Saturday, December 1, 2012

What's the right/write solution?

I just finished working with a young horse that had issues being ridden away from home. She was a pleasure to work with, good mind and really very brave. Her issues weren't separation anxiety or even leaving the comfort of home. It was more that it gets boring doing the same thing over and over. A smart horse starts thinking that if they have to do it over and over, they must be doing something wrong and starts looking for alternatives.

All it really took was changing her bridle to something that wouldn't encourage her to rear, good timing to keep her pointed the right way and to keep things interesting and rewarding (yummy, dry weeds) out on the trail.

Every horse needs a different approach. If a trainer says they have a sure-fire recipe or that they won't let a horse advance until they are perfect at something else, s/he isn't really listening to the horse.

Just like giving the same cue to 100 writers--they will all come up with a completely different story, all valid, all interesting. Everyone has a different approach to writing, editing and marketing. None right or wrong, except for the individual. We must all keep our minds open to find what works for us.