Wanna Be A Good Rider? Ride Bad Horses!
June 20, 2008
There are trainers for every discipline, of every personality, and with all kinds of philosophies and experience. It can be a chore to find the one with whom you connect best, who gets the best out of you, and who supports you in the way that you expect. But in all reality, the best horseback riding instructor you will ever have is the horse himself.
If all you ever ride are push-button, well-trained horses, you’ll know how to look pretty and use your aids correctly, but you won’t know how to really ride. It’s the horses that challenge you who most improve your riding ability and your confidence.
My Long Line Of Bad Horses
I can only think of one push-button horse I’ve ever been on in my entire life. And it was probably one of the most boring rides ever, too. From the time I was little, the only way I got to ride was to ride the bad horses nobody else wanted. I’m so glad we didn’t have the money to spend on expensive show horses who were already trained and knew their jobs. I certainly wouldn’t be the rider I am today!
It’s not that they were bad all the time. And none of them misbehaved in a dangerous or out-of-control way. But they made me work for everything I got out of them. They challenged my authority, challenged my strength, challenged my ability.
It started with Smoke when I was just 9 years old. His owner didn’t know much about horses and couldn’t do a thing with him, so my mom and sisters and I had a horse we could ride for free. He was the smartest horse I’ve ever known, and really made me work for everything. I very distinctly remember the summer I was 10, and I had to retrieve Smoke from the field by myself. It was hot, and he had about 300 flies and a few bees bugging him. He was tossing his head and stomping his feet and throwing a fit at the gate. And my rotten mother sent me out with his halter and absolutely refused to help me. I cried and whined and threw a fit because I was scared out of my pants (and couldn’t reach his head). But eventually I got him.
There was my girl Penny, who is about the spookiest horse I’ve ever ridden. And boy did she make me develop a seat that could stay with anything, whether I was ready or not (and even better, not panic).
There was Beauty, the overly strong and round black pony that nobody wanted to ride who would grab the bit between her teeth and take off. With my puny arms at the age of 12, I didn’t have much chance other than to learn to use some leverage.
There was a long line of thoroughbreds, many off the track, who had lots of energy that required channeling. They were all highly sensitive and taught me to use light aids and to stay calm and relaxed no matter what.
Now there’s Marahute, who behaves like an angel for children and won’t do a thing unless you really know how to make her if you actually know how to ride. For a long time she refused to walk when you got on her. She’d plant all four feet and refuse to move for a good 5-10 minutes … until it was her idea. Then she’d step off smartly and be fine. I finally figured out how to beat her at her game. Just a few rides ago, I started getting in the saddle and doing some lateral flexion, backing, and turns on the forehand. Now, all she wants to do is walk the second I’m on her back. With her, I’m learning to play the mental game.
Bad Horses Are Great Opportunites to Really Learn
This reminds of one of my favorite movies, Evan Almighty (which is surprisingly tasteful). In it, God (Morgan Freeman) is talking to Evan/Noah’s wife and says this:
If somebody prays for patience, do they get patience — or opportunities to practice patience?
If somebody prays for a family to get closer, do they get fuzzy feelings, or opportunities to love each other?
Similarly, if you want to learn how to bend a horse, you learn better on a horse who won’t do it than on one who will. So much of learning to ride is that feeling when using all of the correct aids in the right way at the right time actually works. I’m a firm believer that good riding is something you have to feel, not just understand in your mind.
A horse who likes to be difficult isn’t always going to place highly in the show ring, but he sure is going to teach you how to be a good rider.
When things are going perfectly and you are having issues with your horse, don’t get frustrated … and don’t expect to fix things over night. It takes time, and energy, and good rides and bad rides. One thing you can be sure of is that when you do finally fix the issue, you will be a much better rider than if you hadn’t had to deal with it in the first place!
Posted in Riding and showing, Training
June 20th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Very true. I am thankful that each of my horses are difficult in different ways. Lostine has a hard time standing still while Bombay has a hard time speeding up… One exercises my arms while the other exercises my legs, and they both exercise my brain.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Excellent post as always Jackie! (I just love reading here…hehehe) I too have had my share (maybe more thanmy share?) of “difficult” horses teaching me. It is STILL like that- like you and Marahute
I try to help people understand that there are three keys in horses- feel, timing, and balance. I think I got that from reading either Tom Dorrence, or Buck Brannaman, and boy howdy did it make sense then. Even more now, as I get older.
Horses are such fantastic teachers… if only more people would listen to them!
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:30 am
Excellent well written post on a much ignored subject.
Most new riders I come across, that have some money to spend, will almost always go for a horse that has been there and done it, for something that just needs the right buttons pushed.
What they don’t realise is that a horse can change into something very different if you don’t push the buttons correctly and the only way you know how to do that is to learn to ride properly in the first place.
You are absolutely spot-on with what you say. The best riders are those that have had to learn to sit a difficult horse and those that have learned to out-think that horse.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 am
NuzzlingMuzzles - one good thing about horses is that they can be a full body workout, and mind too as you point out.
MrsMom - feel, timing, and balance, makes good sense. Easy to say, but a whole lot harder to learn, that’s for sure.
Debbie - So true! I was watching a beginner lesson the other day where the riders were having trouble steering and bending; some of the observers wanted to blame it on the horses. But you put someone on them who knows how to do it and they would have behaved perfectly. As for out-thinking a horse, it’s easy to believe that riding is a purely physical thing, but as you point out there’s a whole mental game too.
There’s a fine line between a horse that will challenge you and one that is too much for you. The former is healthy, but the latter can be very dangerous.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Well all I can say is been there done that, sometimes it was fun sometimes not, but it was always challenging. I personally think the more horses you ride and have to figure out the better rider you become. Horses are wonderful teachers as you said, but you must learn to listen to them closely, if you don’t you will never learn the finer points and art of horsemanship.
August 10th, 2008 at 3:22 am
That is quite interesting article and I somewhat agree with it. I am still young at the age of 20 and I have ridden for the past 13 yrs. I don’t think that riding bad or difficult horses is good for the rider in some aspects. Think of it this way…it is much easier to ride and learn on an untrained horse who is willing to learn to bend with some difficultly rather than jerking on a bad horse with a hard mouth who leaves your arms feeling sore at the end of the day. The only way a Bad horse improved my riding was learning how to stay on!!!