# 2 riding instructors??



## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Riding is a life long adventure. You need to actually MASTER all the skills. How would you like if I was your nurse and they showed me something, I did it once or twice, and then I came at you with let's sayyyy.... A catheter. 

Do yourself a favor, stick with a trainer who is going to teach you the RIGHT way not a trainer who is going to just push you right through and leave SERIOUS holes in your training.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Wau Tau (Feb 18, 2013)

I have two trainers but only because my first one is hard to get hold of and is really busy. Also, the second one knows my horse better as she was his previous owner. It is hard sometimes because they have different ideas of how to do things and will sometimes contradict each other. For you I would say stick with one trainer as long as she is teaching you what you need to be taught and has the time to work with you. Sometimes two trainers can be confusing for both you and your horse and besides like slideStop said learning one thing fully will help you more and you can always do with extra patience around horses haha =).


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

There's nothing wrong with using multiple trainers - if they are both beneficial to your riding. 

I often use several instructors, one on a regular basis and then another one when I have the time. But, previously I have ridden with multiple instructors at one time (one for jumping and one for dressage). The only thing to remember is that different people ride/teach differently. So, you have to take what you find useful and disregard what you don't. But - you may find you come into conflict if you don't have the right instructors who are willing to tweak a little bit for you. 

Its best to straight out tell the instructors who else you are using in my experience. It helps them be able to teach you.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mangomelon (May 11, 2012)

I have three now, but I used to have four... haha One of them I hardly ever get to take lessons with but when I do I always end up learning a lot. I have one "main trainer" but really I just take lessons with any trainer who has horses that I like. I figure if I like someone's horse, I should learn how they got them that way. However, if you're a beginning rider, sticking with one trainer may be best because if you have multiple they will eventually contradict each other. Once you have a solid foundation in horsemanship I would definitely recommend taking lessons with other people even if it's just occasionally. The best horsemen I know learn from EVERYBODY. The worst/slowest-learning horse people I know have one trainer and worship them. If you never step outside of what your trainer knows and learn from others with different methods and experiences you will not be able to grow in your horsemanship skills as fast. But to gain the most from that you have to be able to discern what you should listen to and what you should leave behind. That's my opinion  Oh and all of my trainers know each other and none of them mind that I take lessons with other people, they actually seem to encourage it.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I have taken lessons from two different people in the same time frame, because I wanted to learn both dressage, and brush up on my jumping skills after not taking jumping lessons for so many years. They both specialized in their particular discipline, and yes a few things were a bit contradictory, but nothing major, and more was just the position I would have depending on what I was doing. That being said, if you are just looking for someone to teach you faster, and you are determined to go with someone that will teach you faster, I'd switch completely. Personally though, I'd stick with the trainer you are with now as long as you are learning, and she's not keeping you at say a trot for a whole year just because she doesn't want to work on moving you up (I do know a trainer that spent 3 years ponying a horse around that threw his rider, because she felt he still wasn't safe to get on after 3 years). The first "trainer" I had I only used for maybe a month, she was missing fingers, because she fed treats to a horse wrong, and though she used it as a learning point, its just kind of a red flag, and the second lesson I took with her she had me going over fences. Sure it was kind of fun to "learn" that fast, but I wasn't really learning. Switched to a different place, and they didn't let me jump for several months, and slowly worked me up as I learned and mastered things. Moving fast isn't always a good thing.


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## Gossip (Sep 26, 2011)

I have 4...two dressage trainers, one who I use once a week and one who's more like a rare treat. Then I have a cross country trainer who I love, love, LOVE. And then I have a norm trainer who has jumping lessons for me, and teaches me at horse riding camps and such.


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## picup436 (Nov 22, 2012)

I have 3 regular coaches, I have my main dressage coach that I see weekly, I have a jumping coach that I go to fortnightly and another dressage coach that comes over every month to 6 weeks. I am lucky that the way that both dressage coaches teach compliments the other. It wouldn't work if they taught different ways of riding the same movement. It would be confusing to both me and my horses.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

I had two coaches, then one. I really prefer working with just one since I'm only focusing on one discipline.. but if you do something that requires different methods (like eventing) then it may be great to have more than one.

I think I understand why you want another one.. but honestly it's best to really work on one thing and be awesome at it...then have 5 things thrown at you and not come out so hot even after working on them.


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## BansheeBabe (Apr 5, 2011)

Thanks guys! And maybe I should've mentioned, my current trainer is specialized in eventing, which I just started doing, but she doesn't teach a lot of the things I would look for a hunter instructor to do, like slow, relaxed courses and other things like that.. that's why I was thinking about another trainer, for my other discipline. My current trainer is also pretty busy, she usually cancels one to two lessons a month, out of 4


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I like the input from many and any good rider. 

Our polo coaches are different every game/practice. It's wild.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

And then there are coaches who bring you along so slowly as it guarantees income. It can be difficult to discern. Unless a person is riding 5 days a week, progress will seem slow.


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## BansheeBabe (Apr 5, 2011)

Yes, she is definatly slow, but what really gets me is that with only three lessons a month with her, and her taking it so slowly, its hard for me to remember how to do an exercise correctly without her there explaining it, you knoe? Maybe its just my memory and how I learn though.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I have two regular trainers- one for dressage, and one for jumping. The dressage trainer I take a lesson with weekly, and the jumping trainer once or twice a month (she travels from out of town to a nearby barn, so I can only go when she's there and it doesn't conflict with anything else). I also occasionally take a lesson with a NH trainer who comes to my barn every couple of weeks, but only when I have specific questions or things to work on. Next month I'm also riding in a clinic with a trainer who's coming in just for the weekend.

It's good to have a regular trainer, but also good to learn from many different people who you respect and learn their points of view as well.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

BansheeBabe said:


> Do any of you guys have two trainers? I absolutely love my trainer now but she is really slow in teaching me new things, i.e., she teaches me something then we work on it til its good enough to her then move on, which is great, but I want to learn a bit more in a shorter time frame.. not prefect it any faster, just learn more and then work on it, at the same time. I don't want to leave her, so I'm thinking about riding somewhere else as well.. do most trainers mind, or is it rude to do that or..? Should I get another trainer or not? Thanks for any advice, in advance!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


You know your needs change and therefor what you need or who you need to train you also changes. There is nothing wrong in leaving her to find another trainer.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I had two trainers for a while! We boarded our horses at two different stables due to room/training reasons (one was at a training barn, the other we just boarded). I learned under each of the trainers at either barn. One was a lot like your trainer, very methodical and waited until I mastered the skill to progress. The other was a different story. She taught me the basics, taught me more stuff and different ways to accomplish them and then began to teach me different disciplines to improve my riding overall. I rode western with the methodical, slow one all the time and so when I went to the other trainer she eventually left it up to me to decide. I could go from riding western in both lessons to riding western and then english, or western and then driving a carriage. But no matter what the other trainer always made sure to relate it back to improving the overall horse skills and keeping everything safe and without any 'holes'. That being said she did take her time in her own way. Since I was riding with another trainer she expected me to constantly work on the skills we had practiced with her and when we were in the lesson she expected me to be dilligent and an able rider. If I slacked off she pushed me 10X harder and wouldn't let me off the horse till I AND the horse ended on a good note. 

I think it's good to have multiple trainers because it gives you many viewpoints, different options on how to handle a horse, and overall improve riding by riding different horses and learning different ways. I haven't met a trainer that minded severely (the two I worked with didn't) and I don't see any reason why yours should. To put it in a kinda harsh way, business is business right? I think as long as she knows your not doing it because your upset or completely leaving because of an issue, but rather to gain more knowledge she should be fine. Just be honest and upfront about what you want to do, and if you do see another trainer, what you want to know/expand upon.


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## michibichi (Aug 13, 2013)

Having two trainers is no problem! Especially if you're interested in multiple disciplines. It's very beneficial to learn many techniques and theories, plus increase you're riding time.

SOME trainers do get offended though, so I would make sure to talk to your current trainer about it before you start riding with someone else. If she gets offended but you really think it would be beneficial, you may want to search for two new trainers.


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

I had one trainer but started searching for another one because the horse that I was riding for the first trainer was moving and no other horse was available. Plus I thought I was ready to move up from generic English instruction to just Dressage. The first trainer got mad at me for switching and now we no longer speak. Kind of sad. I thought she was my friend. 

I've been with the second trainer for 5 months now and progress is very slow as my seat is not where it needs to be. So now I found another trainer who works with me on my seat at a different stable with a totally different horse.

I'm nervous about telling my dressage trainer that I'm taking equitation lessons from another instructor. Hopefully she will be ok with it. 

I think that the student as the consumer has the right to pick whoever they want as their trainer even if that includes multiple trainers because only you can know what your training needs are.


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## Marcie (Jul 25, 2013)

It sounds just like going to a different hairdresser and hoping your normal girl doesn't find out...Ahaha. Of course as the one Paying them for the services it seems like it shouldn't feel that way but it does nevertheless. 

My coach up front said that if I wanted to get into anything detailed that she couldn't do I could always go to another barn to learn it. I thought that was nice. I know that I'm free to explore options if the future steers me in another direction.


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## Mel20 (Aug 13, 2013)

Three lessons a month is really low.. you could consider another trainer for a few extra lessons.


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