Should i take lessons on my horse or the barns?

Question

i have a 8 year old morgan x arabian and she's "aqua" (she's not a green horse but has alittle in her) and i want to take lessons again.

i hear alot of people say that if i take her and ride her as my lesson horse she'd learn and i'd learn how to controle her and she'd learn how to do what we are learning...so like training for us both...

but on the other side i hear that i should take them on the lesson horse because its alot safer and the horse is more experienced so i don't have to really worry so much about what they are doing and focus on myself then i should train my horse seperatly.

what do you think???

Answer 1

start off on the barns so that you can gain your confidence at the canter then move onto your horse. that way you kinda know what to expect and both you and your horse can learn.

Answer 2

is your horse tranied if not dont ride her or him. but if has been a long time sence he or she has been riden dont ride a school horse!

Answer 3

you know the horse best, and it's your horse, so you may as well get used to riding it. i would say ride your own horse at the barn.

Answer 4

I am in the same position as you :D I started out taking lessons on my appaloosa gelding right away when I got him. We slowly realized that since i was just learning, it would be impossible to use him in  a lesson. He was just too stubborn and didnt know much. My lessons turned into a waste every time cause he would loose interest and not do anything and stand there.

We realized that i should ride my trainers thouroughbred in lessons only because he is very well trained and is a been there done that kinda guy.

I find it so much easier to use my trainers horse so i can worry just about my cues and then i know for sure that i am doing all of the cues correctly.

I ride her horse once a week, but during the week like 5 times, i apply the cues and new thing i learned with my trainers horse on my horse. So far it has worked great. I feel so much better knowing that i am riding correct, and that my horse is slowly learning the correct cues as well.

In a few weeks my trainer will have me ride my horse in a lesson to see how we have improved.

My answer is that you should definatly ride a barn horse first in lessons so you cna learn the basics. Once you leared the basics you can apply it to your horse.

hope i helped

~2htoohorse~

Answer 5

its entirely up to you.

if you feel that you want a better "bond" with her, take them on her, you can always swap.

If you want better diversity as a rider, take them on the barn's but be aware, people say that makes you a better rider but it doesnt

all riding school horses are the same "bom-proof", lazy and they all follow each other round in a circle. i would never say that the more of a riding school's horses you ride, the better rider you are.

Answer 6

I had this same "situation" when I was learning to jump.  My mare was green and so was I and I could not give her the confidence to get over the jumps so.....I started taking lessons on a nice broke, solid jumper so I could learn to jump and what to do.  I then gained the confidence from that horse to "help" my mare over some jumps.  Really, she wasn't cut out for jumping we eventually figured out.  :)  But I went on to jump on another horse so it worked well.

I would take lessons on your lesson horse because you can focus more on yourself and that is good.  Then, you can confidently take lessons on your horse and teach her the right way instead of the "sort-of" way.  I hope that makes sense.  

Lesson horses are great because your confidence can build quickly and make you a much better rider to teach your own beasties.

It is great to be able to train your own horse and work with them.  Getting lessons on another "solid" horse will help you both.  :)  Good luck!

Answer 7

To each decision there are pros and cons:

The pro of learning on a lesson horse is that you'll likely learn on a well- broke horse - there's a lot to riding that requires "feel" - an obscure term that's hard to put into words - but what does a disengaged hindquarters "feel" like - what's it "feel" like to be on the wrong or right lead, what does a dropped should "feel" like - further you must develop highly tuned senses to "feel" what the horse is thinking or going to do next.  In order to ride well, we need to know what the most perfect thing we can encounter "feels" like.

The con of learning on a lesson horse is that your own horse doesn't get the learning either.  

The pro to riding your own horse is that she gets the education too - the con is that if you are riding poorly, she may learn poor habits.

I LOVE your reference to an 'aqua' horse - maybe that'll stick in our horse lover's lexicon of useful terms - can I steal it from you - or maybe borrow it a little?

I would suggest a few possible answers:

1.  You could start on the lesson horse to establish for you and your instructor what your level of riding ability is - then move to your horse at the proper time and keep you and the horse at a certain level that wil allow you to ride to the level you are, and properly training her.

2.  Or you could take your horse and yourself in front of the instructor - ask for determination of both your abilities and ask for that person's suggestion based on their experience of instructing.

It's easy for an aqua person to s***w up and aqua horse quickly - it's difficult for a green person to mess up a well broke horse.  Don't put yourself or your horse in the position of not doing well right from the start.  If you need work on the basics (not sure of your level of riding aptitude) you don't want to use your horse to learn - you need to learn in order to set the proper goals then bring your horse to your level.

What you may find is that you jump back and forth - ride the lesson horse a few times, then ride your horse to hone your skills and build the horse to your level, then go to another or the same lesson horse to progess to the same level.  

have fun!

Answer 8

I think it would be better if you took the lessons on your own horse.  The reason is this - if you take lessons on a school horse, you will have good luck because the horse will cooperate but when you go to do the same thing on your own horse, you will be having problems so better to "learn together"

Answer 9

Is it possible to do some of both?  It's good to ride multiple horses because it helps you with your position.  But I think you should also get some professional help with your horse.  Good luck.

Answer 10

I kind of had the same problem. I have a ApHC who was abused kind of it was more mental abuse but she is very scared of new people around her so When I got her I was w/t/c/j my old horse. A very well made horse but was lame and couldn't hold up to w/t/c/j any more. So I took and bought this mare. Well the first day I wanted to ride her I couldn't get near her it took me a week to just get her trust on the ground then we got her to the point she would do anything on the ground for me. So I tacked up and went to the ring and got on I could only walk with her she was so scared but as lessons went on I learned how to cope with her fears and she coped for mine. I am an extreemly timid rider and my horse taught me how to ride more confidantly. The purpose of that is if you know how to walk and trot extreemly well then just work with your mare on that. Then take lessons working on the canter or jumping dont get on your horse expecting it to be 100% made. No horse is, never will be... Today If I wanted to I could take my mare out and jump 2' I have only ever done less then that because we both fairly new at jumping but we both have the confidance in each other to do that so the answer to your question. Ride your mare and start small and slow if you cant even ride your horse do ground work and lots of it. once thats accomplished saddle up and walk circles, halt stop mount dismount. I mean stupid stuff. Heak it might take for ever but if you go slow and right with your mare you will have the best horse. Why would your ride a green horse by yourself when you have the option to ride it when you have someone their paying attention and can correct anything that you might be doing wrong???? Ride your mare it will be fun and rewarding.. :) Keep a diary of all your lessons and then read it when you think shes compleetly made. you will be suprised.. I was

Answer 11

You should do both. Start with the barns and a lesson horse. After a few sessions of that, then take lessons on your own horse.

That way you get the best of both worlds. Get reacquainted with horses again first before you go riding this "aqua" horse. If she is a little green she requires an experienced rider anyway.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 12

I don't believe in the blind leading the blind, babies raising babies, or novices training young horses.  Learn all you can in lessons, and translate that to what you do when you ride your own horse.maybe once in awhile do a training/lesson session on your horse.

Answer 13

I think you should only take lessons on your horse--I'm a bit surprised at all the people who say that they needed lessons on a barn horse before they could comfortably ride their own. I don't think you should buy a horse that isn't at your own riding ability. Anyways why I think you would be best on your horse is that there is no one way that is the correct way to ride a horse. Every horse needs you to ride him/her in a certain way. Once you become more experienced it's easier to tell what adjustments your horse is asking you to make. I just bought a new horse and began taking lessons with an excellent trainer who trains riders AND horses so she is essentially training me to train my horse. Soo I think that right now, for you and your horse, it's most important to figure out what you both want from the other one. If you over time get a bit bored on your own horse, that's when you could think about trying out some others.

Answer 14

I agree with David M.  Alternate your lessons on her, and on a more trained horse.  This way, both of you will benefit.  When you are done with your lesson on the lesson horse, ride your girl and practice what you just learned.

Answer 15

If you have the ability, I would do both- learn a skill on a lesson horse who is well trained and will help you understand how to ask for what you're doing (leg yeilds, flat and dressage especially). Once you can ride and ask for any of the skills you want your mare to learn, then take her in a lesson so you and a trainer can teach her the skills she needs to become a well trained riding horse. I personally took over five years of lessons on lesson horses before I bought my mare and began to train her- its best to know how to do things before you ask a horse who doesn't have the training to learn. With experience on a lesson horse you can be more clear and patient when teaching your mare.

Hope this helps!