10 Keys to Choosing the Right Instructor

What do you look for in a good instructor? Someone well educated? Someone articulate? Someone with awards, accreditations, and accolades behind their name? Anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a horse trainer or a lesson instructor, which requires you as the student to use wisdom and discernment in selecting a person who is a good fit for what you are needing. As someone who has worked with many different trainers, instructors, and clinicians over the years, I understand how difficult and overwhelming this can feel. Because of that, I want to share with you my top ten keys to choosing the right instructor for you and your horse!

1. Safety is Paramount

   When I was a teenager I had the opportunity to ride with this old cowboy by the name of Cordell. Cordell was a fascinating person who taught me a lot when it came to colt starting and foundational horsemanship. Here is one piece of advice he gave me that I have never forgotten: "Don't be anybody's crash dummy." There are many trainers out there that do not take your safety seriously. Sometimes they are simply ignorant to the many ways things can go wrong with a horse. Other times malicious trainers may intentionally place you in harms way to prove a point or because they think its entertaining. Stay away from these kinds of people.

   
   

   Let's say you hear about a popular new instructor. Ask if you can observe a clinic or some lessons that this instructor is teaching, then pay attention to how this person handles things with their students. Do they teach their students to be aware? Do they educate them on how to avoid potential dangers with a horse? Do they have a good track record of safety when you talk to their students? Horses are dangerous, that's just a fact. Ride long enough and you will fall off, get stepped on, or have some other incident with a horse. The same goes for trainers, if they've been in the game a while, they are likely going to have had a horse or a person that has gotten hurt on their watch. Maybe even a few. This is normal and unfortunately unavoidable. However, you shouldn't be hearing that this person regularly has students getting bucked/thrown off or that people frequently leave lessons in an ambulance! Lastly, remember to be your own advocate. If anyone, instructor or otherwise, tells you to do something with a horse that feels unsafe? Say no. It's not worth you or your horse getting injured.

   
   

2. Principles and Philosophy

   There are many different ways to train a horse. Different instructors are going to have different techniques and that's perfectly fine. But you need to have a way to filter that information and make sure it aligns with your principles. That means sitting down and thinking about what your principles (non-negotiables) are in horse training. For me these are things like: Safety comes first. The horse learns by the release of pressure. And the horse's needs come before the owner, rider, or trainers, goals. If an instructor teaches a method that violates one of my principles, this person is not a good fit for me to learn from. I might still watch a clinic or video they put out, but I wouldn't chose to work with this person reguarly, because we will constantly be in disagreement. This is frustraing for them and for me.

3. Learning and Teaching Styles

   “The best teacher is not the one who knows the most but the one who is capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.” (H.L. Mencken) It is important for you to know yourself as a student. What is your learning style? Are you more of a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? A good instructor will strive to meet their students where they are at and communicate with them in a way that they can understand. However, not every instructor and student will click. That doesn't neccesarily mean that they are bad at their job or that you are a poor student. Sometimes their personality and teaching style just doesn't click with you in the same way it does for someone else.

The other thing to pay attention to is how the instructor handles questions. Do they welcome questions or are they irritated by them? If you notice an instructor has more of an authoritarian approach, "do what I say and don't ever question me", this can be a red flag. This usually indicates this person has an ego and egos can get in the way of good horse training. Just be considerate in how you are asking questions. As an instructor myself, I welcome questions but I have had some students in the past that were very tiring because they were quite disrespectful in how they presented their questions. They seem to come into the lesson assuming I'm an idiot and they know better than me. It's difficult for me as an instructor to help someone that doesn't really want my help, they just want me to confirm for them they are already the expert. Don't be that student.

4. Who They Say They Are

   There are differences between an instructor, trainer, and clinician. A trainer is someone who trains horses. An instructor is someone who coaches riders, generally on a regular basis. A clinician is someone who coaches riders in a group setting, and generally isn't working with the same people on a regular basis. Not everyone is gifted in all three areas and that is okay! Some people are amazing trainers but can't teach worth a darn. This might be someone you send your horse to in order to get started or tuned-up, but you won't be taking regular lessons from them. There are some people that are excellent instructors. They can break things down in a way that really makes sense. They can coach you as you prep for a show. But they don't really know how to train the horse, only the rider. There are some people who have an amazing presence as a clinician. You could go learn from them once a year and get some great information, but they aren't interested in working with you on a regular basis.

You need to identify what you are looking for. Then listen to how your teacher describes themself, typically they will tell you which aspect of these three they enjoy the most. Watch them work with people and with horses and notice where their strengths are. Do you see progress in the horses they are training? Do you see progress in the students they are teaching? Ideally, you want to work with someone who can train and teach to get a well rounded understanding of where you are at with your horse and how to move forward.

5. Authenticity

   In simple terms, can this person do what they say they can do? Can they not only articulate their principles clearly but also live by them? Can they do the things with a horse they are trying to teach you to do? Are they honest with you about their strengths and weaknesses? As a student I am drawn to authentic people who are open, honest and real. And as an instructor, I strive to be that way. Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there who can talk a good game but can't walk it out.

6. Duplicatable Program

   This is about results. Does their training program work on different horses? Can you look at their program and see that they've helped other students to accomplish their goals? This can look a lot of different ways depending on what the instructor specializes in. For example, if someone claims to be able to help barrel racers excel, are their students placing at races? If they say they can teach a beginning rider all the basics, are there students who have had that experience with this instructor? This is about more than what the trainer or instructor can do with a horse. They may be the best rider in the world, but can they teach others to do what they do? This is a necessary trait in a good instructor. Look for someone who has a step by step program that is logical and practical. And check into client reviews, see if people are really happy with what they are learning from this person.

7. Invested in Your Success

   Your instructor should be your biggest cheerleader. They should want you to succeed, even if that means working themselves out of job with you. Instructors who hold back your progress because they are afraid you might end up leaving the program, are not the kind of people you want to spend a lot of time around. You want someone who will encourage your progress and value you as a client. I've seen instructors recommend unsuitable horses for clients because they know that person will have to keep coming back to them for training. You don't need someone who is manipulating you for their personal gain. While instructors do have to think about how to make money (this is our job after all and we have to eat too!) they shouldn't prioritize making money over the well being of a horse and rider.

Another sign is how well they support you when things aren't going well. What happens when you don't place at the show? Do they write you off as not worth their time? Some instructors are so concerned about their image, they don't want to work with clients or horses they feel will damage that image. Like we already talked about, a good reputation is important in the horse world. But being there for your clients on good days and bad ones should be apart of building a good reputation.

8. The Horse is Their Teacher

   "The horse is the best judge of a good rider, not the spectator." (Nuno Oliviera) We all want an instructor who can talk to our horse. But the real question is, can they listen to what the horse is saying back? When a trainer becomes focused on proving themselves or showing off, it is always the horse who suffers for it. Some questions you might ask are: Does this instructor know when to stop with a horse? Can they tell when a horse is checked out? Can they develop a true connection and partnership with the horses they are working with? Can they admit when they made a mistake with a horse and correct themselves moving forward? I watched a clinic years ago with a popular trianer who was so fixated on proving he could get a difficult horse in a trailer he spent like five hours trying to force the horse into the trailer. Did the horse really learn anything or did he just traumatize the poor thing to make himself feel like a good trainer? Pay attention to how horses respond to this person, horses really are the best judges of character.

9. Passion and Priorities

   Is this person passionate about what they are doing? A good instructor should have a deep love of horses. And they should have a love for helping people with their horses. You would assume this would be expected of anyone teaching in the horse world, but I have not always found this to be the case. For some people training and teaching feeds their ego. For other it gives them a sense of power and control over others that they like. For some its just a way to make money, and they don't care that much about the people or the horses. Again, a desire to make money and run a profitable business is not a bad thing, but it can be taken too far. One more thing to mention, if you are looking for an instructor for your child, be sure to watch out for predators who use horses as a way to get access to kids. I wish this didn't happen, but sadly it can.

   
   

10. Your Instructor has an Instructor

    "It takes two lifetimes to become a good horseman." (Tom Dorrance) The human's lack of knowledge is often the horses worst enemy. One of the beautiful things about horsemanship is there is always more to learn. We do the best we can with what we know right now and when we know better we do better. The person you are learning from should have had mentors in their life. They should be interested in continuing education. Be wary of instructors who think they know everything and aren't interested in learning anything new.

I hope this list was helpful to you as you evaluate instructors and look for someone who is the right fit for you!