There's this idea, which is so prevalent among equestrians, and in many other niche groups as well, that critique or criticism of anyone or thing in the group is inherently evil. Especially if you aren't a part of the group.
If you are a part of that group and you voice a criticism then you are quickly taken apart as being some kind of fraud, someone who did not really experience what is going on within that group, or that your experiences are somehow wrong or incorrect.
This is a huge weak spot in the entire horse community, to be afraid of criticism. Criticism and serious self-reflection are vital tools if you want to become a better at any endeavor, including horsemanship! Instead, the criticism is often taken personally, and violently opposed.
We all do it, we've all be criticized and react from our gut, to counter the perceived judgement. I've done it too.
With maturity, age, practice, and experience we can move beyond that and see criticisms as being one of the greatest assets to self-improvement. How do we get better if we aren't given any feedback, or only given praise and told we are great and perfect?
I have a great regret when I work alone. Having someone on the ground to give you immediate or end-of-session feedback is like pure gold.
I'm not saying it is easy in our new-found internet age. The whole world can immediately see, and give feedback, on how you are doing. And not all criticism is beneficial, so you need to look to find those nuggets of gold.
Also, there is an internal need to always be the best, the strongest, the smartest, the most popular, etc. What happens when we fall short of being any of those things and then come to terms with being less than perfect? It's painful, that's for sure.
But our horses deserve every ounce of our effort to be better.
I know I don't want to be perfect and nobody can be, but I can absolutely be better tomorrow than I am today. I'll take the criticisms, thank you very much.
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