# Instructor on Horseback?



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Hey all, I just wanted people's opinion on something. What do you think of a riding instructor teaching while also riding a horse of her own? She isn't training or working the horse per se, but using it more so that she can give a visual example of what she wants her students to do. 

For the majority of the lesson when she's not trying to give an example, they walk on a long rein in the center of the arena while she instructs. On occasions when she feels that she needs to get up close with a rider and physically help them with their positioning, she'll step off of her horse and leave him ground tied while she helps the student in question. When their through, she mounts up again and resumes.

Has anyone had an instructor teach in this fashion? Do you feel that it would be a beneficial way to see how an experienced rider does things, or a distraction from the lesson itself? Could it be discouraging to a new rider to see her instructor doing everything with such ease while she's struggling with something? What are your thoughts?


----------



## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

my instructor just sits in a chair when she teaches, which I love. But it might help some people to get a visual. They always say watching great riders help you ride better. But I wouldn't be very happy if her horse spooked and took the whole lesson up on her own horse.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I think it could be a good thing. One way that I learned to ride is by watching how my Dad and older brother sat on a horse and how they moved when they rode, then I would try to emulate them. I can imagine for some people it would be very beneficial. I know that sometimes I have a hard time visualizing how to do something just from being told and if the person telling could also show, then it clears things up really well for me. Though when not demonstrating, I would likely prefer her to just stand still and essentially use her horse as a 'chair'. I know that I have a habit of watching how a horse moves and tuning out everything else so the constant walking might distract me.


----------



## NittanyEquestrian (Mar 3, 2009)

I teach both ways depending on the rider and horse and what we're working on. I also have a lesson horse that tunes in so much better with another horse in the ring. I try not to pander to him but when I'm teaching dead beginners, just me sitting on a horse in the center of the ring makes him happier and in turn he teaches the beginners much better. He was a rescue and was shut away from other horses in a stall for a while and was skinny and un-socialized when he came to us so I understand and accept him as he is. That being said, I will also do this with advanced students especially when we are working on jumping and dressage. When it comes to finessing a rider's position or working over fences or on specific movements it can be hard to explain a concept or aid from the ground but very easy to show it by exaggerating the aid, body position or movement from another horse. The key is to make it effective and not distracting for the student. Sitting a still horse makes teaching difficult because making a horse constantly pivot will frustrate them fast. A nice gentle walk or positioning your horse near a corner to stand so you can see 3/4 of the ring is also a good idea. If an instructor is schooling a horse during your lesson then I think you should not be required to pay full price as that is distracting and you are not getting their undivided attention. That's not to say that just watching an instructor school a horse if they are explaining what and why they are doing what they're doing is not also a good lesson to learn but it should be arranged ahead of time and not just because the instructor is too busy to do the lesson and the schooling separately.


----------



## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

my barrel trainer brings her horse and rides it while im riding mine, and i love that she does this. I am a VERY photographic learner (meaning that if you TELL me somethign it will take me longer to learn, but if you SHOW it to me i pick it up right away) so with her bringing a horse she shows me on her horse what she wants me to do and i just pick it up alot faster.


----------



## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_I would actually like for my coach to do this so that she can physically show me what she wants me to do, because when she tries to explain stuff from the ground, its hard to translate it into what I need to fix position wise. _


----------



## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

When I taught a few lessons this summer, having another horse would have been an awesome benefit. I've never been taught with someone else on a horse, but when I taught someone who was more or less an absolute beginner it would have been so much easier if I could have had my horse there. She had a hard time grasping the concept of bend, leg yield, and tracking up (she's only young). My own horse to demonstrate these things would have been so excellent, I would have been able to teach her more because she would have understood the concepts right from the get-go.


----------



## dedebird (May 21, 2010)

my old instructor did that all the time all her horses got along so she didn't even get off she would just get right up beside me with her horse LOL which i didn't mind cause i can keep my horse away from hers and she can keep hers away from mine xP she normally rides them just cause she has to excersize them she never really showed me anything while she was riding

my new instructor shows us how to do stuff on the ground she litteraly chases us around the areana LOL and when we need to see somthing she'd squat down like she was on a horse and show us LOL its actually funny xD


----------



## Uma (Aug 26, 2010)

Sounds like your instructor has perfected this style of teaching. My trainer doesn't ride while giving lessons she stands in the middle and walks around to watch us. She says she doesn't like to ride because she doesn't want to be distracted with the horse she is riding.
But I can see how having your instructor show you different visual examples would be very helpful.


----------



## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I never had instructor like that, but I think it would be beneficial. Sometime it's hard to understand how exactly you have to do certain thing. The live example definitely would help. :wink: I had instructor getting on MY horse to show me some stuff (but obviously it was a private lesson).


----------



## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I took lessons from an instructor who was usually mounted and I personally hated it. She spent more time schooling her own horse than anything, the final straw was when she brought in a 2yr old and told me to ride around and she'd watch while she did ground work with the 2yr old who had never been in the arena and was freaking out. 

My current instructor generally has a chair or mounting block but mostly is walking around helping me and has no problems hopping on my horse if she's being a **tch or she wants to show me something. Besides, someone's got to pick up the poles every single time my lazy horse knocks them down!


----------



## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

My instructors have always done it occasionally when they were short on time and needed to school another horse. It has never been any different for me but maybe it's just because I'm used to it. haha


----------



## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I assume the instructors that routinely teach while on horse back are not teaching a jumping lesson where fences need to be adjusted or moved about?


I can only see this working well if the instructor has a dead broke will stand still no matter what type horse.

Otherwise I would guess the students would eventually feel like they are paying for their instructor to train the horse they are sitting on.


----------



## Regan7312 (Jul 5, 2010)

my instructor does it sometimes, i love it because i am a visual learner. if i need her to show me something also it saves me the hassle of getting down and having to find a way for my short legs to get back up..lol..lazy i know.

overall it is beneficial to me


----------



## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Actually I DID have instructor on horse. Last year I took couple lessons in team penning/sorting on my qh. So you need another person to help out anyway. However while he used dead broke trained gelding 1st time (it was a GREAT lesson), 2nd time he decided to combine the lesson ($$) with training other people horse (another $$). It was a hot youngster, knowing nothing and very unreliable. So in combination with my youngster it went horrid. I was lucky I didn't end up on ground dumped. Needless to say I didn't come back. 

So the bottom line, it's beneficial when instructor is on dead quiet horse, but not when he/she actually schooling another horse for own purpose (with the students who actually paid money for the lesson).


----------



## mvinotime (Mar 5, 2010)

My instructor does both but I PREFER when she gives my lesson while on her horse. Some things are so much harder to absorb without actually visualizing it. I can try and try and not get it and then she demonstrates and wham I have got it! I think the visual part is very important, at least for me.


----------



## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I've taught that way on more than one occasion. It can be SO much easier to a student to really be able to visualize what you are talking about...I know I am a visual learner, so when my own trainer (from years ago) did that, I loved it. The trainer who has been working with my boss's horse does the same thing, unless it's ground work of course, but then he will use his mount to do the same thing...visual learning is often the easiest way to help a student learn.

I could easily use my girl for lessons, once she gets more solid in some of the more advanced stuff...she stands like a rock when ever I ask, and will stand for ever. Haha


----------



## QHDragon (Mar 6, 2009)

I actually get EXCITED when my trainer gets on her horse, mostly because she hardly rides any more due to the overwhelming amount of work it takes to run a large boarding barn, now mostly by herself, and also because her horse is this beautiful dutch warmblood mare that has three gaits to just drool over. I also enjoy seeing what I am trying to get my horse to do demonstrated to me by a horse that knows how to do it, and because my instructor is actually doing it at that moment I think she explains it much clearer.


----------



## NittanyEquestrian (Mar 3, 2009)

I think that the bottom line comes down to, if it is being used for the benefit of the student with a horse that is actually a good demo horse it is usually a good thing. If it is so that the trainer can school a greenie/youngster and make money on a "lesson" it usually goes badly. Like someone said it's only good if you're not jumping or doing something that requires any ground crew stuff unless you have a third person that can put up poles or move equipment. All in all it is one of my favorite ways to teach AND learn personally, but only when it's done right and for the right reasons.


----------



## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

It's a matter of what works for _you._

You may not know yet what works for you, in which case, you could ask your instructor to experiment with you, to find out.


----------



## Solon (May 11, 2008)

I think they need to be on the ground and focused on what the student is doing, not riding.


----------



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Sounds like it's an overall popular sort of thing to do, but also something that should be done on a case by case basis. I like it myself. In my case, the instructor in question only ever uses one of her superbly trained personal or lesson horses while instructing. She'll sometimes ride before our lesson and by the time we come in, our lesson time is her mount's cool down period... and they're usually more than happy to just stand or walk in the center of the ring.

She's got one old schoolmaster type guy who's been her horse since college that she'll use as an example frequently. It's neat seeing how in tune they are with one another, and its a great way for him to get out and move without having to work too hard any more.


----------



## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

My trainer does all the time, especially with me and a few of her "favorites" because we know her very well personally and it's just a way to get more mileage on her horse (just relaxing) while giving us mileage on ours. I appreciate it too because she can show us what she wants and generally the horse she's riding is a future show prospect, which generally also turns into a horse I will eventually show lol
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

My trainer does all the time, especially with me and a few of her "favorites" because we know her very well personally and it's just a way to get more mileage on her horse (just relaxing) while giving us mileage on ours. I appreciate it too because she can show us what she wants and generally the horse she's riding is a future show prospect, which generally also turns into a horse I will eventually show lol
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Brithorse1996 (May 25, 2010)

I've never had a lesson like this, but to be honest I would be happier if my instructor would get on the horse I'm riding and show me what to do instead of bringing her own horse. Because I tend to end up on horses that if they see another horses butt it's like a magnet.


----------



## Amir (Nov 18, 2009)

I've had a flat work instructor give a few lessons like this.
I found it to be quite helpful as I learn a lot better with visuals like that rather than just do this, this and this.
I can see how it would be intimidating for a new rider seeing someone else just say this is how it's done and bam. Perfect half halt or whatever.


----------



## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Question for those of you whose instructors do this - Do they only teach one or two lessons per day or do they change out what horse they sit on every lesson or what?


----------



## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

My instructor might use the same horse during 2-3 lessons since they aren't really doing much, but she'll switch if she's already been working the horse prior to the lesson. Occasionally she'll trade out her horse for one of ours, so the most that the lesson horse would do in that case is to participate in one lesson and be the example in the other.


----------



## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

I've done both. Depends on several factors - what is being taught, WHO is being taught and how many other riders there are.

As has been mentioned, sometimes a visual is good - I even will pop on the students horse and have them pop on mine so they can execute the signal and feel it happening.


----------



## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I've only had one or two horses at a time, so I have always used the same horse for the lessons I have had that day...since I would most often be in the middle of the pen, walking in circles following the rider, I never saw it as much of an issue...especially since I rode ALOT then...my horses were fit, so walking around while giving a lesson was nothing, hahaha!


----------



## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I don't teach formal lessons - I teach friends and family and also teach at pony club.

When teaching friends it is normally while out on a ride as we go - So yes I am on my horse. My horse is better educated than most they ride so I will often show them something, then put them up on my horse to try it out on a horse who knows it - They seem to like this method. 

At pony club I am often on Latte while teaching and will just be sitting still or walking around - Both things that are greatly beneficial to a young horse. I don't think it effects the teaching at all.


----------



## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I'm with Solon. I'm not okay with this at all. I don't think it's safe. And I'd be shocked if any parent would stand by while the instructor they were paying was riding a horse when they were supposed to be teaching their child. It's a distraction, for one. For two, what if one of the lesson horses spook? The instructor needs to be able to assist, and be there if a rider goes down. No horse is 100% predictable, or will do something 100% of the time. Just because her horse ground-tied yesterday doesn't mean it won't find chasing the runaway horse more interesting today. If they need to demonstrate, the instructor can get on the horse and show them precisely what to do with that horse. Now the student has the increased benefit of seeing THEIR horse doing what it's supposed to.

It's funny that this was brought up. I just had a conversation with my roommate about it because an instructor was teaching while riding, in WA state as well. =P


----------



## dedebird (May 21, 2010)

hmmm i guess i like it because my instructor dosen't like ride her stallion she'll ride sprits who is a big marsh mellow ;D so its fine 

if something happens she can be over by me like that o-o 

idk that last part is just what my mom says i don't really think it would be safe either because then if my horse was freaking another horse cantering up would like freak her out more yes?


----------



## whatshername (May 3, 2010)

i had an instructor who rode every time while teaching me to rein
and it was extremely beneficial because it was so much easier for him to explain and then show me
it was a lot easier to learn and i picked it up quick
and sometimes we would switch horses which also helped because my horse knew nothing about reining as did i
so when i got on his horses i could feel and learn the correct way it should be done then apply it to my horse

however, i was always his only student
my lessons were free
and i've been around horses for awhile so if the horses spooked or something went wrong i'd be able to handle myself
i think when instructors ride, it might be more suitable for more experienced riders and i think it might be more beneficial depending on the discipline
for say if both my instructor and i were working on english or western pleasure i don't thing it would be as beneficial but more of an annoyance for me anyway
just a thought


----------

