virtual teaching? Is it possible

The latest craze is to be able to spread yourself so thin you don't even need to be there!
What I mean in this case is, teaching from a video, etc.

I really can't see how a teacher can do a good job when they are
teaching from a chair, let alone teaching from 200 miles away (I'm
confined right now-- following ankle-repair surgery --to a chair, and
feel frustrated with my limitations). Teaching should and must be a
hands-on job. Most of us think we can see a lot more than we really can,
and putting the hands on the rider's body or the horse's rein is
extremely educational.

For example, often I'll walk alongside a student
and hold the reins to help her get the horse round. The horse often
won't get round until the rider gets the position just so. Then the
rider figures out what was needed. Now how do you do that from afar?

Additionally, the best tool I have for my visual learners is to hop on
and demonstrate on the student's horse, just what I'm asking for. This
serves several purposes: It helps me find out what they were doing
wrong, and it helps me see how the horse is responding to the rider's
aids, and I can then illustrate how to do it right. This works great for
students to see, also at this time I may modify what I am teaching, now
that I have the horse's opinion! I am sorry, even first-hand, it's a
very difficult job to be a very good teacher. From a distance it would
be impossible to do anything but correct the gross and obvious flaws. If
you're a gross rider, you don't need a teacher from 200 miles away! Your local teachers will do just fine! 

Comments

Yes! I am a very visual

Yes! I am a very visual learner and it not only helps immensely to see what my horse looks like when correct(I picture this when I get back on) but also what my position and activity(or degree of stillness)should be. I think it helps my horse to feel it correctly when it is new for her also, after all I'm not the only one learning. The times when the instructor actually gets on and feels what I am feeling have always been extremely beneficial. Especially when she says "this is what your doing" and then says "this is what you need to do" specific to that horse and I can see the change!
Desi

video teachers

I like to watch the videos to get an idea of what I am supposed to be doing, but being with a teacher is absolutely the best. Need to have the immediate response and correction and the constant reminders that I have fixed one thing but fell apart somewhere else and fix that etc.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options