A lot has been learned since I was bucked
off the two-year-old gelding. I am sure that
I have much, much more still to learn. I
suppose what I am doing could be classified
as the search for knowledge, the search of
better and better training techniques. I
have only been working with horses for the
better part of four years. Having had no
formal equine related education, I have had
to learn a lot by doing, or perhaps, by
failing. I have learned not only what to do,
but also what not to do.
I have learned this year that having light
hands is very necessary, that being patient
is truly a virtue, and that every horse is
different. That is just to name a few of the
important lessons that I have learned. I
have the benefit of being able to compare
several different horse-training methods and
see the results. I have been able to form my
own opinions and add these to the ideas of
true horse trainers before me. While
learning all of this, I have also concluded
in my own mind that much is still to be
learned. Compared to the some people, I may
know much; however, compared to what I do
not know, what I do know is very little.
I have now taken an untrained two-year-old
horse and trained him, in less than forty
days, to walk, trot, lope, stop, turn, and
back to a degree that I had never known was
attainable on my own. His understanding of
what I ask is far beyond any other horse
that I have trained. I think that I will
attribute this to the certain training
methods that I used and my growing
understanding and experience of handling
horses. I can only hope that my skill and
ability will improve over time. I think that
over this summer, I have learned many
techniques that are important from the
saddle.
I look foreword to a time when I may be able
to take an untrained horse and train him to
a level of excellence that now seems only
attainable by the best. For now, I am still
learning.
