Photo by Erica Stevens.
In my mind, there is no separation between riders and trainers. There is no such thing as just a rider. Every one of us is a trainer, to some extent, and in some way. It was the great George Morris who said, “Each time you ride your horse, you are either training him or un-training him. There is no in between.” And when it comes to George Morris quotes, you can hardly argue.
Somebody who is considered a horse trainer is generally somebody who is known to be more effective at producing positive results in their students and has a good idea of how to repeatedly achieve that. This is somebody who has honed their craft and spent years understanding the physiology, psyche and learning process of the horse, mostly through trial and error.
As we know, experience counts for a lot in the equestrian business, and that’s because the more horses you encounter, the more you know about their world and how to influence it in a good way. Overall, a “trainer” is somebody who is better than the Average Joe at teaching horses to do things well for their humans.
The idea of being “just a rider” is ridiculous to me, though, and I want to explain it. Even if you aren’t aware of it, every single interaction you have with your horse trains them to do something.
It might not be a good thing, and it might not be a bad thing, but if you behave in a patterned way (as most of us do) around your horse, they will learn from it, and they will change their behavior to reflect it. This is the magic of horses; they are unbelievably plastic in their ability to change and grow and adapt depending upon their human interactions.
The biggest difference between a “trainer” and a “rider” is mindset, but that doesn’t have to remain true. If a horse exhibits a behavior that is undesirable, a trainer thinks, “Hmm. Why is this happening? What am I doing to cause this? How is the horse feeling? Are their any outside forces at work here? Is this a manifestation of a complex inner psychological issue? Is this caused by a physical problem? Is this because I haven’t explained what I want properly?”
And, finally, after all of these things run through our head, we think, “How can I step back and achieve a positive behavior now? How can I reframe the question to the horse in order to accomplish better communication? How can I do this in a way that the horse will want to repeat the good behavior and continue to work with me?”
A rider thinks, “My horse won’t do what I want!” Or, alternatively, “My horse is being a _____” (insert name calling here).
Too often we are inclined to simplify why horses behave in certain ways, and especially when they are being “bad.” I use quotations around that, because I’m not sure that I’ve ever encountered a horse that intentionally and without just cause was genuinely “bad” or wanted to cause me harm. Every horse I’ve met that had behavioral issues either under saddle or on the ground had reasons; he just didn’t have humans smart enough to figure them out, and that’s not his fault.
From constantly nervous and unreasonable to ride to calm, happy and cooperative, Polly proved to me that positive impact is always possible, even in the worst cases.
But horses aren’t simple. That’s why the great trainers are in fact great thinkers, ingenious problem solvers and don’t stop learning until the day they die. They don’t resort to quick fixes, force or gimmicks that mask an issue without addressing the underlying issue. They don’t say, “My horse is being such a ____” because they’ve thought beyond that into the why and the how of each situation.
One of the best things a coach ever said to me was this: “There is nothing magical about me that makes me inherently better than you. There is nothing I know that you can’t learn. You just need more horses, more rides and more education.” This is true of all riders, because with enough exposure to different horses, good education and experience in all disciplines, you can also be as good as your coach.
So here is the point. Don’t settle for just being a rider. Acknowledge that you are also a trainer, and strive daily to be a better one. You can have positive influence over your horse, and you can consciously work towards that. When you don’t know the answer, seek it out, and don’t settle for the easy answer.
Just like we train our horses to know that when we ask for something, an answer is on the horizon, train yourself to think deeper about the why and the how and become an intellectually inspired trainer yourself, even if it’s on a small scale.
