As some of you reading this may have noticed, this is the first article I have published on my blog in a little over a year. A large part of that hiatus is due to the fact that I had my second child in March of 2014, and the reality of two kiddos and multiple jobs has left little time for extra-curricular activities. But this pause in writing has mainly been caused by an extended period of questioning and inward thought that I am just now forcing myself to emerge from. They say that the more you learn, the less you know. As I have progressed in my journey of horsemanship, I find myself questioning absolutes more and more with every passing day. Every horse I work with adds another perspective and dimension, and another example that does not fit within the box that utilizing one specific technique creates.
This reality is hard to reconcile as a professional trainer and instructor. We are paid to have the answers, and lately, I find it harder and harder to say that I possess the one and only magic answer. And frankly, a lot of the time, I feel that is what people are looking for. We all know we live in a society of instant gratification, and there has been much discussion even within the horseworld of the constant search for the quick fix to whatever the “problem” is. “I don’t know,” and “it depends” are not comforting statements when you are searching for the answer to whatever problem you are dealing with. I get that, and I also am prone to looking for the quick fix – after all, I am a human.
The challenge as an instructor has always been how to create enough structure and offer enough guidance to encourage the student seek out a solution that works for them and their horse. When I was a younger rider, I didn’t always know the WHY behind what I was told to do, but I could win plenty of blue ribbons under the guidance of my “competent” trainers. I only began to understand the “whys” when I brought my horses home and encountered challenging situations and had to push through them without someone telling me how to do it. Those situations encouraged and fostered an independent and experimental thought process that has been crucial in my development as a horse person. Sometimes, I got it completely wrong, but you can be sure I learned something from that! And sometimes I got it right – even partial success leads to learning.
So now, as I progress as an instructor, I am learning to play with that balance. Facilitating “teachable moments” – moments where the student feels safe and comfortable, or maybe just brave enough to try something, even if it might not lead to immediate success. I find that “it depends” is an answer that has caused me to lose some students, and there are moments where that makes me sad. I used to think that I was the right teacher for everyone, and while I would still love to be the right teacher for everyone, I now know that I am not, and that is ok. I am no longer willing to think for my students. I pledge to do my best to keep them safe, and help them feel comfortable asking why, and will encourage them to try something, even if the try doesn’t lead directly to success. But I will not think for them, and will try my darnedest to not dictate absolutes, because there are really none. This makes some uncomfortable, and I have to remind myself to be ok with that, for to be a true teacher you must help open your students eyes and allow them to think.