(“Tips” weren’t what I meant to be dispensing.”)

A woman came for lessons for a while—a dyed-in-the-wool hunter rider whose friend had convinced her that a little dressage would make her horse easier to get around the courses.

We who teach know this type isn’t usually going to drink the kool-aid, but we try nevertheless. I always knew with this woman that I wasn’t getting through, because as we were parting she’d always thank me “for a couple of good tips” she could use.

Not to be overly pretentious, but “tips” weren’t what I meant to be dispensing. Not to say that in any discipline they don’t exist, but when confronted with a rider who simply misunderstands her horse and why he reacts to her the way he does, what I’m ultimately trying to peddle is a whole different outlook, a philosophy even. To reduce it to a tip or two makes the likelihood of my message actually sinking in not very great.

As in peeling an onion the sorts of help you may receive in your lessons may come on many levels—sometimes more than one simultaneously. Aside from what transpires during the ride itself, it’s worth your time afterwards to do some introspecting and look for the deeper meanings, the unifying threads that tie all our work with the horses together. Catalog the tips as well, but don’t let the important stuff whiz by you!