Safe to say I won't be having a lesson from him...

My stepmum has recently got her horses involved in a little showing, they've had some great feedback and one of the comments is to improve her cobs way of going, I.e not to be a llama lol!

We decided to try him in my Pessoa. In talking to her neighbour who is meant to be a top dressage order whilst he was giving one of her riders a lesson he told her to ditch the Pessoa idea, and to instead tack him up in the stable and leave him there with his head strapped in with the reins behind his saddle!!

She had been mentioning what a good instructor he is and that I should have a lesson from him but I'm happy with my RI and am definitely not going to be heading over to him after that comment.

Apparently that's the way he trains all his young horses and it saves all the time and effort of a Pessoa!!

Now I know some people love or hate the Pessoa and regardless of whether you like the Pessoa, I'm sure you can all agree it's better than this blokes methods!

I pointed out to her that it's all well and good strapping the horse in but what about the little horses' actual way of going?! That's not going to encourage him to come through from behind, trying to explain to her that the head position is secondary to everything else.

I made it clear after his comment I definitely wouldn't be planning a lesson with him, just hoping the kids don't have too many more either else I will have a lot of work to undo...
 
Sounds dreadful. Hopefully sonebody will strap his head down with some reins to improve his posture...I'm no RI but he sounds like a git!! I certainly wouldn't want lessons with him. Imagine the trauma for the horse - anyway, if that's one of his ideas - god only knows what else he considers.
 
I know a lot of this has gone on in the showing world but not much in top level dressage as as you said the horses needs to work from behind and the outline comes from this not strapping down.

Stay clear of idiots like this.:banghead:
 
That's my thinking too. Although I am thinking I might have a lesson and egg him into saying that to me and the give him a piece of my mind and then not pay him lol!!

Even better, record him on your mobile and post him on youtube!! Can't understand some people - why would doing what he suggested help????:unsure:
 
He sounds dreadful! How on earth would he like it if someone strapped his head down like that let alone if someone did it to him and then left him in a confined space :stomp:
 
I do know people who leave a horse strapped in with side reins, I never fully get this idea because you need the horse to move to work it out.
People do tie their horses head way in which is where the rolkur came from, if only people like this rode a horse with attitude and landed on their arse they may rethink!

What I find scary is if his methods are like this to teach what does he do when he problem solves!

If I did this to mine I wouldn't have a door, she would take it right off.
 
Sadly forcing the head down is all too common in dressage riders. I know several who are convinced that if they pull the head in everything else will follow and disappointingly they get reasonable scores from many judges.

Very common in pony showing as well but less so in horses as those will be ridden by the judge who will not 'hang on' to the mouth
 
What a first class @*%*! I like the idea of videoing him giving that sort of advice and then putting it on facebook. Bleddy idiot.:devil:
 
Horrible.
But I do have some wierd memory of a pony being lunged briefly at our school with the reins looped over the back of the saddle. To check if she was lame. I think I assumed it was because the side reins (normally used for lunging with a rider) were back in the tack room which is five minutes walk away. I may even have seen someone rest the reins behind the saddle for a moment when they didnt have time to twist the reins into the throat lash.
 
Equally there are NH horse trainers who would think nothing of strapping the horses head to the side and leaving it there because it doesn't understand flexing.

In every aspect of the horsey world, and probably the dog world too - not that I know anything about it - there are people who have their own 'methods', however they wrap them up, and all of them to my mind are very questionable and not how I would want my own horse treated.
 
sounds very old fashioned and not very nice.

our motley crew of unbrokens, foals, old horse learning new tricks, are currently tackling flexing -my problem with Suze is that she gives it without any touch on the rope, suddenly her head is right around nuzzling me, which is maybe not quite what we are trying to get! Bud has that look of wtf do you want me to do now - and foal uses it as an excuse to mug you!
 
em 123 - Thank you for reassuring me that what our RIs did was probably OK. I began to think my yards werent as good as I have aways imagined!

But also it stuck in my mind as no one anywhere had ever taught me to loop the reins over the back of the saddle.

Edited to say - we dont do collection, outline, etc at our yard. We do and new horses are trained the back legs way.
 
I am reading this at the moment http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tug-War-Cla...id=1381060236&sr=1-3&keywords=gerd+heuschmann and bearing in mind it was published in 2007 I genuinely thought that "current thinking" was anti hyperflexion etc. and that more of the top riders are trying to work without force and tension. I suppose you just have to do your research, be informed and make choices you are happy with. I agree with you em - not method's I'd want to be taught.
 
Funny I had a lesson once with someone who suggested I tie my horse's head down in the stable for 10 mins before riding her as she is hard work to get in a shape :frown:

I questioned him on this and he said he does it with his horses if hard work as it just makes it easier for you when the get on but I dont agree with this so never had another lesson.

My horse is hard work but when she goes properly from behind her shape as amazing so I dont do quick shortcuts and it frustrates me that as already said judges do often mark a horse up for head in when not a true outline :cry:
 
But also it stuck in my mind as no one anywhere had ever taught me to loop the reins over the back of the saddle.

The usual thing, to get the reins temporarily tidied out of the way, was to loop them behind the run-up stirrups. If they were too long, then behind the saddle seems an obvious alternative.
 
Hard to get into a shape means to me not being asked correctly to shift their backside lol!!

I have Alfie who is very easy to work round, almost too easy but then I have Jasper who is hard work, but once you've got him it's lovely and light and a joy to ride, he's a great one to teach people how to really get the back end in action and to teach them the head is secondary to the hindqaurters engaging. Because if he isn't working through his head will not soften lol!!
 
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