New beginning

[Random47983]

Good morning/good evening!

I have been interested in horses literally since childhood (and I am 21 years old) but unfortunately I never had a chance to start doing it seriously


I'm not an old guy, I still have a chance to spread my wings. But I'll probably wait a few years - adult life isn't easy.

I'm wondering whether to find a good school in my country with an appropriate budget.

But I have heard about stables where so-called "pathology" occurs and it is better to avoid them. How to recognize whether a place is a good place for horses and riders?

most Stables don't have a lot of reviews on Google, and I don't have any people nearby who are interested in horse riding.

What are the biggest red flags, apart from neglected horses, that show this stable is not a good place to start?


|I would like to apologize VERY much if my sentences sound incomprehensible, too stiff or just plain wrong.



For some reason my stupid mind is unable to learn English properly. Which is only my fault.|


I'm not a person who is very familiar with the Forums, so I don't know how it worked. Can my post be deleted after introducing myself? In any case, best regards

 

[Jessey]

Hey welcome to new rider! The fact that you can write a second language is miles ahead of me, don't worry about it!

Getting a recommendation from someone is the best way to find a good RS (riding school), few have much online presence, but you might try going to local horse feed stores, or tack shops and ask them if they can recommend somewhere - they will know all the local places and will hear from their customers if there is any bad experiences.

Then you just have to try it, all of us have different learning styles and what suits one person won't always suit the next person, so go along and see how you feel about it. If you don't click with a place there is nothing wrong with trying somewhere else. It's always going to be mentally and physically hard when you are learning, but you should feel supported by the instructor, and that they are giving you tips and pointers to help you along - if they just tell you do X and leave you to figure it out, they probably aren't going to teach you much!

 

[Skib]

OP. in the UK we have a list of schools and teachers recognised by the British Horse Society.
But, if permitted, it is a good idea to visit a school and to watch a lesson. Including a group lessons, just ot see the tyoe of horse and how well the students are taught.

they just tell you do X and leave you to figure it out, they probably aren't going to teach you much

This isnt necessarily so. I learned with an excellent RI who gave lunge lessons. She emphasised the importance of balance on the horse so we rode a lot without stirrups. My first lesson she removed the lunge line after half an hour. It was a very hot day. I was not using the stirrups. The old mare walked towards the corner of the school where there was a large tree giving shade. I thought to myself that I was not well placed to do anything but accept what the horse chose. But I worked out that the old mare might be willing to walk to the gate, if I asked her to. The old mare did indeed agree to walk to the gate and to walk on from there.
It was the RIs way of making me independent of her. Giving me my own relationship to the mare and leaving me to get on with it. I eventually shared that mare and hacked her on our own for many years. I have never done well in lessons, trying to please the instructor. But if I sit on a (safe) horse. Eventually things work out between us.

 

[Jessey]

I was talking about a first lesson. If they take a complete beginner and plonk them on a horse and just say trot to the back of the ride without further instruction - that is what I was referring to, and I have seen that hundreds of times and do not think it is a useful teaching style. What you are referring to is once someone is beyond the very basics and learning to be independent.

 

[carthorse]

Does your country have an approval system for riding schools? If it does then looking for registered ones in your area would be a good place to start. Failing that @Jessey 's idea of asking at tack and feed stores is a good one, also local riding clubs if there are any. Or look for local facebook pages and ask on there. I also agree with her about you should get instruction not just told to do something and figure it out, and that goes for as you improve too, if you look on this forum you'll see too many cases of people being told to do something without being told how which is at best lazy teaching and at worst potentially dangerous, It's also a lot easier to be taught good habits and position from the start rather than have to unlearn bad ones.

 

[Huggy]

Welcome to the forum Can't add much to the above, but sometimes you have to try a place to see if it suits you, as well as checking their teaching methods. I've been to a couple, long time ago now, where the lessons were very thorough, but I just didn't enjoy it - it was too regimented for me.