Who is Teaching You?

Do you know someone who seems to have a different instructor every week?

Do you know someone who has had the same instructor forever?

It used to bother me when people decided to try someone else after I had helped them. Lets face it, with the likes of social media, this can be rammed in your face in a pretty brutal way. However, these days, I realise that when this happens, it's just part of the journey.

Lets say I work with someone who's horse is a bit extreme in some way. One horse I worked with was so strong, it could get away regardless of what it was wearing on its head and wasn't prepared to stay for any conversation about doing something differently. I didn't achieve what the owner had asked me to help them with. I knew it would take longer and all I could do was leave them with some exercises and concepts on how things could and should be. Funnily enough, I probably wouldn't even use the same techniques these days as to what I was using then but that's a whole other story about personal growth and learning

At some point in the future, another trainer will come along and solve the problem. That makes me look like I haven't done my job, But I did. This is the horse's journey as much as it is the human's. The horse just needs more time and understanding to get to the goal. If it happens to be someone else who gets the plaudits, then that's fine with me.

But here's the thing. The horse world is a pretty nasty place at times. Remember that all trainers and instructors are only doing their best with the information and knowledge that they have. There are still human beings. They don't deserve to be bad mouthed.

But there are some things you can do when choosing an instructor:

- check they are qualified and insured

- check they have first aid and safeguarding training

- ask to see the risk assessment for your lesson and property

Instructors that comply with all of this should have a decent code of conduct.

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