How Your Horse Wants You to Ride
Starting Out, Starting Over
Chapter One
Looking into Your Future
A Confident Rider on a Confident Horse
I have always been interested in learning more about my trade. There is so
much to know that you never learn it all, but the more sources you investigate,
the more tools you have to work with. As a result of this, I was watching a
videotape about a well-recognized ground training system. The trainer was
working with a horse who was obviously very tense and difficult, and it was fascinating
to watch how much the horse improved in both comfort and attitude
under the trainer's guidance. Then, as the tape approached its end, the owner
got back on the horse to see how he had improved. Well! The owner was an
absolutely appalling rider-unbalanced, rough, and clumsy! The poor horse
struggled to apply his new lessons, but his owner's incompetence interfered
with all of his efforts. I suspect the trainer must have felt a degree of frustration,
as well. I know I would cheerfully have slaughtered the owner, had it been me!
This is the one argument I have with ground training systems. There tends
to be a certain implication that if you develop a good relationship ... read full excerpt from How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Starting Out, Starting Over ebook
