08/25/2025
Be Patient When Schooling Your Horse
If horses came with an instruction manual, life would be a lot easier. But they don’t, and that’s probably just as well, because half the fun (and half the grey hairs) comes from figuring it out together.
When we ask a horse for a shoulder in, a circle with bend, or even a simple halt, we know what we mean. The horse, however, does not. They haven’t been studying the FEI rulebook in their spare time. To them, it’s just their rider suddenly asking for something peculiar and they’re left to wonder whether it’s worth co operating or if a polite wobble (or a not-so-polite hop) might be easier.
It’s rather like asking your granny to master TikTok overnight, she’ll get there in the end, but you’ll need a good dose of patience while she works out which button does what.
A new movement feels strange to the horse. Muscles protest, balance shifts, and for a while they look more like a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel than the graceful athlete you were hoping for. But with repetition, rest, and a bit of encouragement, things improve. What was once awkward becomes elegant provided we don’t rush them.
Patience is the rider’s greatest tool, though many of us misplace it as soon as the horse starts arguing. It is not the horse’s job to know instantly. It is ours to explain kindly, to reward the smallest try, and to resist the temptation of “just one more time” (which always ends badly).
Good schooling isn’t about drilling or demanding perfection. It’s about communication, fairness, and yes keeping your sense of humour when things go badly. Because when your horse decides that leg yield means sideways towards the gate and not across the diagonal, sometimes the best you can do is laugh, regroup, and try again tomorrow.
Give them the time to work it out. Horses taught with patience today become the willing partners of tomorrow. And if they test your temper in the meantime? Well, that’s horses for you always reminding us that the learning never ends on either side of the saddle
Michael Duffy 2012 Dublin Horse Show.
