Have you ever been in such a rush that you just hurry out to the barn, jump on your horse and “ride”?   Just to say you did it.  Just to say, yep, I put my time in, I’ve been in the saddle and I did my thing.  Every wonder what your horse felt whilst you were rushing and pushing him through the paces?  

I used to do this very thing.  I used to say to my friends…I rode today…I rode yesterday….did you?   

What I’ve learned along my road in horsemanship is that the horse would rather not be bothered if I was just rushing and pushing and pulling, just to say I went through the motions.  Circle, after circle, follow the rail…being dragged around, oops,  I mean lead around just under the chin with the snaffle bit clamped in his mouth.  He has no responsibility.  He just has to go along to get along or get yanked on.  And half the time he’s reacting to something it’s usually because the human caused it to begin with.  But he gets in trouble anyway.   

It’s not about how MUCH you ride.  It’s about when you DO get to spend time with your horse, can you make sure it was good for him too?  Quality time means way more to your horse than being rushed 4 days a week.  Instead maybe once a week give him a nice ride he’ll appreciate.   

When you do ride, do you have a plan?  Do you have a goal?  Are you working on your turns or backups?  Perhaps your stops need some work?  What about rib bends?  Does your horse give you a true bend?  Wrapping around your leg softly on a small circle?  Can he move his hindquarters over when asked?  How about the front end?  Is he pushing in the bridle?  Are your arms 4 feet long after you ride?  Or did your horse hold his own head up?   

QUALITY means getting a response from your horse that is soft, compliant and yielding, mentally, emotionally and physically.   The horse shouldn’t be sluggish or pushing against you.   

QUANTITY is just that.  Lots of times but was there quality in it?  Or did you just go through the motions?   

The next time you are riding your horse, ask yourself this:  Am I just riding because I should be?  Or am I riding to build QUALITY in my skills with my horse?  Without Quality, it doesn’t matter how MUCH you ride.  Neither you nor your horse benefits from Quantity if there is no Quality in it.   

Take care of your horsemanship and it will take care of you!  Have fun!  Terri