Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
Each force does it differently, even different trainers within the same force area.
I went to America several years running to learn to train with less force. Gave me a sense of what was possible in each step of training without overwhelming and also how to have better timing for pressure/release. Also studied ++ training, but found that less useful under pressure.
Different people have different skills and ways of doing things.
An example, I went to view a potential horse, it was a nice model but had done a bit of SJ, had been draw reigned in, was a bit nappy, but had seen more of the world, was already on the button for loading etc... I decided that the schooling would take too long to unravel and didn't buy (bought a green one instead). I felt it was sour, and that takes longer to unpick and re-train than a green baby.
A couple of weeks later, a different force rung me up, said they were viewing the horse but the owner had let slip that I already had and they wanted to know why I had turned it down. They knew that I would always tell the owner whatever they needed to hear so as not to upset them (such as, "Oh, it's too well schooled for us, we would just confuse him with having to ride whilst distracted
). I told them what I thought, but also said that, in their set-up I felt it would likely be a match, knowing that they had 6 months to get the horse to a football match in their system.4 months later, I was there and one of their staff was telling me how I had missed a good horse, it was fantastic, they were using it to teach courses, it was blah blah blah. I didn't mind, my baby was coming on great, working independently, working bigger matches etc. I said that I was pleased, and asked how the horse was at a match. Nooooo, the horse had never made it to a match yet, not ready! I had to explain that my boss would not think that, 4 months in with a lot of training behind it, not ready to go to a match, that THAT would be a success. Different management, not one system. They were skilled trainers, with a different goal, I guess. Horses for courses.
I would rather have had longer, but I did have the back up and facilities that I needed to progress at a speed and still keep the integrity of the work with the horse. Sometimes a boss would push too hard, sometimes to the detriment of a horse, and at those times I sometimes thought about quitting, but then, would the horses have a slower regime? No. So, I reckoned I was better to be in the imperfect system, making it as good as I could.
BTW - Rigsby used his noggin today. He heard me unlock the lorry, when I went to catch him, he had a pee before coming in. Clever boy.
Today we boxed out, had a little ride, boxed back. He would rather have ridden back, he enjoys his rides. I was undoing the box ramp and he even started to walk for home
but only enough to make me laugh at his audacity, he turned round, loaded up and travelled back just fine!
