Let’s Discuss: The Best Horse Advice You’ve Ever Received

Pass it on!

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In a lifetime of working with horses, it’s mind-boggling to think about the hours and hours of instruction and suggestion made by riding instructors, trainers, coaches, mentors, clinicians and judges that one person might hear. The things that might resonate with each individual listener will vary — after all, we’re all different and what sticks in our ear and brain is certainly going to be different from what works for your friend. But along the way, down the many twisting and turning paths that we’ve all taken, we’ve all gotten some really, really good advice.

Two discussions — both the best advice and the worst advice we’ve ever gotten — have attracted some pretty interesting responses in the OTTB Connect Facebook group, and we thought it would be fun to bring the discussion over to Horse Nation as well.

For me, the best advice I’ve gotten recently came via social media: my former boss, a horsewoman whose experience and expertise I respect greatly and whom I now consider a good friend, reposted a bit of training advice from a well-known professional on a popular Facebook page. I replied with a long rant about how my winter plans had already gotten totally derailed thanks to a bunch of changing factors, and my friend responded simply, but powerfully:

“Be patient.”

Just two simple words, but what a wealth of information they represented: don’t worry, stop rushing, let things unfold at their own pace, don’t put a time limit on training and enjoy the process. This brief little message can apply to so much outside of our horse lives as well.

Weigh in, Horse Nation — from “heels down!” to “eyes up!”, what’s the best horse advice you’ve ever gotten? Let us know in the comments section!