"The Pitfalls of Potential"

[TarrSteps]

Really interesting piece by one of the COTH bloggers about the clash between 'potential' and reality. . .
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/pitfalls-potential

 

[nikkimariet]

Makes me (randomly) think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNKoH84ioz0

 

[popsdosh]

That article hits it on the head and is soooo true!
No horse is any good without the heart to do it and the constitution to be there when the chips are down!
Over the years I have come to be hard and accept these limitations earlier on .Sometimes it is more difficult making somebody else see it ,ie a rider!

 

[frannieuk]

Great article, thanks for drawing it to my attention

 

[Dry Rot]

Unless I missed it, the one item the writer seems to have forgotten is the ability of the rider!

The best horse in the world will never show a spark of that potential if the rider is crap.

 

[popsdosh]

The article wasnt really about the rider but more the horse can have all the potential in the world but if it does not have the two key ingredients no rider will unlock that ability!
I would disagree as to the trained eye the horses potential will show through however bad the rider.Sometimes it is easier as the rider cannot mask the horses shortcomings!!!

 

[Booboos]

Interesting article, although some of what it says applies more to professionals who see a large number of horses than amateurs with one horse that usually fulfills both the role of competition prospect and the role of beloved family pet. The problem with the one-horse amateur owner is that we are blinded by our love of the animal as a pet, we usually can't afford another horse and find it difficult to give up on a horse we've invested so much time, effort and love into. I think for the ambitious amateur to progress the key may be to forget potential altogether and get the most ready-made advanced horse she can afford and can actually ride.

 

[dieseldog]

It is the flip side to the horse that tries for you and is really sound but has reached its limit. You want to progress but you have to recognise that your horse isn't.

 

[TarrSteps]

Or to accept the horse is what it is, however it may look on a good day, and any ambitions will have to be tempered with that reality, however frustrating it is. I think her point about not pushing and pushing it particularly relevant to this.

I read a great article years ago (and have never been able to find it since) about the 'mix' of nature vs nurture in producing competition horses. The gist of it was success might be 90% training/riding/production and 10% natural ability (including mental and physical attributes) but that BOTH were needed to produce the desired result. The best rider can't make up for what a horse lacks.

 

[TarrSteps]

Re, older horses. Trained or not, they are often going to be a better bet simply because they've survived up to that point! I've had very good luck over the years retraining or 'repurposing' horses that have been poorly produced/cared for, failed at one job etc but are good minded and sound. If you can find the right job for them they are often stars because they basically have the goods and their new life is actually easier than their old one!

This is completely at odds, of course, with the fashion for people to buy young horses because they are 'blank slates'. What they really are is undiscovered country. . ..

 

[Farma]

Interesting article, although some of what it says applies more to professionals who see a large number of horses than amateurs with one horse that usually fulfills both the role of competition prospect and the role of beloved family pet. The problem with the one-horse amateur owner is that we are blinded by our love of the animal as a pet, we usually can't afford another horse and find it difficult to give up on a horse we've invested so much time, effort and love into. I think for the ambitious amateur to progress the key may be to forget potential altogether and get the most ready-made advanced horse she can afford and can actually ride.

No fun in that though!

 

[Lolo]

No fun in that though!

Lots of fun I reckon! Watching my little sister try and work up to those heady heights, and while she's learning a lot she would have gained just as much from a horse who knew it's job. It's a random myth that's really strongly believed in that you can only be good/ learn if you've carved the way yourself from the very start. I reckon that's almost 100% rubbish.

I think Booboos hits the nail on the head. Saying that actually, this horse cannot do what I want it to do and it is unfair to ask is really hard. But I think that the article is right in a horse who could have it all but doesn't have the heart or courage or soundness to do it is harder to give up because there's always that spark of hope saying "Maybe".

 

[Copperpot]

I agree with Lolo. Since having a horse that knows what he's doing it's helped me a lot with my jumping. I don't have to worry about anything, just point and then I can concentrate on my position rather than anything else.

 

[Rollin]

Re, older horses. Trained or not, they are often going to be a better bet simply because they've survived up to that point! I've had very good luck over the years retraining or 'repurposing' horses that have been poorly produced/cared for, failed at one job etc but are good minded and sound. If you can find the right job for them they are often stars because they basically have the goods and their new life is actually easier than their old one!

This is completely at odds, of course, with the fashion for people to buy young horses because they are 'blank slates'. What they really are is undiscovered country. . ..

Smiling at this. Bought my first horse, aged 15 in 1995, for Ride and Drive. He was kept stabled all winter as he lost weight, bucked people off and was grounded by his Riding School. I bought him unvetted. I was told he was 'not right' needed Red Cell or vet work up.

He will be 35 in two weeks. Stopped bucking after I bought him, never given me a vet bill and takes our youngsters out on hacks or leading rein. A friend who knows him just sent me a card saying she cannot believe he is still alive.

 

[Cortez]

"Potential" is the greatest sales gimmick ever: so many foals are bought at huge prices that will never be realised again because of their potential, and they are never seen again either. When I used to breed dressage horses many years ago one of the most disconcerting questions asked by buyers was "Will this horse go to Grand Prix?" - usually asked by a novice, amateur rider who'd never ridden above Prelim. My answer? "He can if you can....."

 

[LEC]

It's a good point about older horses - the horse I have had with the best brain was older and came from a terrible start. But he was also not a half started job cocked up which I think helped. He was just older when being started.

 

[longdog]

I would always choose heart over &above anything else. we had a horse that would jump an intermediate fence one day & then refuse everything, even a pole on the ground, another day. She had the talent & the conformation, but really lacked willingness.

 

[spookypony]

In just about any field of achievement, you need both potential and effort. A lack of innate ability will prevent you from the pinnacle of achievement no matter how hard you try to get there, but a lack of work will prevent you just as surely. I think Booboos has it right, about the situation of the one-horse amateur. Unless there is a truly unusual confluence of events, such a person will be unlikely to be in the situation of having both the horse that could, and the time and effort to devote to getting there.

All that's a bit off-topic, however: the article's point is that the horse needs the desire to do the job and the physical resilience to do the job, as well as whatever athletic ability is required.That's clearly true, which makes Booboos's point relevant again: it's not easy to choose between your goals as a rider, and the animal in which you have become emotionally invested. I'd say it's harder for the one-horse amateur to choose, because they often don't even have the resources to park it in a field and get something else. At its most extreme, the choice can mean giving up riding entirely for the sake of an otherwise healthy and happy field ornament. I think if your career or livelyhood don't depend on it, it's much harder to lay aside the "for better or worse" sense of responsibility and attachment.

I started Endurance because that's the job my pony was willing to do. So far, we seem not to have neared the limits of his potential or physical resilience, and although I was worried after his first vet halt, he's not given signs of wanting to slam on the brakes either. He's been stiff sometimes after a ride (not surprising, since my preparation this year was not as it should have been), but has always recovered quickly. There's no reason he shouldn't make it to 80km and beyond, but he's not going to be a racer at competitive speeds. It would be thoroughly unfair to ask it of him, so it's fortunate that that's not where my competitive goals lie.

As to the new mare, at this point, who knows? Her breeding and conformation suggest she should be good at collected work and should be able to go reasonably far in dressage. She appears happy enough to work at the moment (though I got no sense out of her today in the wind! Didn't make it above walk... ) But she's not far enough along yet to assess her soundness. And the focus of our work at the moment is to get my own brain back in order, which is taking an inordinately long time. So it's early days, really...

 

[TarrSteps]

It's a good point about older horses - the horse I have had with the best brain was older and came from a terrible start. But he was also not a half started job cocked up which I think helped. He was just older when being started.

Some of the best horses I've met have actually come from backgrounds many people would class as abusive. They know about sucking it up and they've already survived enough to have proven their strength. They aren't always the best pets or the "nicest" but they are strong and smart and if you get them doing a job they will do it until they drop.

I think this is a bit of a dirty little secret about race horses, too. Being a race horse is a tough gig and the ones that come out the other end sound (that is important - lots of ROR horses aren't actually lame but they aren't sound, either) and more or less with all their marbles are strong horses. When people go on about how tough tb's are at the same time decrying attrition based breeding systems, I have to laugh as that is pretty much what racing is.

 

[TarrSteps]

I started Endurance because that's the job my pony was willing to do. So far, we seem not to have neared the limits of his potential or physical resilience, and although I was worried after his first vet halt, he's not given signs of wanting to slam on the brakes either. He's been stiff sometimes after a ride (not surprising, since my preparation this year was not as it should have been), but has always recovered quickly. There's no reason he shouldn't make it to 80km and beyond, but he's not going to be a racer at competitive speeds. It would be thoroughly unfair to ask it of him, so it's fortunate that that's not where my competitive goals lie.
...

I think your pony is a very interesting example, actually. Let's face it, he was not a resounding success at his previous job but he seems to have really taken to what many people would consider a much harder gig. Horses don't have "potential" they have potential for specific tasks, some more than others. Great endurance horses would perhaps have made decent showjumpers but they would have been unlikely to make top class ones.

And even if SP is occasionally stiff, he keeps going, which is the important bit. Competitive sport is hard on even very able horses, it's how they deal with that stress that is the discussion at hand.

 

[catembi]

Yup, that's me, given up riding entirely as I have 2 field ornaments (ISH with EPSM; ex-racer with unsolved gastric issue) & I can't bear to bin either of them. Head says bin & get something else as I want to BD/BS; heart says suck it up & look after them as it's not their fault they're ill.

The EPSM horse is a perfect e.g. of unrealised potential. He's immaculately bred for sj & one year his half brother came 2nd in the Hickstead Derby & his full brother ret'd after the water jump. Other siblings are competing internationally. He cost £8.5K as a promising 4 YO with £40 on his card. Now he's a happy hacker.

So now I have a sit-on the ex-racer once a week to see if the latest treatment has had any effect. As of this morning, that's a no. Yay, who wants to jump fox anyway. (I do/did...)

T x

 

[ihatework]

That's an incredibly good blog and very accurate too.
I see a lot of people trying to convince themselves that their horse is going to do the job and ploughing huge amounts of money into it.
The last 2 horses I have owned (1 of which I liked, 1 of which I didn't so much), it took me approx 12-18 months to realise they weren't going to do the job. It's a sad thing to admit when you have invested in them. I see friends in similar positions who just aren't quite as willing to admit it of their horses.

 

[GinaGeo]

A very interesting blog and very true! I'm often in awe of my cousin who's advancing brilliantly up the levels in BS, she has the ability to produce horses to their limit, sell on and buy something with more *potential* with the profits and the cycle repeats. She works very hard, but she knows how far the horse will go and when it's time to move on to the next.

I on the other hand collect as I go along and have one field ornament, one happy hacker/ hunter (that should have gone further, but doesn't have the aptitude for Dressage or the carefulness required for SJ), coupled with physical limitations. And a youngster who's forte is BD. Meanwhile, I still dream of affiliating with BE and moving up the levels - I am trying to convince the youngster that eventing might be fun, and he has got a decent pop but I'm not sure he's got the *drive* for it or the guts. I continue to hope that his potential, whilst not Advanced potential, is realised enough for me.

I know which of us is doing better competitively, and it certainly isn't me I tend to go with the discipline the horse prefers, instead of following my dream... One day I might end up with one that shares my passion!

 

[spookypony]

I think your pony is a very interesting example, actually. Let's face it, he was not a resounding success at his previous job but he seems to have really taken to what many people would consider a much harder gig. [ ... ]

And even if SP is occasionally stiff, he keeps going, which is the important bit. Competitive sport is hard on even very able horses, it's how they deal with that stress that is the discussion at hand.

at "not a resounding succes"! I think he can cope better with it mentally: all he has to do is trot along with fairly minimal interference (unless he's trying to bv@@er off or go the wrong way), and he gets a lot of choice in deciding where and how to put his feet. Our next big hurdle is going alone. He's terribly nappy on solo hacks, despite most of his hacks being solo ones. I really don't fancy arguing with him over, say, 6 hours! But he really needs to be able to go at speed on his own.

 

[timetoride]

catembi I feel really so sorry for you as I am in a similar situation and it feels horrible I miss riding and jumping loads (haven't for 5 months now...)
I've been thinking about this a lot this week as have wanted to event intermediate, SJ fox etc for years and on the search for a horse again. The problem is I would love to buy a proven one rather than unbroken again but unless you have an enormous budget which most of us do not is it not really a choice between
1.a young one with potential to be good
2. an established/proven one that has had injuries and may/may not stay sound, or
3. a much older one which may/may not want to continue competing for more than even just one season.
Anything that has been proven and hasn't had injuries is POA money which, not wanting to be a time-waster, I don't even bother ringing of course. So for around 5k which is the best option/ what should I do? Or just give up as it is an impossible dream/money-pit to even try

 

[JGC]

Some of the best horses I've met have actually come from backgrounds many people would class as abusive. They know about sucking it up and they've already survived enough to have proven their strength. They aren't always the best pets or the "nicest" but they are strong and smart and if you get them doing a job they will do it until they drop.

I think this is a bit of a dirty little secret about race horses, too. Being a race horse is a tough gig and the ones that come out the other end sound (that is important - lots of ROR horses aren't actually lame but they aren't sound, either) and more or less with all their marbles are strong horses. When people go on about how tough tb's are at the same time decrying attrition based breeding systems, I have to laugh as that is pretty much what racing is.

This is true of my older mare, who did more than 150 rounds in the three years prior to me buying her, and was manhandled, to say the least ... Six years on, never been off work except for an allergy problem and a saddle fit issue!

More broadly, I think that article has decided me on what to do about my youngster - been thinking for some time that she'd only break my heart - bags of potential, but I don't think she'll hold up to the potential.

 

[blackhor2e]

I think potential in a horse, is a misleading term you see used far too regularly in the equestrian scene.

I love BE and when I came to the realisation that no matter how much training, money etc I used my mare just didn't like it, don't get me wrong, she could jump the moon but is much better suited to a dressage career and is happier for it, and to be honest so am I.

Luckily, I could afford another. So last year I bought an older (11) horse who has been around the block - up to intermediate, never missed a season, never sick or sorry and it was one of the best decisions I ever made, he positively lights up at an event, his attitude to eventing is so enthusiastic it makes me smile very time, and that's what it is about for me being an amateur.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a huge difference between a horse with potential, and a horse with the right attitude

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

Some of the best horses I've met have actually come from backgrounds many people would class as abusive. They know about sucking it up and they've already survived enough to have proven their strength. They aren't always the best pets or the "nicest" but they are strong and smart and if you get them doing a job they will do it until they drop.

I think this is a bit of a dirty little secret about race horses, too. Being a race horse is a tough gig and the ones that come out the other end sound (that is important - lots of ROR horses aren't actually lame but they aren't sound, either) and more or less with all their marbles are strong horses. When people go on about how tough tb's are at the same time decrying attrition based breeding systems, I have to laugh as that is pretty much what racing is.

interesting, as this is exactly what NMT and I said when we bought fig-he's run a lot, over a long period, and come out the other end good natured, with 100% clean legs and a real work ethic-he's a very tough clever,willing horse to have done so.

He will no doubt realise every inch of his potential because of his lovely nature and desire to do any job as well as he can

CS probably epitomises this discussion-oodles of talent but his work ethic has been hard won and it wouldnt take much for it to vanish againi suspect!!!

he's not put me off at all, if anything he's made me more determined that the next one will be a similar sort of pig headed know it all! he's taught me more than i could ever have imagined and taken me further than i could have dreamed and im looking forward to using what ive learnt on another one that needs the work ethic button installing.perhaps im a bit weird in the head!

its very hard to draw the line too i think-the mare i had previously was also pretty talented ie found the GP work easy enough (bar the piaffe again), but no matter what we tried we didnt make much progress or find anything that improved her for any amount of time-all breakthroughs were short lived and then ceased to work.
That all became TOO demoralising and in the end i gave up-effort in was exceeding pleasure out. At least with CS, when something works, it WORKS long term-it fitting the jigsaw together where as the mare was like trying to build sandcastles in quicksand-as fast as i could sort one side of the problem something else was giving way!

 

[DonkeyClub]

I think the biggest problem 99% of the time is that people just don't have the right training or support to be taught how to get the best out of the horse and to manage the horse so that it excels and also their exercise program & the way they're ridden so that they stay sound .
It's a total minefield but there is so much knowledge and expertise out there, its just finding the right people to point you in the right direction..

 

[TarrSteps]

I think the biggest problem 99% of the time is that people just don't have the right training or support to be taught how to get the best out of the horse and to manage the horse so that it excels and also their exercise program & the way they're ridden so that they stay sound .
It's a total minefield but there is so much knowledge and expertise out there, its just finding the right people to point you in the right direction..

Yes, of course. Without decent management you can have problems with even the toughest horse and the most talented, sound individuals will not succeed without good production.

But I really do think - from many years of being the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes - that all of that work and care can be in vain if the horse doesn't bring the right raw material to the party. You can minimise a physical or mental weakness with the right management but I don't think you can genuinely fix it and these things have a funny way of catching you out when the chips are down. I don't WANT that to be true but the comment from WFP in the article is telling. I doubt there is much wrong with his production and, compared to many, he's probably on the patient end of the spectrum!

I think the saving grace is most riders don't want or need a 4* horse! Most of us don't even approach our horse's limits. But I do think perhaps people don't always assess in light of the REAL demands on a horse, not just the competitive ones. Increasingly, we think having the horse that moves/looks/jumps the best makes it the best horse. But for the average rider the best horse is the one that will cope the best with what they will ask it to do.