The Howie Chronicles

If you bought your horse completely broke, this might not make any sense to you. But if you, like so many of us, bought or bred a young horse and need help along the way, you'll understand completely. And I think I've touched on this before, since this is so important to me. If you send your horse out for training, does the trainer create a horse just for you? Or do they train the horse and they try to train you to ride the way they do? Maybe it doesn't sound like a big difference, but it is. And my dear, dear friend has been fighting this losing battle for so long. It breaks my heart to watch because I know it shouldn't be that way. Of course the trainer rides better than we do, DUH! That's why they're the trainer, that's why we send them our beloved horse and our very hard earned money. But if the horse is to be the amateur's mount, then it is the trainer's responsibility to create a ride that suits and matches the amateur's abilities. It is not the trainers job to create a horse that they can ride and then try and try and try again to get the amateur to ride like they do. And then, even worse, make them feel bad when they can't. If they could, they wouldn't need you in the first place! I hope I'm still riding when I'm my friends age. Geez, she's had both hips replaced. Take one quick look at her hands and see what damage arthritis can do. That's one determined woman. But, darn it, she isn't as strong as she was at 25. Neither am I. But it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she needs a mount that will be light in the bridle and move forward from slight leg pressure. Not a horse that needs muscled around. Is this really too much to ask?