Working with horses is the most rewarding and most frustrating thing I have ever had the opportunity to do. Working side by side with a living, breathing creature who has it' own opinions, wants and needs but can't speak is both empowering and humbling.
Every day in horse world seems to come with its own list of questions, but none more frustrating than "Why is my horse doing this?" Why did they stop picking up their left lead? Why are they girthy when they've never cared? Why are they stopping dead in their tracks after 5 minutes of trotting? Are the lazy? Are they tired? Are they hurt?
While I won't take the time today to go into the infinite debate on bridling practices, use of bit vs. bitless, and training techniques that favor pushing through or giving rest days... at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that there are times when our partners in this sport, frustrated by lack of speech, are trying to tell us "OUCH. That doesn't feel good! Why are you making me do this?!" I also think we can all agree, that there are times that when we take a step back the problem becomes much clearer, as was the case with bridling Bordeaux.
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