How to Successfully Transition from Riding Colts to Finished Horses

One of the toughest situations I have encountered as a trainer is switching back and forth from riding “finished horses” to riding colts. It is easy to develop the mindset that when we have a “finished horse,” we are finished training. We think that we have a programmed computer that doesn’t need to be reminded of how to perform correctly. But, that’s just not the case. The skills that it took to develop your horse’s potential are the same skills it takes to keep a horse great. The things that keep our horses fundamentally solid are easy to do, but they are also easy not to do. It is easy to get to a point where we ignore simple fundamental principles. When you ignore them long enough, things will eventually start to fall apart—especially, when adding speed. Speed does not build foundation—it tests it. When we ride finished horses, we compete on them most of the time. Over time, this repeated demand of high performance can cause a horse’s foundation to break. If you get to the point where every time you step in your horse’s pen, you are asking for 100% effort, your horse will begin to associate you with the anxiety of anticipating a high level of performance.There is no way for a horse to give its all every time and stay buttery soft without occasional reinforcement of foundational skills. It doesn’t matter if your horse is 2 or 22, each time you step on the horse, you are working on developing trust and confidence. The more your horse trusts you, the more receptive they will be to your style of communication. Horsemanship is just presenting things in a way that a horse can understand. You have two choices when selecting your method of communication: You can have them respond through 1) fear and force or 2) patience and understanding. When we train with the fear/force method, we are exchanging short-term gain for long-term pain. When we train with the patience/understanding method, we are exchanging our time for long-term understanding and consistent performance. Your goal as a trainer should always be to help your horse find the release point. A horse’s ability to transition in speed and transition in direction is what determines their success. Practicing fundamentals at different speeds — walk, trot, canter — is what will help your horse develop the ability to make these transitions smoothly and consistently. When your horse is running as hard as it can, it has to be able to recognize the feel and change in your body position that cues them to adjust their speed and make a move. We want them to rely on our body position rather than the cues from our bridle reins to make these transitions. Our reins should be used to guide the horse in a certain direction, not to slow them down. At the end of the day, there is something inside of a horse that we can’t measure. We can develop their understanding of the tasks we are asking for, but a horse’s potential is also largely determined by their natural grit and determination. Those horses that go on to accomplish great things have something extra special, but they also have someone who gave them the opportunity to be special. They have someone who stuck with them while they were developing their understanding, even if it wasn’t a smooth process.