Coaching Styles

I get coached by a range of people and what I have noticed is that different coaches have different styles.

A very common style of coaching is the "shaping" style, where the coach asks you to do something, and then as you are doing it, they constantly comment and correct you - in a sense "shaping" you as you go.

The other style is the "passive" style. This is where the coach sets a certain exercise and they allow you to do it without adding much comment (unless things are going drastically wrong). Once you have done the exercise the coach gives you a debrief, and then you might repeat the exercise applying the lessons you have learnt.

Both styles have their pros and cons, and some people find one style suits them more than the other. The two coaching styles are also not set in stone, but are more like a sliding scale, with the "shaping-only" coach at one end, and the "passive-only" coach at the other end. But, most coaches will sit somewhere between the two extremes and provide their own balance of the two styles.

Shaping Style - Pros

The pros of the shaping coaching style is that you get immediate feedback about what you are doing wrong. You are forced to correct it right there and then, and therefore the way your horse is moving should be immediately affected, hopefully giving you a better experience. If you can then remember what that felt like, you will search for this "better" feeling when riding on your own.

The shaping style also gives you a quicker sense of achievement. The horse can sometimes improve in a few strides, and you feel like you are really getting good value out of your lesson.

Your coach can sometimes get you to achieve movements that you thought were beyond you, and thus work outside of your comfort zone more - which, of course, is where the "magic" happens.

Shaping Syle - Cons

In the shaping style the coach does a lot of talking while you are riding and modifies the way you ride while you are riding, and this means that unless you remember what you were doing wrong in the first place, and what the coach said to correct it, you will not actually be able to replicate it at home. So you will need to come back for another lesson in order to get the same quality of work. Eventually, the way the coach shapes you will become a habit, and you will do it automatically, but a lot of lessons will go under the bridge before that happens. So, it can be expensive in the long run.

Even when your riding improves, you may not actually understand what you did to improve it. So when you get another horse, or if you are intending to be a coach yourself, you may get stuck with certain problems and not know what to do to solve them.

When you are riding in a competition, your coach is not there to shape you. So this sort of coaching does not provide you with good preparation for competing.

In the shaping style, while the coach may have a certain plan for your lesson, you often do not see this plan because you are too busy taking in all the shaping comments. So when it comes to riding at home, you don't really build a plan for your own riding sessions.

Passive Style - Pros

The pros of the passive coaching style is that you are given an exercise, and while you are doing that exercise you are left on your own to actually think about what you are doing. You have time to notice your own mistakes. Because you notice your own mistakes, you can ask the coach how to fix them. Then when you actually ride at home, without the coach, you are better equipped to apply your learnings. This means you can spend more time practicing between lessons, which means less lessons and therefore cheaper.

If you don't notice your own mistakes, the coach will. The coach will notice a 1000 things going wrong, but they will make an assessment of two or three that need to be fixed first. They will communicate this to you after the exercise, and tell you what you were doing wrong, and how to fix it. Once again, this equips you better for training at home without the coach.

The passive style of coaching is much more similar to a competition when you have to ride a dressage test or a showjumping round. So mentally, you are getting much better competition training - you have to learn to remember the exercise. You have to think while you're doing the exercise. And you have to take your own steps to assess where things are at, and what you need to do to improve it, while you're riding.

The "plan" for the lesson is usually obvious as you progress from one exercise to the next. You do each exercise in each direction. So when it comes to training at home, it is easier to repeat a similar plan.

In the passive style of coaching, the coach will discuss your riding issues with you and suggest improvements generally while you're standing still and can really pay attention. This means that when you get another horse, or if you are intending to teach, you are much better equipped to know what are the common riding problems and how to fix them.

Passive Style - Cons

The passive style requires you think for yourself a lot more, so people who prefer someone else to do the thinking for them will feel like they are not getting good value for money.

This style requires you to be a disciplined rider who will take away the exercises and the learnings from the lesson, and then practice them at home till they become a habit.

A passive style lesson can give you a feeling that you haven't achieved much. This is because the coach can only focus on three or four of your mistakes at a time.

Coaching Styles - other notes

The shaping style can be pretty intense as the coach does a lot of talking. For some people this will feel like a lot is happening in their lesson, and so they will be happy that they are getting their money's worth. For people who are looking to relax with their horse, the shaping style of coaching may prove to be too much like hard work.

The passive style can be pretty calm and relaxed. Some people will find this a great form of therapy, while others will feel like they are not getting anywhere.

These are neither pros nor cons, as they depend on the type of rider.

Coaching Styles - Summary

A really good coach will use a combination of the two styles so that the rider can feel immediate improvements (shaping style), but still learn to think and work on their own (passive style).

Most coaches probably lean towards one end of the scale - either shaping, or passive. It's not necessarily a conscious decision, but more to do with their character.

Riders need to look for a coaching style that suits them, depending on their own character as well as their goals. It's not so much about what a given coach knows, or what level they ride at, but more about the rider being able to learn, progress and get their desired results. So just because your friend is getting amazing results with a certain coach doesn't mean you will. But, it's certainly worth trying the friend's coach to see if their coaching style suits you.