(“Learning how to ride is a creative act.”)

I applaud riders who show empathy for their horses. You don’t want to confuse your horse or upset him. You don’t want to “get it wrong” or leave your horse in a state that will make further training more difficult. Those are sentiments which I appreciate.

But though it may run contrary to my financial interests, I am disappointed sometimes at the timidity shown by riders who fear to take a step without their trainer hand holding every single second.

OK, there are exceptions if you can’t tell if the flying change you are trying to make is clean or not, better to wait for eyes on the ground to guide you. Likewise, it’s not wise to practice your version of a bunch of movements if you don’t really know what they are supposed to look like.

But dabbling in a bit of this and that won’t usually do any harm. Do some reading. Watch some video. Work on exercise you can visualize and have a little courage! Assuming that what you are aiming to do is appropriate to your horse’s level (or only slightly beyond it), it will do you both some good to experiment with how things work. Learning to ride is a creative act. Within reason you have to be willing to suck it up, take some little chances, and see what results. Besides, what else does your instructor have to do but untangle the messes you make?