For me training a young horse involves weeks and months of gradually building the right muscles, developing a language between the horse and trainer that both understand, spending time learning about all the details that a lifetime partnership with humans entails. Grooming, cross ties, farrier, indoor arenas, outdoor arenas, trails, varied terrain, leaving friends, saddles, bridles, bits, blankets, trailers to mention just a few.
I am not interested in confrontation and force as a means to teach the horse.
It is not something that can be done correctly if the trainer tries to adhere to a rigid schedule. Every horse is different, every situation is different. One must be prepared to change course at a moment’s notice. You may have perfect plans and timetables all lined up only to get to the barn to find out something happened that needs to be explored and figured out to make sure that whatever it is turns into a positive learning experience.
Pleasant and enjoyable being the ultimate goal. I want horses that I train to be interested in their job, to be a willing partner, to be confident and relaxed. I want them to be happy to learn, to be able to adapt to new situations—without first reacting with fear. All of this takes time and a willingness for the human to follow the horse’s lead in terms of what to prioritize next. Yes goals are important, but the path one takes to those goals is a winding one with many side trips required to stop and, sometimes literally, smell the roses.
My goal is to find youngsters that have a clean slate. Meaning that they haven’t been frightened or injured, that they have been allowed to be a horse, out with other horses, living their first years learning things that all horses need to know: How to manage their big bodies; How to behave in a herd; How to go up and down hills at different speeds. I will look for horses that have a conformation that sets them up to be sound over the long term. They should have an interest and curiosity about humans while at the same time respecting them. They should be beautiful to my eye. When I’m training a horse I spend a lot of time watching him or her and I want to enjoy that time. I want to look at that horse and be proud to own it. I want to be excited about coming to the barn every day to work with my “kids”.
Lastly—this is fast becoming a personal project—I would like them to be of the Morgan breed. I am entranced by the perfect adaptation of the Oldstyle Morgans for New England. They are hardy, sensible, smart and gorgeous to look at.
I chose Asia (of my Re-rider series) because I hoped that she would be able to take care of herself when I was away, meaning she didn’t need to wear blankets in the winter or fly sheets in the summer, that she could handle herself in a herd, that she would be careful about where she put her feet and avoid injury. I was right on all counts, she has been an absolute joy, has given me back my ability to ride, taken me on trails that had I only dreamed of doing again, and knocked it out of the park in the Western Dressage show ring. For this reason I decided to go for a couple of young Morgans with Oldstyle/Western Working lines.
These horses will be physically conditioned correctly so that there are no hidden lameness issues that will appear as the horse ages. No kissing spine because he was ridden too much too soon without topline development, no front end arthritis because he never learned how to balance himself and his rider correctly, no hock and tendon damage because he was asked to use his joints and tendons in human induced acts of athletic stress before they were fully developed.
They will be mentally prepared to be kind, relaxed, interested partners to their humans, they will enjoy being groomed and tacked up, look forward to greeting their humans and eagerly get on a trailer for the next adventure. Forward calmly will be their natural way of thinking because they will know that if they need to stop for a rest or to catch their breath they will be allowed to. Most of all they will think humans are great, which means they will be happy to leave their horse friends because human friends are safe and fun and they know their horse friends will be there when they get back.
Horses trained like this will be awesome, and at the right time will find their equally awesome homes.
