Knowledge Gained
Educational opportunities are everywhere you look, you just have to look. No matter what subject of interest is to you, there is an abundance of ways to access knowledge about it.
When it comes to horses,whether it be riding horses, training horses, feeding or doctoring horses, you name it, gaining knowledge is as easy as a click away.
The internet has the answer to more questions than you can dream of. Practical veterinary sites, conformation diagrams, YouTube training videos, blogs, color and breed descriptions, bits and bitting information, it’s all out there. Then there’s Wikipedia, a whole site dedicated to information of every kind.
If you want personal attention, you may choose to ride with an instructor privately. Or you can ride in a clinic where you’ll gain from a little personal attention and will also get a chance to see the instructor coach every other student through issues that there is a good chance you have or will experience. You can audit a clinic if you don’t have a horse or money is an issue at the time.
Some people are shy or embarrassed to admit they don’t know how to do certain things on their horse. Just remember, every rider out there started at the beginning. They all had to pay their dues. They (hopefully) learned from their mistakes.
I had the pleasure of riding with the exceptional trainer, Joe Wolter, in August. I rode with Joe about 10 or 12 years ago in four different clinics. I’ve missed riding with him every since.
Joe was lucky enough to learn from the great brothers, Tom and Bill Dorrance, among others. While visiting with Joe, I talk about following his program. He is quick to say that it isn’t “his” program, that he has been blessed to gain knowledge from so many great trainers. Joe is a humble man. I reword my comment and say that I try to follow the techniques that Joe has learned from others. That makes him happy.
I will admit that some of the philosophies that Joe taught me years ago were difficult to grasp until I had more experience. Not all of it made sense right away.
At this last clinic, virtually everything that Joe taught made perfect sense and I’ve been able to apply all of the drills and techniques we worked on to the horses I have in training.
When I rode with Shawn Flarida in a reining clinic five years ago he stated that, “You have to have a certain amount of knowledge before you can really learn”. In this case he was referring to riding/training the reining horse.
I’ve always read magazines (most are horse related) and newspapers while I eat lunch. With the purchase of an iPad, I still read magazines or books, but also surf a little. After watching a Joe Wolter YouTube video the other day, I noticed a short Tom Dorrance video. I clicked on it and he talked about how to help a horse lift the outside shoulder when you are suggesting he turn one direction and his shoulder continues to take him in a different direction. A very common experience with green horses and many not-so-green horses.
Right after lunch, I was able to put this different technique to work on two different green horses I am riding with success.
Knowledge can truly be just a click away.