Internet Horse Training

Potentially this is just as silly as it sounds. Yet I feel like it's the elephant in the room on horse forums and blogs.

I’m talking about the idea, act and encouragement of people learning how to handle, ride and train horses – from the internet.

When one peruses the internet with an issue, they end up finding a bunch of different ways to “fix” it. Some are good training, some are misguided, some are well explained, others aren’t and with every combination of the latter. From there, the end user is left with a myriad of choices that often don’t fit together.

I think the internet is great for discussing theories, current issues in the industry, associations and I have seen some really thought provoking blog postings and websites. I also think it’s wonderful we can reach people all over the world with different experiences, levels of learning and different styles.

So I’m not trying to bash the sharing of ideas and I think people should be able to actually post whatever they want to. Heck, I know I do! It can be a ton of fun and a good outlet to put our thoughts and ideas to keyboard. Why not speak of your favorite subject?

Newbies to the industry usually think the business of owning, training and riding horses is a whole lot easier than it actually is. It’s kind of the horse’s trick on us…we don’t know what we’re into until we’re hook, line and sinker.

People go to the internet for just about everything, sometimes trying to gain knowledge for free before having to pay for it. I'm guilty of that too. I guess I would like to see people steered towards getting physical help more than I do. It might be possible to learn how to drive a boat from the internet, but riding a horse? Let's not put a horse on the same level as a boat.

So, my best advice for someone with xyz problem is, call a local trainer. Sure, check out their ideas, read up on theories...but work with someone in person with your horse that already knows what to do!