This morning, I’m thinking about how easy it is for trainers to get jaded — and how important it is not to let that happen.
We’re fixers by profession. We like to fix problems and improve the lives of horses and riders. We need to do so quickly, and we can never do it fast enough, in a realm where serious improvement only happens with time.
When it comes to fixing horses that come with a warning label — the horses we call “problem horses,” or “remedial horses,” or “horses with issues” — all of us are used to seeing problems where owners don’t see them. Oftentimes, the problems are with the owner, caused by the owner and reinforced by the owner. This happens so consistently that many trainers decide that all horse owners are, in fact, the problem. So they stop listening to anything horse owners have to say.
Reflections on Riding 