The horse world is full of information, it is also full of opinions. Here at Informed Equestrian, we want to ensure that you are being offered as many options as possible in your equestrian journey for you to make choices that best suit your needs and goals.
We encourage you to make decisions for both you and your horses beyond the opinions of others, we don’t believe opinions are bad, we all have them, but what is right for you and your horse may not be right for the people who are offering their opinions to you and we want to remind you that a world of information is at your fingertips and we encourage you to get curious and stay open!
Part of becoming a truly informed equestrian is looking beyond what is right in front of you and using your desire to offer your horse the best life possible to look for information in places that may not feel quite so obvious.
Here are ways you can seek information to help you on your equestrian journey beyond the opinion of fellow borders, barn owners, show mates, and your trainers to enable you to maintain an open mind and a large array of tools in your toolbox:
- Cross Discipline Information
Horse training and riding is horse training and riding. Each discipline, no matter the saddle type or maneuvers all operate from the intention of having the horse and rider work together as a cohesive team. Enabling optimal communication between horses and riders has common threads throughout each discipline, however many methods of thinking and training can differ in their approach to achieve a similar goal.
We believe every discipline has incredible and valuable tools that we can all benefit and learn from to apply to our horses no matter what your tack looks like.
Recently I was listening to a beautiful conversation on Clubhouse between a few top trainers and thought leaders in our horse industry about the differences between Reiners and Dressage riders and how their skills differ from or compliment each other. The best part of the conversation was that it was not taking place as a result of comparison, rather a place of seeking understanding and seeking answers from one another to improve their skills and their communication with their horses.
- Wonderful World Wide Web
A world of information is quite literally at your fingertips which means your knowledge is not limited to where you live, who you know, or what discipline you choose.
Answers to your questions, struggles, and desires can be found via online educational platforms, Facebook groups, Clubhouse, and Google search.
Get curious and look at how horses ride or behave in a discipline that is unfamiliar or forgein to you, when you do this it is an opportunity to open your mind to discover teachers that can help you progress in your equestrian life in ways you may not have ever thought of.
Would you like your horse to be more focused in the show pen? I did! I decided to use this desire to look for where I saw horses performing at a high level with confidence and focus. Through my search I discovered that the level of focus I was searching for in my horses was being displayed in the reining pen. I used this information to then seek advice from top trainers in that discipline. You can do the same. These trainers are a wealth of knowledge and offer A LOT of free knowledge online.
“You‘re the average of the five people spend the most time with”. Jim Rohn
3. Expand Your Circle
Another thing that isn’t restricted by where you live and what you do is who you connect with in your equestrian circle. We are connected via online to people world-wide. If you feel like your values and training wants and needs are not as aligned with your equestrian friend group as you would like, look for horse friends beyond your local horse community.
There is often a story attached to the equestrian community at times that it is“brutal”, “judgemental”, or “toxic”. When you deliberately seek like-minded equestrians you take control over who you are showing up as in the horse world and the impact the horse world has on you.