Posts of only a few paragraphs in length or less.
I believe that it is a natural learning curve we go through, but it is not rank beginners I am talking about. Rather riders who are in turn teaching others how to ride and train, those in an authority position. Their behavior then dictates their students to be stuck in this paradigm even longer; perhaps forever.
As the years pass and our lives change, I find that so too does our relationship with the horse. Not necessarily our relationship to one particular horse, but rather our association to horses.
Have you ever met anyone who was self taught a foreign language by book alone? Neither have I.
I also have never met anyone who learned how to train their horse and to ride by book lesson alone – and was successful at it. Success.
What is the purpose of horsemanship? Why do we spend the time and exert such energy, let alone invest such great costs into an animal which rarely returns the monetary value we place upon them? Do we play with horses merely as a show of our great ability to train another being and prove our superiority? I would argue to the contrary.
I know I’ve said before, but this likely will not be the last time I will remark that it is a small world… in more ways than one.
No, I haven’t been kicked in the face – thankfully and knock on wood!
But I want to pay tribute to the opportunities that may exist in the seemingly terrible, unfortunate, miserable or frustrating moments that we can all get stuck staring at and shaking our heads over.
I caught this one on my way out the door for the day, and it put a smile on my face. Simple, easy, enjoyable. Reminded me of starting my first horse, minus two blondes… Oh, and for those that think this is a dig at the hair pigment challenged… fyi, I’m a (natural) blonde myself.
The essential ingredient in a horse who develops into a well balanced, collected, light horse with a beautiful and correct head position.. is forward. We all hear it told from instructors and riders alike, “MORE FORWARD!” What does that mean? What is forward?