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My trainer is evil! :)

4K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  EquineFever 
#1 ·
She makes me do things I am not comfortable doing, and she pushes me, all of which are great.

So a few lessons ago, she put me on a lunge line, even though I am an intermediate rider. And made me ride with no reins, arms out aeroplane style and with my eyes closed.
I trust more than anyone I know except for family, and yet I was tense and terrified. I guess I am more of a control freak than I will admit.

But it worked wonders, I was able to feel the effect my seat and balance had on my horse, I was able to say which leg was hitting the ground and when.

It truely was amazing, even though it was horrific, I was able to feel my horse when I cannot with my eyes open.

But as awesome as she is, she has an evil tendancy, of enjoying these moments! :)
 
#2 ·
Girl! You are lucky to have found a trainer who wants to make you better! The only time I have come off a horse in a lesson was on a lunge line! I have balance issues so when she asked me to close my eyes, I dumped off the side at a walk. LOL I bet this really helps though!
 
#3 ·
She is fantastic, and we really bond well together. I have just moved my horse to her place as he was losing weight, and she is so on top of this, she got him a specialist diet and weighed him in front of me and he gained 100lbs in 2 weeks just from grass and feed.

This is not the reason why I like her, but she is English too, so maybe it creates more of a comfort level within me.

But she certainly seems to really enjoy pushing me hard, making me ache and yelling at me - all of which I appreciate.


My 3rd lesson with her, (I have had hundreds since) I had a problem with keeping my legs too far forward and had developed a wrong leg position that felt right to me out of habit, so she spent 2 x 1 hour lessons telling me, then in the 3rd lesson, she yelled 'MOVE YOUR F-ING LEG', I don't think my leg has been back there since, I was scared like my mom was yelling at me :)
 
#14 · (Edited)
She is fantastic, and we really bond well together... 'MOVE YOUR F-ING LEG', I don't think my leg has been back there since, I was scared like my mom was yelling at me :)
:rofl: Having a trainer that is going to tell you like it is; that is what makes riders better! My new instructor kind of gave me a more gentle "what-for" when I asked a question regarding my horse not listening (she had given us a task and I felt hindered by my horse not listening, she told me to do it again, and I, in a flustered manner said "He is not listening!")... she let me know in NO uncertain terms that I needed to listen to her and do what she says WHEN she says it and we will overcome the problem, haha. A spectator to my lesson later said "Wow, she was on you HARD!" While I don't think she'd cuss at me, I do anticipate some future being yelled at sessions, lol.

I love my first instructors to death, but they just didn't have the "what-for" kind of personality when it came to me riding! I was super-excited when I called the new trainer and she said "Okay, I'm putting you on a lunge lesson first off..." Okay, super excited and crazy nervous!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Sounds great!! Good for you having a trainer that doesn't put up with bull.

Agreed, and I love her MOST of the time. :)

Edit - she has also yelled at me 'why do you pay me if you are not listening?' which I agree with, but also sometimes it is hard to do something new. But I love her and am posting this thread because it is great that she pushes me so hard. It would do me no good to have someone who pats my head and tells me how nice I am.


So share your trainer stories, please.
 
#7 ·
Interesting enough my trainer (who is great and the best one I worked with) doesn't really care about lunge line for some reason. I did take lesson with other trainer (before her) and she put me on lunge. It was OK, not scary, but I didn't benefit from it to be honest (plus going in small circles for while makes me sick in head).
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yea even intermediate-advanced riders need the lunge line ;) I went with no stirrups or reins two-pointing a lot.
My trainer shows me stuff like if I am confused she shows me how to do so. She will yell if I am not doing something right but she will in the end tell me I did a good job.
 
#9 ·
What's the benefit of the lunge line in general? Can't you just do same things when you ride actually? I'm saying because I tried it several times, and just didn't find any benefits at all.
 
#11 ·
it just is good practice for most. I can do no stirrups without lunge as well.

When there is a young child on a horse its always best to do a lunge lesson before you let them on the rail it makes the parents feel more safe for there child to be safe I guess.
 
#10 ·
Being on the longe line allows you to give up complete control of your horse and concentrate on certain elements of your seat and your position in their most basic form. It's harder to really feel and understand these things when you're simultaneously steering your horse and maintaining his gaits.
 
#16 ·
It's great that you have a trainer that will push you out of your comfort zone, that's what will really make you progress. When I was learning Eventing, I had to do everything with no reins, no stirrups for longer than I would have liked, but it paid off! Keep up the good work and have fun!
 
#17 ·
Ha ha, this sounds a lot like my Toni. She's a total drill sergeant, but her semi-sick sense of humor is what makes everyone love her ^^

Hang on to this one girly. Alot of fine horsewomen are like that ^^
 
#18 ·
I really got along well with my old trainer. She was totally fabulous! While she doesn't usually compete anymore unless someone asks her to show a horse they have for sale, she definitely is still very much involved in the show world and knows the ins and outs. She also rode for a while with Karen O'Connor, went to England with her and such, so I know that she knows her stuff. She was not afraid at all to push me (though I'm pretty much comfortable with anything in my riding) and she really helped me become a more versatile rider, putting in a good word with other owners that were looking for someone to temporarily ride their horses for them.

I also rode with a fabulous rider/trainer in a few clinics named Eric Horgan (some people might recognize the name, but he's a fabulous coach) and he was one of those not afraid at all to yell at you. I remember in a clinic one of the other riders just really wasn't /trying/ to control her horse, she had just gotten into the habit of letting him do basically whatever, and he said straight up "If you do not get this you will never progress in your riding. If you want to throw your money away by not listening to me then fine, get out of the arena and go ride on your own!" It really made her sit up and listen and actually make progress in the hour that she rode with him!
 
#19 ·
I was able to feel my horse when I cannot with my eyes open.
It's amazing how that works isn't it? I can feel my horse's movements best when my eyes are closed. I can feel them when they're open, but not to the same extent. There's too many distractions.
 
#21 ·
I had another lesson today, and was practising for a low level dressage test. I did a circle and she said 'perfect', then I immediately did not ride into the next corner, she asked why and I said I was shocked at her telling me I was perfect, she replied 'the circle was perfect, you were not'.

****! Why not tell me what you really think? :) I love it!
 
#23 ·
Smrobs, on a young and unpredictable horse (such as mine) it is helpful to lunge, with some I completely trust so I don't have to worry about him at all, and can just focus on me. On a well known, well trained and trusted horse you would not have to worry about this so much. I think that maybe you don't get the lunging thing because your seat, hands and everything else are where they should be, and you train your horses well. But for those of us who are still learning, it is helpful to have an instructor take care of the horse so we can focus on ourselves.
 
#26 ·
Been there and done that myself! Many many times! :)
Thankfully I had a great mare as a teenager who cared more about me than I did. :)


My instructor has yelled at me before - "YOU PULL LIKE A GIRL!!"
To which I yelled back - "I AM A GIRL!!"
hahahaha good times :D
Love that, she sounds like my instructor, who recently told me that I need to seperate my boobs from my belly button. I am not thrilled at hearing this, as I don't have the biggest boobs but I get what she is saying. And I like that she will say things without worrying about my feelings. While she is my friend, I don't pay her to be my friend.
 
#29 ·
AlexS I am seriously contemplating the drive to this place just to watch one of your lessons. LOL...
 
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