So I used to ride through just about any illness as a teenager. And I was sick a lot growing up. But now I’ve realized that it’s not quite worth it or a good use of my money to pay to ride in a lesson when I’m sick.
/end whine
I feel your pain, well… not exactly…I lack a stylish eyepatch…whew. Ultimately, it’s the thought of the money that stops me from lessoning when I’m sick or injured. It’s just too hard to earn a buck to treat it like that.
Ouch! I think taking some time off in your situation is completely understandable.
Yes, it’s frustrating, but I’m sure your trainer understands.
You’re actually doing your trainer a favor, if she has any empathy at all. As a TR instructor, I would find it difficult to judge just how far to ‘push’ a rider who is in physical pain and I would be concerned about her ability to focus and enjoy the ride. I have had corneal ulcers (Uveitis, just like my Appy!) so I know how painful it can be. Hope you’ll be feeling better soon and then you can really get much more out of your lesson.
My sympathies to you; I had a corneal abrasion as a teenager (caused by an air bag) and while it was hardly the worst thing ever, boy did it ITCH!
I would rather have a rider cancel when they are sick than try and lesson through it. If someone can’t concentrate or their balance is off because they are ill, that is when accidents happen. Of course, if it is really last minute, then the right thing to do is pay for the lesson.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
I would also just plain talk to your trainer about things, if you have something chronic that means you’re likely to have more ‘sick days’ than average. Trainers are people too, and while they do have to make a living, they’re also able to be understanding and a good trainer SHOULD be able to be flexible in her approach to teaching - so perhaps there are things you could do in lessons when you’re not feeling up to riding in a focused and productive way that would still be educational, so you wouldn’t necessarily have to cancel the lesson even though you’re not up to riding.
(Note - I’m not saying go to the barn if you’re sick with the flu or something, but for example, I have arthritis, so some days I might just feel too darn sore to contemplate riding. I would be perfectly happy on a day like that to substitute a lesson on, say, bandaging and first aid or something along those lines, for a ridden lesson. Or whatever else the instructor might have to teach me that doesn’t involve using the sore bits. I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know. 
)
[QUOTE=kdow;5422254]
I would also just plain talk to your trainer about things, if you have something chronic that means you’re likely to have more ‘sick days’ than average. Trainers are people too, and while they do have to make a living, they’re also able to be understanding and a good trainer SHOULD be able to be flexible in her approach to teaching - so perhaps there are things you could do in lessons when you’re not feeling up to riding in a focused and productive way that would still be educational, so you wouldn’t necessarily have to cancel the lesson even though you’re not up to riding.
(Note - I’m not saying go to the barn if you’re sick with the flu or something, but for example, I have arthritis, so some days I might just feel too darn sore to contemplate riding. I would be perfectly happy on a day like that to substitute a lesson on, say, bandaging and first aid or something along those lines, for a ridden lesson. Or whatever else the instructor might have to teach me that doesn’t involve using the sore bits. I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know. )[/QUOTE]
As an instructor and someone with my fair share of chronic problems, I can really appreciate this. Some days, my students are just not up to it. Some days, I’m just not up to it. There are plenty of other ways to learn about horses than just riding.
My trainer is fantastic. If I’ve been sick, she’ll find a horse for me to ride so I don’t have to waste the energy of hitching up the trailer and trucking my horse out. If we’ve been going through weather changes, if it’s frigid, or if it’s extremely hot and humid, she knows I will be in an enormous amount of pain, so she is 100% fine with me skipping a lesson.
I was in a car accident in August. I still cannot stay on my older gelding for over 10 minutes. My trainer has told me as soon as it warms up a little (my body tends to work a bit better when it’s warmer) and I’m able to stay on Screech a bit longer, we’ll start me back on Clover, a small gray mare who is super safe. My trainer is always very booked with lessons, but she will make space for me to be back in the rotation as soon as I have the capability.
We have a very open relationship. If I need to stop, I tell her. If she thinks I need to take a break, she tells me. I push myself harder than she pushes me. The best part is that my trainer never treats me like I’m handicapped. I am treated the same as her other clients.
I used to feel horrible about canceling lessons, but I only cancel if I’m sick or one of the horses is sick. She has other people who cancel for reasons I consider foolish and she doesn’t get angry. I finally feel confident enough to accept the fact that I have a chronic Neuro-muscular disorder. My health problems bring baggage and it’s not my fault. I cannot and should not feel guilty about having to cancel a lesson due to my crappy health. My trainer took me on as a client with full disclosure of my “issues”.
Sorry for my rambling :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=kdow;5422254]
… a good trainer SHOULD be able to be flexible in her approach to teaching - so perhaps there are things you could do in lessons when you’re not feeling up to riding in a focused and productive way that would still be educational, so you wouldn’t necessarily have to cancel the lesson even though you’re not up to riding.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely.
Sorry, sometimes the tone on the internet doesn’t come through very well. I was supporting that you shouldn’t feel guilty about cancelling if you aren’t up to riding or being at the barn, not that I don’t want to teach someone who isn’t feeling well.
Don’t feel bad, being guilty for this is not the right thing to feel.
Actually you are doing yourself a favor because while being sick, your lesson is just a waist of time and money, not really helpfull.
Get well soon and back in the saddle ! Good luck !
[QUOTE=Come Shine;5424177]
Sorry, sometimes the tone on the internet doesn’t come through very well. I was supporting that you shouldn’t feel guilty about cancelling if you aren’t up to riding or being at the barn, not that I don’t want to teach someone who isn’t feeling well.[/QUOTE]
Oh, I didn’t get anything negative from your post at all. I was just trying to point out that riding or other physically intense work is not the only thing that can be done if the goal is just to educate - so people shouldn’t think of it as all or nothing when it comes to a lesson. Talk to your trainer, maybe come up with some ideas for non-riding lessons before you need them. There’s lots to learn about horses.
(Just off the top of my head - in addition to stable management stuff, a very low key lesson could be had if it’s possible to sit somewhere with a computer or television and review footage - video of past lessons, video of upper level riders in competition, that sort of thing - with the goal of developing your eye to see and understand what’s going on so you can better learn from observing others. Or look at conformation photos and discuss ranking them based on different intended purposes. It all depends what the rider’s goals are and what the trainer feels comfortable teaching. )
Yes, it’s a bit of a bummer if you were looking forward to riding and aren’t up to it, but better have an unmounted lesson where you learn something than to just waste the money entirely, to my mind.
(That said - this applies only if you are feeling bad because of some kind of injury or other non-contagious issue. If you have a horrible cold or the flu or something like that, just rest and keep your germs at home, I don’t care how healthy you are normally.) (It annoys me silly that people drag themselves around all over the place doing non-essential things when they’re coughing and hacking and sneezing and spreading DISEASE. Stay home, rest, get better, don’t share your germs with the rest of the world, because some of the folks you expose might not have the greatest immune system and might get REALLY sick.)
(I am a bit sensitive on that point since my mom was diagnosed with a type of cancer, and now every time she has so much as the sniffles she ends up in the hospital overnight for monitoring. :rolleyes: It’s made me lose my patience with people who drag themselves around with a cold or the like.) (I should add that I appreciate some employers demand you come to work anyway - I don’t blame you then, I just think your employer is stupid - or that some people have things that just HAVE to happen - I mean, you can’t call in sick if you’re the only one who can feed the horses. But there’s a difference between those things and elective activities. Just elect to STAY HOME. You’ll get better faster anyway.)
I have multiple health issues as well, and have a trainer that comes to my farm twice a week - once for a lesson and once to put a training ride on my Irish Draught (I have her working on his canter). If I am not feeling well, I call ahead and she either does 2 training rides, we switch my lesson to the other day, or she longes him one day and rides the other.
I do this because I know she depends on the money and my horse needs the excercise.
As a trainer, I’ve been known to put the kibosh on a lesson when a student shows up not feeling well. If we’re not all going to get a lot out of it, I’d rather the student just hack and we save the lesson for another day.
I agree with all the others…as a trainer, I don’t want to teach a student who isn’t able to focus or physically able to handle the ride. It’s frustrating and dangerous for everyone. However, if someone is under the weather but capable of doing a basic ride safely and wants to, I don’t mind altering the lesson to fit that. there’s a lot that can be done at slower gaits or on the ground. Obviously that applies more to chronic problems than acute injuries or contagious diseases like the flu. I don’t want anyone who will get me sick coming out to the barn! 
I do expect as much notice as possible (rule is 24 hours, but I bend that for either normally reliable folks or people who I know have chronic problems) otherwise I expect payment. But otherwise, I don’t usually mind. If someone does frequently cancel with just a day or two notice and hasn’t given an explanation, I do start to assume they don’t really care about their spot and will give it away if someone else comes along and wants it. However, I will work with a lot and I do have students who cancel fairly regularly due to health or work issues. As long as I know ahead of time I’m good.
