The following is adapted from Finding Your Superhorse: 8 Keys to Developing the Horse That’s Just Right for You by Lynn Palm with Rebecca M. Didier and Marie-Frances Davis (2023), with permission from Trafalgar Square Books.
One of the truths I learned from Bobbi Steele was that the longer you take to train a horse, the longer he will last. The more shortcuts you try, the longer it will actually take to train him. We all get in a hurry. It’s a natural human impulse, and it’s probably more common now in today’s hectic world.
When I was learning from Ms. Steele, I would go home and try all the lessons on my ponies and horses. When I asked them to do something sooner than they were capable, it would set them back and it would ultimately take me longer to train them.
What I had to learn was that when you improve something even by small amounts, you are making progress. By taking your time, you may not be teaching the horse “more,” but you are developing the horse’s body, joints, and athleticism to eventually be able to perform more challenging tasks with ease and balance.
Knowing When to Slow Down
When I called Carol Harris, owner of Rugged Lark and other horses I had the honor of training, most of the time I was excited to tell her about her horses’ progress. I learned from her, too—to be honest and tell of difficult times, as she understood the process and would always have valuable suggestions.
When I told her that Lark was not doing something so well and I wasn’t sure why, Carol always said that when faced with challenges, “Do nothing! Just spend time with him, graze him, turn him out, trail ride, and just let it go.”
A few days later, I would return to training with Lark, ask him the same questions and try the same tasks, and he would do them willingly.
There were other times that this was different: Lark retained lessons like no other horse I ever had. I had to be careful to go slowly so he would learn to relax, be confident, and most importantly, trust me. I had to say to Rugged Lark, “You are not supposed to do this so well yet …” and, like during the challenging times, I would stop my lesson and go trail ride or put him away for the day. Just “doing nothing,” taking a break, and coming back and sticking to basics was always the best advice.
I had the privilege of training Rugged Lark as a 2- and 3-year-old, and in 1985 we had a great year showing. He was 4 years young and won his first AQHA World Championship Show Superhorse title.
With a foundation of classical dressage training principles, Rugged Lark was becoming exceptional, and he was in training for eight different disciplines. He competed in reining, western riding, trail, hunter under saddle, working hunter, hunter hack, western pleasure, and pleasure driving. He was a true example of the AQHA motto: The World’s Most Versatile Horse.
The second Superhorse title was not as easy as in 1985, as “it is always harder to stay on the top than it is reaching it.” After winning the second title, I surprised Carol during the presentation of the Superhorse award.
By that time, I had played a little with riding bridleless, which Ms. Steele had taught me back in Sarasota, but Carol didn’t know yet. I rode Lark into the arena without a bridle and trotted, cantered, did flying lead changes and a reining spin, and the crowd went crazy!
Our spontaneous performance led to 10 fabulous years of bridleless exhibitions at all the major equine events in the United States.
The Art of Doing Nothing
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of knowing when to “do nothing” when working with horses.
To me, this means turnout. All my horses, all my life have had turnout time that allowed them to be themselves in their natural environment. Horses have to graze, move around in an open area, and have room to buck and play. And, most importantly, they need to have lots of room to roll.
Keeping a horse in a stall most of his life will always bring out habits, many likely unwanted, that under “normal horse circumstances” he would not have. Ms. Steele impressed upon me, again and again, “How would you act if you were put in a room with four walls and a small window and had to stay in there for hours, days, weeks?” All of us would be thinking about how to get out of that room. The horse, too!
Even when my horses have had lameness issues or sickness, they are turned out if at all possible. When a horse has surgery and has to be confined for some time for healing, I am a stickler for finding out how many times a day and for how long the horse can be hand-walked.
“Downtime”—in the form of turnout—is necessary for a young horse in training who seems fatigued or needs fewer training days and more “free-play” days. Turnout is also the answer for the horse who is making lots of mistakes or is inconsistent in his training (not retaining his lessons).
Turnout is for the horse who has just traveled a lot, been competed over a number of weeks or months, or ridden on the trail for many miles. Turnout will help the horse who has lameness or sickness issues.
How long should a horse in one of these scenarios have off with nothing but turnout? The horse will tell you. It may be, in the case of a trainable horse, just a few days. In other situations, it may be a week, two weeks, a month, or even longer.
How do you know if the downtime has been long enough? When you start the horse back in work, how does he feel? Does he have good energy? Is he willing? Is he trying?
When the answer is yes, the amount of downtime was good for that horse. If you start back in work and your horse seems frustrated, resistant, or unwilling, the horse needs more time as you figure out what you need to do differently.
Consult your trainer, veterinarian, and farrier—your “team” players. Have a friend record a video of you working with your horse and share it with your team to get their help finding possible answers to any problems, as well as guidance as to what you can do differently. This is how you can accomplish positive training.
Remember, it never always goes perfectly! You have to have challenges to have success.
Time Together That’s Not “Work Time”
Turnout isn’t the only way to rest the horse and “do nothing.” Other “nothings” are ways you spend valuable time in your horse’s company, free of the expectations of training and showing.
I call this my list of “justs”—because we always want to do more, but sometimes, we should just do this:
- Just hand-graze your horse and spend time with him. (And that doesn’t mean making phone calls or scrolling through social media. Really be with him.)
- Just give your horse a thorough grooming session and treats.
- Just bathe your horse.
- Just take your horse on a relaxed, walk-only trail ride.
- Just do something different with your horse. Take him swimming!
- Just take him for a ride in the trailer to somewhere new and hand-graze him when you get there. (No riding!)
- Just take your horse on a walk in-hand around your property or on the trail.
- Just ground-drive your horse, or teach him how to pull a cart.
- Just let your horse be a horse!
Cross-Training for Longevity
Rugged Painted Lark (“Bruce”) arrived at Palm Equestrian Academy at Fox Grove Farm as a very bold yearling colt in 1998. After he began his training in dressage principles and groundwork, he traveled with us to summer at our farm in Michigan each year while also beginning reining and roping training with Ted Chancey in Florida, Sandy Collier on the West Coast, and Bobby Lewis in Texas. In between, he was jumping and learning to drive.
Because he was such a macho stallion, we focused on working cow horse and roping. He did well as he came along and never forgot the dressage basics that I started him with.
Even though I moved more quickly than I might have with another young horse, I didn’t take shortcuts. He was a horse with smarts and confidence, and so was able to quickly master lessons.
Bruce was soon doing canter pirouettes and tempi lead changes, and being ridden bridleless. His looks and performances got him featured on book and magazine covers, in television shows and commercials, and as an entertainer at numerous equine events.
At the age of 22, Bruce got to show off his years of dressage training with a fabulous freestyle at the 2019 Western Dressage Association of America World Show. In his last appearance at age 23, he could still delight audiences, appearing at Equitana USA.
Longevity TrainingWhat these horses, and others, have proven to me is that training for longevity is always worth it in the long run. And it doesn’t have to be hard. Just keep these principles in mind: 1. Vary your training each day or two. Cross-train with under-saddle training aimed toward the goals for the horse: groundwork, riding bridleless, trail obstacles, hill training for fitness, and swimming, if possible. I like to teach my horses to drive, too. 2. Don’t drill your horse. It’s true that horses learn through repetition; however, if you drill (for example, ride 20 circles without stopping), you will eventually lose the willingness of your horse. Horses hate drilling! Keep your horse interested in his lesson by changing directions (lateral suppleness) and doing transitions (longitudinal suppleness). Minding this Golden Rule will also help you develop your horse’s concentration for longer sessions over a period of time. Changing direction and doing transitions often teaches the rider to think: Think “in front of the horse,” think about being confident, and think about riding with accuracy and precision. 3. Train “outside the box.” An arena or a confined area is the place to teach the horse something for the first time. When he understands and can manage the skill, do it “outside the box” where there are new challenges, as the horse’s instincts kick in and he becomes more aware of his environment and on high alert. I learned over time that it was harder to have a horse do the same task well outside an arena. I trained my first National and World Champion in the woods of northern Wisconsin for the three months leading up to the competition. My horse was very confident in the ring!  4. Listen to your horse. If your horse challenges you, he is trying to tell you something. Use your common sense and try to understand what he could be saying. Figure out what you can try to do differently to get a better result. I always start with a check-in with correct rider position. I know my position weaknesses and try to stop them from happening. Position problems can be as simple as looking down at your horse—when you do this, you will be late to direct him with your aids, and this will frustrate him. 5. Turn your horse out daily and give him at least one day off per week. |
Lessons in Longevity
To me, longevity is about the length of time a horse has quality of life and you have quality of life together. Horses don’t need to be “fried” mentally by the age of 3 or broken down physically by the age of 5.
We have the experience and the veterinary, farrier, and bodywork care that should ensure many years of active partnership in whatever disciplines we choose.
My understanding of how important the “big picture” is in a horse’s training (rather than just immediate goals) has built over a lifetime of experience with many different horses. These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned about variety in training, patience, and listening to each individual horse.
