To say that dogs and horses are my thing is an understatement of almost epic proportions. That said, while I don’t believe the cobbler’s children should go barefoot, neither do I agree that they should have Louboutin shoes for every occasion.
The best I can offer—whether it is to students, dogs, or equine partners—is an honest respectful dialogue based on my knowledge and experience.
One of the greatest gifts I believe we can give to our students, dogs, or horses is to help them realize they are good. Not the best, mind, yet not so belittled as to consider giving up. For a student, either end of the spectrum can spell disillusionment or disaster. I’m honest with my students regarding their own goals as well as their overall ability plus their potential. To overpraise can give a rider a false sense of both their abilities and their limitations or leave them with holes in their knowledge or technique. This has the potential to be both psychologically and physically harmful. If you ride with an instructor who is primarily a cheerleader, an overestimation of ability can lead to being over-faced or overmounted—which we all know can lead to real harm. It can also lead to overconfidence that, when faced with a more honest assessment of their abilities can lead to disappointment and also to disregarding better information and real opportunities to improve.
One rider who had a lovely seat and way of being with horses was often overmounted because instructors saw what they wanted to see—latent talent just waiting for them to unlock, to be the wonder teacher and have a fabulous student. I taught many of these riders who had, if anything, underestimated their knowledge and ability when riding with someone new, and yet they were pushed too fast, too hard.
Another was progressing well but still had a lot of holes in both theory and practical knowledge as well as misused physical strengths. While riding in a clinic, the instructor over-praised and gave the eager student an inflated sense of their abilities. They chose to switch to the clinician as their regular instructor. Can you guess the result? Quick success in local events that soon led to embarrassment at larger ones, and eventually a complete mess; the poor rider was berated by the instructor for not doing what they should have done. But how could they know? Or perhaps the horse was to blame, leading to a quick sale and then convincing the student to buy a new horse—with a finder’s fee, of course. Fortunately, neither horse nor rider were seriously hurt. Unfortunately, the stars never left the rider’s eyes.
Comments