Winning Insights
The responsibility for problems between a horse and rider rarely lies solely with one or the other.
Is it you or your horse that’s the problem?
➞ It happens all the time. An amateur rider needs
just one point to qualify for an exclusive show or reach a milestone. All he or she has to do is stay on pattern. Then it happens: over-spinning, trotting out of lope departures or through lead changes, anything that keeps the horse-and-rider pair from getting the score they need.
It might be easy to blame the rider for being absent-minded. Or the horse for being lazy when he trots. But the truth is the responsibility lies with both of them. And if they have a trainer or coach helping them, then he takes part of the blame, too. It takes a team—whether of two or three—to reach your riding goals. You, your horse, and your coach must all work together.
I’ll discuss three problems that can lead to the “blame game.” No matter which issue you identify with, you must remember that assigning blame—on yourself, your horse, or your coach—doesn’t accomplish anything.
Rider Mistake Becomes Horse Problem
When you repeatedly make the same error, your horse’s body position begins to change for the worse. The team of two or three is in it together to overcome the rider’s poor planning that manifests itself in the horse getting out of position.
For example, let’s say you make a literal figure 8 when circling instead of coming straight through the middle of the arena. This forces your horse to lead with the shoulder he’s leaning into—the right if you’re changing from left to right lead, or left if vice versa. Leading with that shoulder allows him to change leads in front first and drag his hind lead.
Sure, you can fix the problems you create, but it takes time, patience, and skill. If you’re mindful of your job when riding, you won’t create body-position problems in your horse. In this case, when circling, if you always travel straight through the middle, your horse will stay straight and change leads in the front and back at the same time. Reinforce this straightness by continuing your straight path for two or three strides after completing the lead change.
Horse Outsmarts Rider
“Outsmarting” almost always means “anticipation.” Your horse notices your subtle clues of what you’re planning to do. If you always shift your weight or look down a certain way before a cue, he feels it. Eventually, he’ll use that miniscule “tell” as his cue. It takes two to anticipate, because the horse doesn’t learn to anticipate a maneuver unless you teach him how.
I see this a lot with stopping. If you look in the exact spot you plan to stop, your horse can tell where you’re looking. He’ll anticipate your cue and