From the Ground Up: Keeping It Simple

The good news is that I love the work that I do with horses. I’ve had incredible clients work with me over this past year, whose dedication and commitment to bettering their riding and horsemanship motivates me. The horses I have in training have been coming along quite well too. I’m thrilled to see their progress, and excited to continue to learn and grow with them.

The risk to that excitement, though, is that I tend to information dump.

My clients ask good questions and genuinely want to learn. I love that. The horses show up enthusiastic and curious. That makes my day fun. But when my excitement and enthusiasm is met with excitement and enthusiasm, I get ahead of myself.

There is so much to learn about horses. And the thing is, it’s never ending. Despite knowing this, and knowing the countless hours and years it takes to develop horsemanship, I have the urge to information dump everything I’ve ever learned to the people and horses with which I work. I want to give and share the information and experiences I’ve had with horses so far. The issue is, this muddles a lot of the important information necessary in the now, while presenting information that would only be useful down the road. I’m overcomplicating, and need to simplify.

Using consistent and clear ground work techniques have simplified new questions, such as working on the platform.

It seems like I’m not alone in this struggle. I recently came across a podcast with the “Confident Rider” in a “Conversation with Crissi McDonald & Mark Rashid“. Crissi and Mark are a wife/husband duo, both of whom are incredible horsemen in their own right. Both have a lifetime of experience with horses and humans, and have numerous books highlighting such experiences. And at roughly around minute 44 of this podcast, they discuss the challenge (but importance) of keeping things simple in the development of both horse and rider.

“I do everything I can to not overload my students with information they don’t need,” Mark states. “If I can figure out the one piece of information [they need], we can all get on the same page… They don’t need to know all this other information right now… The one thing they need will get buried in all the information they don’t need.”

This lesson on simplification has been especially useful when working with my new three year old. Although very smart and very willing, not overcomplicating the work for her right now has allowed us to enjoy quiet, confident rides!

It’s reassuring to hear that horsemen and women with more experience than I have struggle with this concept as well. I do my job because I love helping horses and people communicate, reach their goals, and do so while further developing their partnership. While I’m excited about the progress my pairs have made, and the progress to come, it takes time, and won’t happen as a result of a word vomit from me on all the concepts, techniques, and feeling I’ve learned over the years.

As we continue with our work, I’m going to keep simplicity in mind – not everything can happen overnight… nor should it! I’m here (and thrilled) to be part of my clients’ and horses’ journeys that they are on. I will continue to offer support and guidance, while also hopefully offering clarity along the way.

4 2 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments