08/15/2024
What Pinecone taught me:
Named by my kids, as all my mustangs were, he was my first mustang to gentle and compete with in 2018. A born in facility 2 year old that I thought would be a piece of cake but ended up being the most challenging horse I’ve trained to this day, but the silver lining was that he taught me more about training than the dozens and dozens of domestic horses I had started.
1. Train the horse you have, he isn’t always the horse you want, but you’ll both be better off for it.
2. Know when to ask for help. There is always someone out there that has something to teach you.
3. Rome isn’t won in a day. Sometimes a 20 minute training session does more for your horse than a 2 hour training session.
4. The difference between assertive and aggressive is your emotions. Once you get angry you aren’t training anymore, you’re picking a fight.
5. Your horse isn’t always going to be ready to compete, dropping out of an event isn’t the same as quitting when you’re putting your horse’s needs first.
6. Progress is progress, no matter how small. Be proud of the tiny victories.
7. Not every horse is meant for you to keep, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be an effective part of their journey. Set them up to succeed in their future home.
