A Better Horse

I’ve learned on several occasions that there are certain people to ask for advice and certain people not to ask. I felt bad when I saw someone seeking advice about a show horse from a trail rider last weekend. I find it rare that trail riders know much more than how to make their horses go forward, side to side and sometimes back up. They may know how to coax their horses to go over, around or through obstacles. They generally know how to feed and care for their animals, but that is where a lot of the understand stops.

Sure many of them have spent hours watching clinicians such as Clinton Anderson and Pat Pirelli on RFD-TV, yet most trail riders ride green broke horses. They may have good sweet natured horses that don’t panic under pressure, but they are still green broke and lack the knowledge and collection a well trained horse would have. A moderately well trained horse has three months of professional training which gives it a good foundation. More training than that is better.

We are in the process of buying a horse that has a two year history with a trainer. This horse is incredible to say the least. It is a push button horse that does what ever it is asked to do without question or pause. We cracked whips all around the horse and it never flinched. We saw the trainer use a lasso over the horses’ head, rope a water barrel and drag the barrel through the arena. It will be bomb proof on the trail which will make events much safer for the rider and for the other riders in the party. Like a well trained dog, a well trained horse knows better than to do goofy things that endanger everyone around it. That's the sort of horse I'd rather be around. Yes, this type of horse costs more, but it's worth the added expense.