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At MM Training and Consulting, we strive to teach
on three different levels (horse sense, equitation, and training).
This teaching style is by no accident. Through my experience and
observations, many riders are not well rounded in their
horsemanship skills. For example some are very pretty riders but
lack training skills and horse sense. Others are great trainers
but lack proper equitation abilities. These observations are not
meant to be condescending or come from the intent to hurt but are
made with the intent to learn. And what I have learned is that it
takes all three dimensions to be the best horseman we can be.
To give me a great picture to compare others to, I
have observed great horsemen such as
Lynn Palm and Todd Bergen. I like to watch their horses
because they seem to love their jobs. I believe this is because
these horses have riders that are not getting in their way,
physically, mentally, or emotionally. It seems to be a top
priority for these individuals to attack horsemanship from every
angle they can. They both have a solid philosophy, take impeccable
care of their horses, have keen horse sense, are very
knowledgeable in their training skills, plus they both have
beautiful and effective equitation. They ride as one with their
horses.
On the flip side, I have also watched other riders,
who for example, ride out of rhythm with their horses, or use no
lower leg to guide their horses, or ride with one shoulder ahead
of the other. These mistakes are not only offensive to the eye but
they are cumbersome for the horse. I have also observed a lot of
mental and emotional stress that horses have to endure because
their rider lacks horse sense. They do not understand that their
horses need recovery time to learn and to be there best.
In my observations of instructors/trainers, I often
see a separation of the two. Some instructors solely teach riding
lessons (equitation). They are not too concerned with teaching the
student anything but how to ride the horse. And there are some
trainers who solely teach others how to train their horses and not
how to ride. They are not concerned with how the rider looks, only
that they are getting the horse to perform. And still other
trainers, who continually have client’s horses in training. So
these horses are very well trained but the client is never taught,
or never wants to learn, the training basics behind how their
horse reached that level of training. They only learn or want to
know how to get the job done in the show pen.
In the following three points, I will describe why
I believe this sort of focused teaching may become a problem for a
student.
1. I believe if the instructor, who teaches just
equitation, is oblivious to or not knowledgeable in training
horses, they could be doing their students a big disservice
because the wreck is getting bigger and bigger each time the horse
is not getting corrected for unwanted behavior. Riding horses can
be dangerous. I believe the instructor needs to have a solid
training background to help keep the rider as safe as possible.
2. On the other hand, the trainers that just teach
training and not some riding instruction might be doing their
students a disservice also. How can one become the best trainer
they can be without being an effective rider? They will
continually be getting in the horse’s way. Without becoming an
effective rider, most people will only advance to a certain level
and never move beyond it. And more importantly, they are not as
safe as they could be. Having one’s arms, legs, back, and seat in
proper position along with having balance, rhythm, timing and feel
all set a rider up for the best and safest possible riding
situation (that is without taking the horse into consideration).
3. Lastly there are people that have wonderfully
trained horses but don’t challenge themselves to learn more about
training themselves. These people are really missing the boat, in
my opinion. If they think they like riding horses or they have had
a little success without knowing anything about horse sense or
training, how much richer would their experience be when they do
learn some basic training techniques. I believe this situation is
why some people get out of horses. They just get bored! In all
three of these cases (just riding instruction, just training
instruction, or just instructing to get the job done in the show
pen) problems will begin to arise. If the student is not learning
on all three levels (horse sense, equitation, and training), they
are being set up to become very needy of their instructor/trainer.
They become so dependent on them for help because they are never
taught how to handle training situations, problems, or setbacks on
their own. Or they never move forward because their equitation
never improves and they are always in their horse’s way.
It may be hard to find instructors/trainers who are
balanced in all three dimensions of instruction but I encourage
you, as a rider, to balance yourself. If your instructor is not
teaching from all three dimensions, be aware of which dimension
they are strong in and pick your instructor accordingly. For
example, don’t go to an instructor, whose strength is riding
instruction, and expect great advice on starting your
two-year-old. Or you wouldn’t want to go to a trainer, whose
strength is natural horsemanship, if your equitation was your
weakness.
Although there are some very accomplished horsemen
out there, who I deeply respect, I feel it is my job as an
instructor and your job as a horse owner to study them with a
critical eye. An eye that takes what’s good information and uses
it and an eye that leaves the rest behind. As I stated previously,
studying others with a critical eye does not come with the intent
to hurt. It comes with the intent to learn. We need to be able to
know why we do what we do with our horses and be able to defend
it. By doing this it helps us create our own program and
philosophy. We will not become sheep, like I see many people do
when they start placing a trainer or instructor higher than God.
So with that ground work laid, for this coming
riding season, we are going to help you become, what we are
calling the 3-D Rider™. |
