Should Riding Instructors Yell?

I‘ve worked with many different riding instructors over the years, each of whom possesses a unique teaching philosophy and technique. Some equestrian professionals are quiet and subdued, more likely to praise than to criticize. Others do not feel as though they are making an impression unless their voices have cleared sixty decibels.

Certainly, most students do not enjoy being yelled at by their riding instructors. I’ve never taught a riding lesson in which one of my students said, “Hey, Laura, I think I’d learn faster if you screamed at me.” Nevertheless, riding instructors who yell often feel they are more effective.

Behind the Yell

There are three primary reasons why riding instructors yell:

1. Anger
2. Fear
3. Overcompensation

Only one of those three is a legitimate reason to yell at students during a riding lesson, while the other two will only serve to distance you from those you teach.

Anger is an obvious reason why riding instructors yell. Maybe you’ve asked your students to keep their heels down two hundred times, but the two hundred and first time takes the cake. Or perhaps a group of students won’t stop talking during class and you’ve had enough.

Whatever the case, anger is not a legitimate reason for riding instructors to yell because it signifies an absence of control. If you have to yell to 1) communicate your anger; and 2) elicit a response, your teaching methods are likely ineffective.

The third reason why riding instructors yell—overcompensation—is closely linked to anger. Riding instructors overcompensate for their deficiencies by yelling. They might be insecure about their techniques or unable to otherwise communicate effectively, so they cover it all up with the volume of their voices.

Fear, however, is a legitimate reason why riding instructors yell. I hadn’t thought about this much until I heard one of my students talking to the new kid in her class.

The new kid says, “My last riding instructor was always yelling at me. Does Laura yell?”

And my veteran student replies, “Only if she thinks you’re going to get hurt.”

That was perhaps the highest compliment ever paid to me as a riding instructor.

If one of my students is engaging in an activity that I believe might result in injury, I’m going to yell. Otherwise, I use other techniques and methods to communicate whatever I want my students to learn.

Why Yelling Doesn’t Work

Think back to your childhood to discover the reason why riding instructors shouldn’t yell. Remember when you got in trouble as a kid—when you got detention at school or when you brought home a report card filled with low letter grades. How did your parents react?

Some parents express disappointment when their children get in trouble. They try to find the root cause of the misbehavior and then seek effective ways to correct it. Other parents yell. They holler and scream. It doesn’t matter how serious the infraction and they are trying to scare, intimidate and punish.

Kids learn at a young age to tune out that second parent. They realize there is nothing they can do to stop the yelling, and they have likely heard it all before. Even worse, a mistake like talking back to a parent or forgetting to clean the bathroom becomes as serious as taking a gun to school.

There is no difference between a parent who yells and a riding instructor who yells. Eventually, your students will tune out all the noise and nothing will get through.

Alternatives to Yelling

If you’ve noticed that you are one of the many riding instructors who yell, there are ways to correct the behavior. More than likely, you yell because your own riding instructor yelled and because it is the only way you know to teach riding lessons.

When you start to get angry or confused, or frustrated, call your students in from the rail (or whatever activity in which they were engaged) and try talking to them like human beings. Let them know what mistakes you have observed and show them practical ways to fix them.

Reserve yelling for occasions when students are engaged in dangerous behavior. At that point, yelling makes a much stronger impression because it is out of the ordinary, rather than your standard response to a problem.

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About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Editor in Chief of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. Follow her EquiTips on Twitter.

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About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.