The Self-taught Equestrian

Self-taught - having knowledge or skills acquired by one's own efforts without formal instruction or having learned by oneself (Merriam Webster dictionary)

I am confused and amused by the idea of a self-taught equestrian. I’ve heard this phrase more than once and it always seems so insular and out of touch. Is the assumption that the horse is not our first and foremost teacher? This is not a sport of singularity and isolation. The horse is always with us when we ride. He is a partner who is ever guiding us (or trying!) to the ways of the horse. I can’t think of a true horseman who is self-taught. Perhaps the title is for those who do not listen but then what is the learning??

Those who are lucky enough to ride and self-aware enough to value the lessons that the horse tries to instill in us, understand that the horse is the teacher. As a rider and a trainer, I am grateful to those horses who have given me the same lessons over and over until I was open enough to learn them. I learned nothing solely by my own efforts and most things on the backs (literally) of the animals I struggled to communicate with. Did I teach side steps or flying changes? No. My horse did those all on its own. I just learned to communicate when I wanted them and they were kind enough to oblige.

I have been very lucky in my life to learn from some great master equestrians. I have also had many years in my life that I toiled alone with no more than a book or my own awkward budding skills and experiments. However, I have never been without a teacher if I were in the presence of a horse. Without the horse’s input, how would we ever know how to ride him? No self-taught girl here.