2Likes
Decades ago we all read books and magazines to get help. I don't know about you, but my horses are expensive to keep, as well as time consuming. I am cautious about what horses I buy (or adopt, like my horse, "Buster Brown,") so I don't (now) have to retrain anything dangerous.
I politely disagree about using the advice of RFDTV horse trainers. I guess I am old enough to have witnessed MANY backyard horses who were trained by no-nothings, who just spent hours and hours with their horses and had really good pleasure horses, often grade horses. How are blooded horses any different to train?
My older horses were practically perfect, IMHO, after 20 years, but I hadn't ever considered doing ground work with them, though, while teaching lessons in the middle of the arena, I realize now that is exactly what I did. Plus, none of them really backed as well as I would have liked. Because of watching Clinton Anderson's programs, my current 3 horses back VERY well.
Novice riders will listen to who is convenient. Good trainers are great, but expensive, so there is a LOT of DYI nowadays. Plus, I've been to many stables and I wasn't really sure that all of their trainers were competent enough to be worth the money. I agree that many of them are, but how does a novice know the difference?
Maybe the best advice for a newbie is to use the same kind of humane training that you would use on your dog. A good dog is a joy, and a well-trained horse is a joy, too. It's NOT that complicated to get good basics on your horse. I didn't grow up with horses, but I've owned horses for over 26 years. I find that when I trust my gut, it's usually right. JMHO.
