On Schooling Horses.
“If she learns to ride that pony she can ride anything.”
“Falling off makes you a better rider.”
I’ve been hearing quotes and statements like these from people for years. Those individuals who firmly believe that difficult horses make the best riders - and they do. Difficult horses challenge us, they make us reflect and they make us question our techniques. We, as riders, look at ourselves and at the ride as a whole when something goes wrong and ask ourselves what we can do better. How do we fix this? Sometimes we need a new approach. Sometimes we need to develop ourselves into better riders, and work on our own skill sets before asking the horse to do the thing we struggled with again. But these are evaluations for RIDERS. Those who have already learned something, and have been exposed to proper horsemanship.
If you think difficult horses will make riders - from scratch, from the beginning - I challenge you to think again. Go into a bar, to a party, or any social setting. Ask the following question - “Have you ever ridden a horse?” Don’t ask a room full of horse people. Ask a room with an average population - you’ll hear some wild stories.
“A friend let me try riding their horse and a branch snapped. The horse took off running. I fell - haven’t been on a horse since.”
“I got rolled on when I was on my honeymoon - my wife wanted a trail ride at the beach.”
“I rode as a kid, but kept falling off and was too afraid to get back on.”
“I wanted to take riding lessons - but the pony took off with me and I couldn’t stop it - I never went back.”
I think the problem is this - we see things only from a horse person’s prospective sometimes when we’ve been in the game for too long. Hard horses make good riders - when the rider is already established.
But when you are developing the NEW rider - they make timid, fearful riders. Some riders will push though and become amazing - but the overwhelming majority will leave, and never give the horse world a backward glance. They’ll take up dance - or basketball. There’s nothing wrong with those sports for sure, but we’re losing future horse enthusiasts and advocates.
Building confidence is essential when dealing with the new rider. Challenging horses absolutely DO NOT build confidence in the new rider. A horse that nastily refuses does not belong under a child learning to jump for the first time. A horse that has a fast canter is not an appropriate mount for a rider who is new to the concept. Yet many people do exactly this every day - pair children and adults new to the sport with horses that are beyond their capabilities.
HEADS UP training is required for most team sports coaches in public schools as we take concussion risks more seriously. Contact sports for youth are challenged on a daily basis by medical professionals who believe the risks outweigh the benefits. Meanwhile in the horse world we still have some trainers and parents over mounting kids as a way to “make real riders” out of children.
They’ve got it backwards - risks with youth and new riders make less riders. Not more riders. Not “real riders.”
You’ll find that here we like to teach the how and the why on safe horses, with proper head gear and appropriate challenges. There’s a place for difficult horses, and it is with those who have honed their craft and have the ability to understand the challenge ahead.
Use a schooling horse - one properly trained for new riders and regularly ridden by experienced riders to keep it that way. Let new riders develop the sense of how to ride without fear. That’s how you teach horsemanship. Safely, with confidence in mind. There’s no other way as far as we’re concerned.
