01/19/2026
When I get a new horse, I start out assuming that we probably are not speaking the same dialect and that we need to start at a 'square one'.
I saw videos of Maggie being ridden and drivng (pulling a 4 wheeled carriage type vehicle). I also saw the seller ride her in person. But when I got on her, it was clear I didn't give the standard cues in a dialect she easily understood, so I spent my pre-purchase time just being with her and trying to see her core personality.
Starting at square one with a horse that knows very little is DIFFERENT from picking a square one with a horse that already has experience. Maggie can't tell me what cues / signals / aids she understands so I have to go into this with the mindset of possibly reprogramming some of her pre-installed software. And that could be frustrating for her.
What a living being repeats, a living being eventually perfects. Changing patterns / habits is hard for the nervous system that wants to automate physical outputs so it can devote more attention to its bodily safety in its surroundings. So Maggie and I are going to start in pre-school.
On the syllabus for the next few sessions is:
- Walk on
- Stops
- Straight lines
- Easy turns
Thats it. Then, when those things can happen with less struggle, we'll start being more specific;
- What speed in walk, and for how long?
-Prompt, polite, precise stops from walk
- Straightening after turns
- Complete circles, tighter turns,
- Having less time between making these changes
I have a few long-term students who are working with Maggie in pre-school. I'm sure for some people, being redirected back to pre-school might feel offensive. But a martial artist who pursues a second-degree black belt knows they are not necessarily going to learn new material, but they are going back to foundation work to deepen and broaden their understanding of that work.
