So you can ride, so you can keep your horse from running over you, so you can lead a horse... can you actually train? What's the difference you might ask...

A good manager gets through a scary situation unscathed. A good trainer, on the other hand, goes back to that scary situation, on purpose, over and over, until the horse learns to manage himself in that situation.

If you meet me and ask me to work with your horse, I might say, I can do what you can't do with your horse. But that doesn't mean much. All that means is that I'm a better manager of your horse than you are. But that doesn't mean that your horse is any better for the experience. It's not until I begin actually training your horse, or you begin to train your horse to do that thing consistently, that you can honestly say you are a trainer and your horse has been "trained." Does that make sense?

So what I want to ask next is this: Can you think of an area of your horsemanship, a particular task or challenge, that persists and still exists? And will you ask yourself... "Am I training my horse, or just trying to get through it, or worse, avoiding it?"

I'm not suggesting that managing is bad. In fact, much of the Horse Mastery program is about teaching you to be a better manager, so you can handle new situations. But then... once you can manage challenging situations, I personally challenge you to go back to that same situation and teach your horse to manage himself or herself.

Keep in mind, the path to mastery is in fact, not that complicated. You can do this. You can keep it this simple. The techniques you need will emerge.  Thanks Don.