A few days ago I was talking to a trainer. She was telling me about the pressure she felt meeting the owner's expectation to have their horses going home trouble-free under saddle in just a few weeks. She said most people expect the job completed in 6-8 weeks and Flossy to go home ready to take on all challenges with a smile.
We both agreed that when it came to starting our own horses under saddle we prefer the process to take 6 months or even longer. For most horses, it allows us to cover all the layers of learning with no gaps between them. This is imperative in making a horse reliable, soft, feeling okay, confident, and trusting for the basic job of being an all-around riding horse. It doesn’t mean the training is finished or even polished. But it does mean the basics are solid enough to be confident of a concrete foundation for what lays ahead. Yet in most cases, a trainer is expected to achieve in 6 weeks what they would choose to do in 6 months for their horse.
I know it takes very little time to be able to mount, walk, trot, and canter on most horses. When I began starting horses as a teenager I used to average the job in 10 days. If I had one ready to go home in 8 days, I thought it was proof that I was becoming more skilled as a horse trainer. But now I see the folly of youth and how naive I was as a young trainer. Most of the horses in those days went home somewhat obedient but with trouble inside them that I would not accept today. Inevitably, there were many occasions that horses went home doomed to a difficult life. They were never ready for what lay ahead.
I have seen the same issue appear time and again at the many 3 or 4-day colt starting clinics I have watched. Those clinics are not for the benefit of the horses and I believe they should be stopped. Without exception, every colt starting clinic I’ve witnessed has resulted in flooding horses to the maximum to induce helplessness and a sense of futility on the horses. They are anti- good horsemanship in my view, irrespective of the skill of the trainer. However, even if you disagree with this opinion, it is hard to justify teaching people to start their horse in just a few days. This is one of those times when the term “breaking in” seems appropriate.
To be fair to owners, very few people have unlimited resources to afford 6 months of training to start a horse under saddle. So how does a trainer fit 6 months of education and experience into 6 weeks? Answer: they can’t.
However, there can be compromises that make the odds of success when the horse goes home much more favourable.
It starts with every owner promising to commit to the welfare of their horse and their relationship, to the maximum of that their available time and finances allow.
In that regard, I believe an owner should get involved in the process of training with the best trainer they can access This means attending as many of the training sessions as possible. It means driving your trainer nuts with a million questions at every session. It means, when appropriate, doing some of the hands-on work yourself under the guidance of the trainer. It means when the day comes to take your horse home, you know as much as your trainer about Flossy’s strengths and weaknesses and what to do about them in the coming weeks/months. It also means that after you take Flossy home you keep working with the trainer through regular lessons. It also means only choose a trainer who is prepared to work with you in this way. It means avoiding trainers who don’t encourage your visits, participation and are uninterested in offering ongoing help after your horse goes home.
I know this level of commitment by an owner works. Shortly after I changed careers from trainer to full-time clinician I spent a little time recalling the success of some owners and their horses a year after they had gone home after working with me. The correlation was black and white. Those that worked with me during and after the training period had less trouble and happier horses a year later than those that did not, by a significant margin. I know that probably seems a no-brainer, but it surprises me how few people commit to taking advantage of the learning opportunity when their horse is with a trainer.
It’s not a substitute for 6 months with a brilliant trainer, but given that is not possible for many people, it’s a pretty good compromise. This type of commitment from an owner is no less than what every horse deserves. The emotional, physical and financial investment we place in our horses means that it is more wasteful to cut corners when we start horses than to do it right the first time.
Colt starting