My 8yo daughter had been going for a few weeks. I (the father) attended the previous 2 lessons. I was not overly fond of the way the trainer (Sharon) would talk to my daughter (when my daughter struggled with the buckle for the saddle last weekend, she made a joke that the schools are letting us down - as if it were a joke for us adults to ""get""). \r
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Last weekend when my daughter walked directly behind the horse, I asked the trainer if she should be walking behind a horse like that. He response was a very short ""it's a myth,"" which seemed like a blow-off answer. She paused, then (I can only guess rethinking her response) proceeded to explain the risks of being in front of a horse is more dangerous than being behind it, and seemed to want to end the conversation as if her explanation should be enough for me. I didn't push the issue since she seemed to have no interest in working with me regarding my concerns as a parent, but I wanted to see how the rest of the lesson would go (I didn't want to judge the trainer too early). For the rest of the lesson, the trainer's tone and response to my daughter's learning curve was barely tolerable but there were no other single defining moments. I would expand on this, but really it's the little nuances that you pick up as a parent when other adults interact with children (exhales when not getting an answer/response she wanted, not as uplifting/encouraging, etc.). You can tell when an adult has a genuine care for your children, and the trainer did not seem to have this.\r
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Before the next lesson, I explained to my daughter that one can never predict when a horse will get spooked, and I've known several people in my lifetime who have been kicked when behind a horse. For an 8yo, that can be lethal. So I told her that I don't want her walking behind a horse.\r
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After a few minutes into our next (and last) lesson, I informed the trainer that I told my daughter that she is not to walk behind a horse anymore. The trainer took immediate defense to this, stating that she will not have parents dictating to her in her barn how to conduct training lessons, and (beginning to raise her voice to me) explained she was using a ""bulletproof"" horse for lessons (but there is no such thing). I told her that as a parent I have a right to decide if I want my daughter walking behind a horse.\r
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During this exchange, I noticed the trainer was beginning to put all the equipment away while we were talking. I asked if we would be able to talk about this at all, and the trainer then said that we won't see eye-to-eye (never once did she offer any flexibility in meeting my concerns as a parent), and told us if we paid ahead then we would get a refund. She also mentioned there are several other stables that we could go to (the tone was not helpful).\r
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So with my daughter now crying, we had no choice but to leave. I explained to my daughter that we would not be able to stay because the trainer doesn't know how to talk to her (my daughter) or me (the parent).\r
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I'm sure the trainer knows horses, but she doesn't know how to work with people.
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