When I was a kid, I was largely taught by more experienced horse people. My mentors owned a riding school and I worked casually for them in exchange for lessons. They taught me everything from how to tie a knot to how to perform a half halt and position a horse in front of a jump. All the basic skills that a person needs to know at the beginning began by religiously following the instruction of my two mentors. I didn’t think too much about what I was told or why things were done that way. It was what it was because my mentors said so.
So today 90% of my new knowledge comes from horses and thinking/experimentation. The rest is divided between other professionals, books, videos, and students. Who knows where it will come from tomorrow?
This is a quote from the Good Horsemanship by Ross Jacobs Facebook page in a post titled The Evolution of Learning from November 13, 2022.
Unlike Ross, my horsemanship journey started at age 10 with six lessons at the local stable, books from the public library, and a subscription to Western Horseman Magazine.
My family lived in a horse friendly community. And I sometimes got lessons from the 16 year old boy down the street. But my horse was kept in a small barn near our house, and I rode every day the weather allowed it. I fed my horse, groomed my horse, was bucked off my horse, got back on my horse and got thrown less as time went on. Most of what I learned about horses was learned from my horse and experimentation.
My family moved after about a year. My horse was sold, and I didn't ride much for almost 30 years.
When I bought a horse and started riding again, I took lessons and attended clinics and watched videos. I was working full time so there was much less time for riding. Most of my knowledge came from these expert sources of information and I tried to apply that information to my horse with varying levels of success.
Now in my early seventies, I would agree with Ross that 90% of my new knowledge comes from my horses and thinking and experimentation. For me there is no one horsemanship method or mentor who has all the answers for me and my horses.
I hope you’re at a place in life that allows you to experiment with your horses, and watch for feedback from them to learn what works and what doesn’t. I hope that you think of horsemanship as a journey with detours and occasional setbacks. I hope you enjoy every day on your journey to better horsemanship in the second half of life .
Here's a link to Descript, the audio and video editing software that I use and recommend.
When I was a kid. I was largely taught by more experienced horse people. My mentors owned a riding school and I worked casually for them in exchange for lessons. They taught me everything from how to tie a knot to how to perform a half halt and position a horse in front of a jump. All the basic skills that a person needs to know at the beginning began by religiously following the instruction of my two mentors. I didn't think too much about what I was told or why things were done that way. It was what it was because my mentors said so. So today, 90% of my new knowledge comes from horses and thinking and experimentation. The rest is divided between other professionals, books, videos, and students. Who knows where it will come from tomorrow. This is a quote from Good Horsemanship by Ross Jacobs, in his Facebook page in a post titled The Evolution of Learning, from November 13th, 2022. Welcome to the Second Half Horsemanship Podcast where we talk about using your mind more than your muscles on the path to better horsemanship in the second half of life. I'm your host, Paul Sherland. Unlike Ross, my horsemanship journey started at age 10 with six lessons at the local stable, books from the public library, and a subscription to Western Horseman Magazine. My family lived in a horse friendly community for about a year. And I sometimes got lessons from the 16 year old boy down the street. But my horse was kept in a small barn near our house, and I rode every day the weather allowed it. I fed my horse, groomed my horse, was bucked off my horse, got back on my horse and got thrown less as time went on. Most of what I learned about horses was learned from my horse and experimentation. My family moved after about a year. My horse was sold, and I didn't ride much for almost 30 years. When I bought a horse and started riding again, I took lessons and attended clinics and watched videos. I was working full time so there was much less time for riding. Most of my knowledge came from these expert sources of information, and I tried to apply that information to my horse with varying levels of success. Now in my early seventies, I would agree with Ross that 90% of my new knowledge comes from my horses and thinking and experimentation. For me, there is no one horsemanship method or mentor who has all the answers for me and my horses. When I remind myself to use more mind than muscle, that translates to reminding myself of the horse time I enjoyed 60 years ago, as well as what I've learned from my horses over 30 plus years of adult horse ownership. There are plenty of horse people who inhabit Facebook pages of various clinicians and horsemanship experts as zealous guardians of the purity of whatever method these folks use. That's fine. I hope you're not one of them. I hope you're at a place in life that allows you to experiment with your horses and watch for feedback from them to learn what works and what doesn't. I hope that you think of horsemanship as a journey with detours and occasional setbacks. I hope that you enjoy every day on your journey to better horsemanship in the second half of life. Thanks for listening to the second half horsemanship podcast. If you're also on the second half horsemanship journey please leave a comment on our website, second half horsemanship.com. We're always looking for topic and interview ideas. When I use links to books, products, and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon associate, I earned from qualifying purchases. I earned a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links. One more note, I use Descript for editing the podcast. If you do any video or audio editing. You should check out what Descript offers. It's an incredible tool for creatives. I'll also have a link to Descript in the show notes. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your reviews, help the podcast reach a larger audience. Thank you very much.