Training Tip: Ask Clinton: Letting Others Ride Your Horse

Q: A client of mine is a novice rider and has an ex-barrel racer that is too much for them to handle at the canter. I started giving her lessons on my well-broke horse. Can novice riders create problems that are hard to fix? – Mary F.

A: I commend you for offering a well-broke horse for your client to learn to canter on. Having a broke horse to learn on is exactly what someone in their situation needs. I understand why you might be concerned about your horse’s training going downhill and don’t blame you either. It takes a lot of hard work, time and dedication to get a well-trained horse! But the good news is once you’ve got a horse trained, you don’t have to worry about them losing that knowledge, especially since I’m assuming you continue to ride the horse. While the novice rider might not be as quick to acknowledge a try and to release pressure, not cue the horse correctly or might even let him get away with things, and your horse might get a little heavy on the bit or dull, it’s nothing that you can’t easily fix at the beginning of a training session by reminding the horse to be soft and supple.

The only problem I could see you getting into in your situation is if you’d let your client take your horse for an extended amount of time, like several months, without you tuning the horse up. Then, when you got the horse back, you might have to spend a week rather than five minutes at the beginning of a session getting him back in shape and in tune with you.