At a clinic in the US last year somebody told me they were looking for a new horse to replace their ageing gelding. I asked them what they were looking for. They had a pretty good idea of their criteria. They knew the price range, the breeds that fitted their needs, plus the size and age.
When I asked them what was the experience and training they wanted in a new horse, they said something that unsettled me a little.
“Well, I need a horse that knows a bit more than Theo. I want a horse that is going to take me to the next level.”
At first I thought they were looking for a horse with potential to someday work at a higher level than their old horse. But when I probed further I found they were looking for a horse that had already achieved significant success and was able to work at a level of performance they had never experienced.
Mmmm, I thought.
This answer surprised me because I had always thought it wasn’t our horse’s job to take us to new levels. It was our job to take our horse to new levels.
Sure we might want a horse that has the potential to achieve a higher level of performance than our other horses. But it is not their job to make us look better than we are. Those ribbons and medals and accolades are only justified when we earn them as the 51% partner. Our horse should be a superstar because of us and not despite us.
I always want my knowledge and understanding of the next level to be in advance of my horses. I want them to look to me for help and guidance. I don’t want to rely on my horse to teach me how to get to the next level. That’s a guarantee for a second-rate partnership.
I learned to love mathematics at school. This was only possible because my maths teacher, Mr Denning was brilliant and knew what I needed to be good at maths. He taught me the logic and beauty of the language of mathematics. I want us all to be the Mr Denning of the horse world.
It’s one thing to listen to your horse. We should all do that all the time to help better communicate and lead the dance. But that is very different from choosing a horse because it knows all the buttons and we only have to be told which ones to push and when to push them.
Failure to understand this concept is a guarantee that when your horse needs you you’ll let it down. In time, any quiet conversation between you and your horse will be meaningless noise. Trainers all over the world are flat out with work simply because too many owners are not meeting the needs of their horses.
Don’t depend on your horse to make you a superstar. Learn to be one so that leads your horse be one too.
At a clinic I am explaining to Skip as clearly as I can what she needs to learn to take her owner to the next level.