Ep 53: Overcoming the Need for Instant Gratification
“My horse works fine going slow.”
This is one of the most frequent comments I hear within the performance horse industry. Often times, we are the determining factor of how well our horses work at different speeds.
If horses have issues at faster speeds, that is usually a key indicator that they are weak in some fundamental area. Which translates to, we are weak in our fundamentals of horsemanship.
As trainers, we are rarely working to improve our horses; but rather, to improve the way that we ask our horses to do things. Our horses are always the benefactors of the things we do to improve our own understanding of horsemanship.
A horse and rider are one unit, and that unit needs to be working together. The only muscle we need to be training on our horses is the brain. If their minds are not recognizing and understanding what we are asking for, our results will be extremely inconsistent. We may experience short term successes that trick us into thinking we’ve got it all together, but over time, we will face the consequences of neglecting those fundamentals that got us to where we are today.
Our human instinct for instant gratification often causes us to rush our training. Our expectations, our friend’s expectations, and the opinions of those that are watching tend to make us want to progress faster than we really need to. 99% of the horses out there have the physical ability to progress at this pace, but their minds aren’t able to keep up.
Even a seasoned horse can be a fundamental mess because, over time, they have been repetitively asked to perform specific tasks under high amounts of pressure. This is a reflection of their training routine. With seasoned horses, we tend to get away from doing the small, mundane tasks that got them to that performance level in the first place.
Instead of rushing your progress, try to enjoy the journey. Enjoy the days of practice. Enjoy each horse you get the privilege of swinging a leg over. The trials, the tribulations, the tough days… those are an inevitable part of the journey. And, those are also the experiences that help you grow the most.
Be appreciative of every opportunity to grow and learn. Once you learn to appreciate the tough days just as much as the successful ones, that’s when you begin to see real progress.
Seek out those moments that give you an adrenaline rush. You never know when the day will come when those opportunities are no longer there.
Learn more about the training methods discussed in this episode in Phil’s signature Foundation to Finish course.
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