Everyone is a horse trainer. Or as it seems these days, at least here in the U.S. You can take a few riding lessons, label yourself a horse trainer and begin training horses. Whether it be your own horse, other people’s horses, or even teaching people how to ride. If you board at a riding stable, you know this all too well. You get people who have taken a handful of beginner riding lessons, then decide to go out and purchase a halter-broke young horse sight-unseen from a livestock auction. Yup, sounds like a good plan right? Those who know better, turn their head and look the other direction while cringing at all the confusing signals and mistakes the uneducated person is trying to teach the also uneducated horse. I could only imagine what is going on in the horse's mind. Horses are not like dogs and I find many people get confused thinking training a horse will be similar. Poor horse training, inexperienced horse training, all leads to a confused horse, poor direction, and in some cases, harm to either the horse or the person. When this happens, trauma and bad habits set in, which will require an experienced trainer to spend extra time to undo all the 'wrong' that the horse experienced or was taught. Many times these horses become damaged by these inexperienced people and the horse is deemed crazy or uncontrollable and thus find themselves at a feed lot waiting their turn to head off to slaughter. This all could have been prevented by someone who has a solid education on starting a horse. This happens a lot more than you'd think. It's best to just seek out a professional and get quality training that is done right the first time.
To become a qualified horse trainer takes years and years of experience and direction. You will not be a master of all trades, but a master of the trade you focus on, such as Dressage or Polo. Being an Eventer myself, I would never walk into a Polo barn and start training polo ponies. I have no idea what is involved in that sport, nor what it takes to train a successful polo pony. I would be asking for direction and help. If you were looking for a math tutor for your child, would you hire one with no education in math or one that has years of experience? That is the same as horse training.
You have to go to school to get a degree to become a school teacher. Why is that not the same for animal trainers? Specifically horses. It seems as if anyone can label themselves a horse trainer and gather business from people who don't know any better. In other countries such as Germany (which is #1 in the World Equestrian Game rankings, and holds 50% more medals over the U.S. over all), you are required to attend a school where you will be climbing up levels as you accomplish riding tasks throughout the program. In time, this will lead to a certification so you can take in clients or horses to begin your training career. Here in the U.S. you don't have to have any riding experience to label yourself as a horse trainer, and that is a big issue we have here. Resume and show titles are what is used here, however those could also be misrepresented and people who don't know better don't even know to look for that. Another issue I find in the U.S. are inexperienced riders competing and showing at levels well above their riding experience because they are on a horse who can. In Germany, this would not be allowed. I do agree having an experienced horse help you learn is a good thing; however, many of those riders should really be training at the level they currently are at and advancing as their skill level advances. You shouldn't be an intermediate rider riding a Grand Prix horse showing in Mini Prix because you have the horse. Have you seen those riders? They are all over the place, holding on for dear life, as the horse just takes them for a ride. A good way to tell where your skill set is at is to ride a green horse. A green horse will show you where you are at in your experience. I feel the U.S. horse industry here is based mostly on money instead of skill as it is in other countries.
So, please do the horse a favor and seek out a qualified trainer with years of experience and great references. It will only help you and your horse along the journey to have a long, healthy, positive, progressing riding lifestyle.
