I rode Quincy, the 7yr old. The more I know the more I don’t. I’ve been riding for over 50 years, training for “money” for over 30 year, got training “certifications” from Universities and from various organizations. So what?

In the University world, training styles are what is studied, the styles of reinforcement, hours of video tape are analyzed of horses doing natural things and doing domestic trained things. There are numbers, statistics, frequencies. EMPIRICAL. In the “equestrian training” world, everyone tells you their experience, no number’s. People tell you outcomes, dressage scores, horses they have in training, contests they have won. Everyone, Professionals and Neo-professional, and everyone or most everyone I know “these days” already knows everything the want to know to train their horse or someone else’s. Academic’s argue about reinforcement style and if things are kind and humane enough. Pro’s who compete don’t argue, they “market” their ideas as expertise. Sometimes it is expertise.

What I know, my horses are 5 and 7 years old. They each have different temperaments and personalities. They each have not have enough years, hours or miles put into their training to be consistent in many behaviors. Are they consistent being caught, yes. Are they consistent being lead, yes. Are they consistent being ridden in the arena, no. Are they consistent on trail rides, no. Are they consistent in being contolled under saddle to not hurt me, yes.

What am i saying? Time is your best friend and worst enemy in training. Consistency is your best friend. Second guessing is your worst enemy.

How do we know, K N O W, what is in the brains of horses. We don’t. We guess. We image their brains. We form experiments. We extrapolate from their behavior. We compare them to other mammals. We compare them to human brains. We count. We record. We observe. We do these things in standard, specific, measured, recoreded ways, so everyone can do it too, to see if we are correct.

And, sometimes, we just enjoy them, feed them, pet them, groom them, nuzzle them, smell them, and just trust them. And, sometimes we get hurt, bruised, bumped, stepped on, shoved, kicked or even bucked off.

So, Happy New Year. Be as safe as you know how to be. Love them as much as you can.