Ep 52: Taking a Step Back to Move Forward
My dad always used to say, “you can’t see the forest from the trees.” For years, I never understood what he meant by that. As I’ve progressed through my career, it has finally begun to make sense.
Sometimes, as human beings, we can’t see the answer because we’re trying too hard. Most of the time, the answer is pretty simple, but if we are too close to the problem, it can be hard to see the obvious solution. An outside perspective can give us the one piece of the puzzle we were missing to help us make a change.
At my clinics, I typically have a lot of very advanced horses and riders. Sometimes, so advanced that I wonder, “why are they here? What can I do to help them?” But, I’m always humbled to find that even the most advanced riders pick up on one or two philosophies that make positive change in their training programs.
If our horses are having a challenge on the pattern, it usually has to do with a fundamental weakness that can be corrected off of the pattern. These fundamental weaknesses are typically not a weakness with our horses, but instead, a weakness with how we communicate as a rider.
Horsemanship is a never-ending journey. I’ve ridden thousands of horses, and I never once have I thought, “this horse can’t possibly get any better.”
If my horse does something right, I ask myself, “does he do that every time? Or, can I work to get this result more often?”
When I ask myself if my horse can be more consistent, I’m really asking myself if I can get better at sending consistent signals. The consistency of my horse depends 100% on my consistency as a trainer.
As human beings, we are not programmed computers. And, neither are our horses. One of the most common challenges I see with trainers is their consistency at home versus their consistency at a competition.
It is human nature to get nervous when we are putting money toward a competition because we want to do well. But as anxiety builds in us, it is going to build in our horses, too.
When we have it in our minds to be smooth, we relax and soften our cues. Sometimes, we have to slow down to move forward.
Learn more about the training methods discussed in this episode in Phil’s signature Foundation to Finish course.
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