Here is my input, hope it helps....
1.When did you start training horses?
Technically at age 18, but I started riding when I was 5, first show at 8 years old, and started to get clients at 15. But when I turned 18 is when things kicked in even more.
2. What was you first experiance working with a horse like?
I rode ponies as a youth and don't really remember them. But I clearly remember a very special buckskin Quarter Horse I rode and showed when I was 8 years old, his name was Bucky. I will always remember him! As far as my first experience getting paid to train a horse, I had a problem horse no less! I don't remember his name, but he was as mean and wild as they come, but I was determined to break him, which I did. I learned a tremendous amount about training horses from him and so I will always remember that turning point for me.
3. Is it harder to train older or younger horses?
It depends on the horse. Older horses may have been trained by many trainers along the way which could take a long time to redo or retrain your own way. They also have certain set in habits just like humans do which can be hard to break as well. Young horses are moldable to start with, but they can sometimes come with risks because they are learning and fresh. There can be young horses that are very easy going and trained quickly with no problems, whereas it may take a very long time to retrain an older horse. Then there is the opposite--an older horse may be very open to retraining, and the young horse is stubborn and high powered enough make training more of a challenge. Again, it all depends on each individual horse.
4. What made you wan to train horses? Necesity, or maybe a job oppertunity?
I've always wanted to be a trainer, I knew it when I was put up aboard my first pony. When I was 12 and was already very heavy into horses, my parents actually tried to stop me from being around horses and regretted supporting me so much in it. As time went by and I refused to give up horses, they realized there was no point in stopping me.
5. What is the hardest thing you have ever taught a horse?
I work a lot with problem horses because I understand them. There have been a countless number of horses I have worked with who were misunderstood. There was one horse called ET who hated everyone and everything and all his behavior was geared towards pinning people against walls, charging at them, biting, kicking, rearing, striking, etc. You name it, he did it, and in a very deadly meaninful way, he was seriously out to hurt you. He was the most dangerous horse I've ever agreed to work with, but I knew he was misunderstood and took him on. To make a long story short, I helped him, as well as all the people who worked with him because he was very misunderstood. It took me a year to do so, but he is truelly a sweetheart of a horse.
6. Whats the most rewarding thing about training?
I am rewarded when I show clients WHY their horses are behaving a certain way and showing them the results from understanding them. It makes me happy when the horses are at ease. I believe that all horse problems are the direct fault of humans. Therefore, I spend a lot of time not only working on the horse itself, but with the owners and handlers of the horses. Most of the time, I first watch how the owners work with their horses so see where the issues are stemming from, then it's easy to come up with an explanation for the horses behavior, and a suitable training plan.
7. Do you plan to go professional in doing training.
I am currently a professional trainer.
8. How long does it take to traib a green horse? Or does it depend on the horse?
It depends on the horse. A new horse in training is doing well under saddle after about 90 days of consistant training. It takes a good 6 months to a year for horse show perfection in my opinion. It's the Exposure to things that really makes the difference though. This means lots of exposure to other arenas, trailering, going to some warm up shows and events, etc. This helps to put some experience into the horses training at a faster rate. A horse that is more "seasoned" does not neccessarily means it's older, but has had more exposure and experience with something other than it's own home barn and backyard.
9. Any other comments about training you think are important?
Looking back, I was fortunate enough to have ridden just about every breed of horse I could ride. I rode everything from mustangs to draft horses, shetlands to walking horses, arabians to thoroughbreds, etc. Through all of that, the more I worked with Quarter Horses, the more I realized as time went by that they were my breed of choice overall. As far as training, I was also very fortunate to work under many different trainers of all disciplines. This helped me not only to keep an open mind to different training, but I was able to incorporate different techniques together to help my own horses in training. It gave me perspective on how I want my own standards to be. This is because I have worked with some trainers who did things I do not agree with and would not repeat. Then there are some trainers who I am thankful for even more because of how wonderful they treated the horses. Through it all, I learned so much about the differences between trainers, yet figured out how I'd wanted my own style to be.....Training should be all about the horse and what the horse wants, especially if you want to be successful with that horse. When evaluating a new horse in training, I work on figuring out what event the horse is happiest and most comfortable with.doing, then I merge what they are the most talented in and have the most potential for and then go from there......I hope this helps