and nothing happens. It is hard to get the active walk that you need on her for the canter transition, she just plods.

Craggy yes idea of doing dressage on her is silly, I can hardly keep her in trot for one lap of the school.

Think I need to head back to riding school .....

OP posts:

5OBalesofHay · 29/01/2014 21:45

Or a more active, more responsive share. If you are capable enough for what I wad suggesting then I think you have outgrown this horse and should look for something that us where your current ability is at.

elastamum · 29/01/2014 22:17

Have you tried carrying a big stick (schooling whip) and using it if she doesnt respond to your leg. Most horses wake up a bit if you mean business. Apart from that, I would suggest finding a horse that is more fun to ride

I remember one famous instructor saying to me 'You have to work so hard to keep your horse, you shouldnt have to work your socks off to make it go'

She had a point

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