Two Things that Set Great Trainer’s Apart
by Don Blazer, Horse Courses Online
Some trainers are simply gifted athletes with a natural feel for a horse. Some are great communicators. Still others just have a flare for presentation and showmanship. There are okay trainers and good trainers, but certain things stand out in every great trainer I’ve met, interviewed or had the pleasure to learn. It can be summarized in two words: thinking and details.
There are a lot of trainers who can sit a horse and get the horse to do almost anything. These, I believe, have a natural talent that can’t always be explained. The problem is that most of the time they can’t explain it either and that is why they never become great trainers. They have some success, but really don’t know what it is that creates that success. It’s these sorts of trainers who often spread so much misinformation. Since for them everything comes naturally they don’t, for instance, study the mechanics of bits or how the bit fits the horse’s mouth. They stick a bit in a horse’s mouth, call it a cowboy snaffle and ride off using a curb bit. They can’t tell you the correct footfall sequence for a pivot, yet they can get the horse to turn around in balance and incorrectly tell you the action started with the front legs. Still, these trainers get the job done, and usually pretty well.
Then there are the communicators. They always have great stories to tell and can keep a large clientele mesmerized. Sometimes for years. Seldom do they get the job done well, but they stay in business and continue to add new clients who haven’t yet heard the tall tales. Those trainers who understand presentation and possess personal flare are generally not so much trainers as they are procurers of great talent. They buy ready-made horses and then add “bling.” This takes those talented horses to the winner’s circle.
I’ve known several of these show-stoppers who have won world championships, yet have never actually trained an unschooled horse to an advanced level. These trainers know what it takes to win and they know how to enhance the talent of a potential champion that had its skills previously honed by an unseen trainer. Of the three types of trainers, the show-stopper gets the closest to being great. The show-stopper is involved with every detail of winning.
The best trainers are thinkers who are also interested in the details, from start to finish. And attention to detail starts with the selection of the horse. Thinking trainers study how a horse moves, how his conformation will make it easy for him to perform certain maneuvers and how his mental attitude will serve him under pressure. They know breeding specifics because it is a detail that must be honored. Thinking and detail trainers leave nothing to chance. They know equipment, and they have the equipment needed for aiding horses through the green stages and into advanced maneuvers. They understand nutrition, hoof balance, and the science of behavior modification.
Thinking and detail trainers generally have their niche, not trying to be everything to everyone, but being the best at the one event on which they concentrate. They know that to control and manage every detail takes all their time and effort.
I tend to think of the all-around horse and the all-around trainer as willing to be second and third in competition, satisfied with being close because the accumulated points will eventually win. Not so with thinking and detail trainers. They are never satisfied with second because it means they missed a detail or didn’t think things through to the correct conclusion. These horse trainers know the distance of every stride, the rule for every event, the approach needed for every obstacle and the movement that garners the rewards.
When you want a great trainer for your horse think, and don’t skip a single detail.
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Published October 2013 Issue
Don Blazer developed and taught the course The Business of Making Money With Horses for www.horsecoursesonline.com, the worldwide leader in online equine curriculum. Also the author of the syndicated columns “A Horse, of Course” and ”Making Money with Horses”, Don lost his battle with lung cancer on April 7, 2014. However, the horse community is grateful that his wisdom lives on through the wealth of books and articles he wrote over the years.
