“How fast should my horse progress?”

I get this question a lot from my clients, but in a way, it is a trick question. Your horse progresses at the speed of your own knowledge.

When we are working on our horsemanship, the change we should be searching for is not necessarily with our horses—it is within ourselves. As trainers, we have to understand the value of personal development in the overall value of our horses.

Our horses are hard-wired with a few skills that make them extremely capable of performing well in multiple disciplines. However, it is up to us as trainers to unlock this potential. Our horses will only perform as well as we help them to.

Understanding the value of personal development is such a large piece of the horsemanship journey. As a trainer, you must commit to a continuous pursuit of knowledge. It might not always click at first, but the day that it all comes together, you will be thankful that you never gave up. The work you do today may not show up until days, months or even years later.

This is why I am less focused on my progression with a horse in a few days, and I am much more concerned about my results with that horse 6-12 months from now. The continuous application of knowledge is what generates progression through a horse’s learning process.