Almost everybody is dissatisfied at some time with how slow their training appears to progress. We all want our horse’s training to flow steadily forward and we want to be excited at what each new day brings in our relationship and the performance of our horse.

Of course, it is rarely ever like this. Most training runs in fits and starts. Sometimes it goes backward, then forward and backward again. Other times it appears to stagnate for weeks and months as if nothing is improving. And of course, for some, there is a steady descent into more difficulties with each passing week.

There are a variety of reasons why training is rarely a smooth progression. Every horse and every rider has different excuses. However, one reason that seems to be almost universally common wherever I teach is the amount of time people put into consistently working with their horses.

I am always asking people at the start of a clinic session, “how much work is your horse getting?” At a guess, I’d say that only about 20 percent of riders tell me that their horse is being worked 4 or more times a week. Perhaps half say they work their horse less than once a week.

This is not a finger-pointing exercise. I am not trying to make people feel guilty who don’t get much time with their horses. It would be completely hypocritical of me to do that because I bet I devote less time to working my horses than almost any of you reading this. But it must be completely obvious to everyone that the less time we can commit to our horses, the fewer changes they will make.

I recently talked to a friend during a clinic. Her horse was struggling to make some of the nice changes he had been making in past clinics, so I rode her horse for her. After my ride, she was able to feel a big difference in her horse. I sensed a little despondency in her and I later asked what was the problem. She said that she felt that she was wasting her time coming to clinics because she wasn’t able to find the time to ride very much in between the clinics. The steady improvement her horse was making when she was able to ride regularly had dissipated and she wondered if she should stop attending clinics until she had more time to ride.

I think her concerns are completely legitimate, so I’m going to offer my take on the subject.

People come to clinics for lots of different reasons. But the two strongest reasons are (1) to learn more, and (2) to have a horse problem fixed.

In my view, the second reason is not a good reason to attend a clinic. Nothing gets fixed at clinics. All the magic happens at home when you take the ideas you learned at a clinic and put them to work. If you participate in a clinic hoping that your horse will go home fixed, you’ll be disappointed and waste your money.

But if you enroll in a clinic intending to expand your knowledge and get ideas to play with at home, I believe there is no better reason for attending.

If you think of a clinic as a resource for information to better your understanding and knowledge, then it doesn’t matter if your horse is getting regular work or not. A clinic is about training the rider, not the horse. The wisdom you’ll learn will add to your database of knowledge that you will be able to tap into when you do have the time to work with your horse. You’ll be way ahead of the person who has waited until time permits before participating in a clinic. Go to clinics or have lessons and accumulate as much enlightenment as you can. Education is never a waste of time. You’ll use it at some point – even if it is to help a friend with a horse problem.

Furthermore, if people enroll in a clinic or book a lesson with an instructor, it forces them to make time to ride their horses. I understand that life sometimes puts obstacles in our way and our commitment to riding is often a low priority. But by obligating ourselves to a clinic or lesson we are forced to make the time. It doesn’t matter so much if, between clinics or lessons, our commitment wanes, as long as we don’t expect miracles to happen. At least for that time, we are with our horse, we are devoting time to something we love.

Lastly, it is surprising how often a good experience at a clinic can fire the desire to ride more often. So many people come away from a clinic and feel excited to ride more often. They feel the thrill again and it is no longer a dim memory.

I use to despair when people would come to a clinic and tell me they hadn’t done much with their horses since I saw them. I would wonder how they expected me to help them and what was the point if they didn’t put in the time. But I now realize that this is wrong. People who come to clinics to gain knowledge for themselves, and not for their horses, should never feel apologetic about working their horses minimally at home. They are gaining an education and their horses will benefit. That’s why I teach and that’s why they come.

I don’t know if I convinced my friend that she was not wasting her time by coming to clinics and she should not hold off until she had time to work with her horse more regularly, but I hope I will see her again at a clinic before long.