The magical genius that is L @VivaCarlos has struck again with another brain tickler of a question to get blog-tongues wagging & fingers a-typing.
What is the best advice you've ever received from a Trainer or another rider? What is the worse advice you've received from a Trainer or another rider?
The best advice I've been given was by my first riding instructor (my legendary aunt/godmother):
"Look up where you want to go, if you look down at the ground that's where you'll end up"
She is totally right, to this day, whenever I feel my horses drifting randomly underneath me - if I check myself and focus on where I am looking, usually not straight ahead of me (another nasty bad habit); as soon as I reprimand myself and get my eyeline where it should be the horse "magically" improves...honestly it's not rocket science - I just wish my brain & body would cooperate more.Practice, practice, practice is the only answer here i think.
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| KikaChiquita from osteo visit on 22.7.2014 |
The worst advice I have been given thus far was from a "professional" saddle fitter who i will NEVER EVER use again. It is such a pity he is the only Albion retailer in this neck of the woods *sob*
Long time followers of this blog will surely remember the troubles I had with Miss Kika & rearing. Well it turned out the saddle this guy sold me & i had checked by him multiple times, never fit & the only way she could let me know when i missed all the earlier clues was to full on rear.
Admittedly, she later took this evasion tactic further as she realised she had managed to scare me and could get out of doing things she found "hard" - the root of the problem remains that the saddle never fit her & it should never have been sold to me as such.
Because he was (is) a renowned saddle fitter, the one recommended by the main trainer at our yard and used by many other livery owners & riders at our yard; I persevered with the ill-fitting saddle not knowing it was ill-fitting as Kika got progressively worse and downright cranky & sour. I had her teeth checked, osteo out - they though it could be kissing spines, so i had x-rays done...thankfully cleared. I gave her time off, brought her back slowly etc etc yet the rearing problem persisted & I ran out of people offering to help me and I had to fend for myself till the Guru took pity on me and came to my aid.
Although I am far from the only person to have had a sour experience this saddler, and no one is perfect. No one professional suits everyone - this guy certainly did not help me despite my asking him multiple times to check the saddle fit as i wasn't sure it was working out - at the end of the day he is the professional...what did i know?!
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| Another Nancy shot from 22.7.2014 |
i've heard the first one multiple times! The second part sounds terrible! So sorry it happened.
ReplyDeleteLive & learn hopefully.
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog ☺
I always seem to forget the first one! The second one is awful - I had similar happen with a farrier - multiple bad trims and more and more unbalanced feet led to some serious problems. I had no clue until the vet (diplomatically) advised a different farrier. Sure enough, problems went away with some time off and a good farrier. I know how angry the saddle thing must make you - the farrier thing was years ago now and I'm still mad that I trusted that farrier to know what he was doing
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear you had a similar experience. Thankfully we both came out of it with minimal damage & all animals are happy & healthy again
DeleteIt's so hard when you seek out the expertise of professionals and they let you down. There is a local saddle fitter around me who pushes the most expensive brands (without concern to the fit for horse or rider - I speak from personal experience) and it's such a shame. At least you were able to establish what the problem was :)
ReplyDeleteIt is so discouraging when you can't trust the professionals. Sadly such is life sometimes.
DeleteI am embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out what the problem was, but am glad that Kika is forgiving
"Look up where you want to go, if you look down at the ground that's where you'll end up" I still think of that every day too!
ReplyDeleteI forgets & need reminding - fingers crossed one day it sinks in along with "heels down"
DeleteI've seen a lot of certified saddle fitters cause a lot of problems. They certainly don't like their expertise questioned. I once had a doctor that said the best advice he was given was to trust a mother's instincts when their kid was sick or injured. I think saddle fitters should adopt this policy. We know our horses. They need to out pride aside and listen to the owners/riders.
ReplyDeleteThat is great advice, pride really is possibly the worst vice imo.
DeleteThanks for the comment ☺
I find that when I remember to look forward and focus on where I want to go, that other things like forward and straight are a bit easier to attain. Go figure :)
ReplyDeleteRocket science eh? ;-)
DeleteYes it's awful when professionals fail you! We go to them because we don't know and we need help and then for him to do something like that and then completely dismiss you when you continued to have problems is just wrong... :-( I'm glad the guru was able to help you. I don't think you have permanently hurt her. You two have come so far!
ReplyDeleteThankfully horses are much more forgiving then humans.
DeleteK has forgiven me but I can't forgive the saddler - ironic? I suddenly think so, my horse is better than me - but this is not surprising as they are both awesome