Education

Today Denny and I had an interesting conversation while riding, about the lack of knowledge of a substantial number of people in the horse industry (namely working students). I don't know if people don't teach it or if the students just don't care enough to learn/study it. Things like what the German training scale is, how it fits together, and how to use it with your training. Also things like what proper distances in jumping lines are and how to accurately walk them. These are fairly basic things people should know. It isn't enough to be able to jump a line, you have to know when you are walking a course what the distance is so you know HOW to ride it. Also you should know, when riding on the flat, what you first need to achieve with your horse in order to properly move on to the next step. Principles of Riding is a really good book that goes over the training scale also there are tons of websites that go over it. I think the best way to learn about walking distances is to help set fences for you instructor or clinicians. You may have to ask questions and really get involved but what you learn is important for any person who wants to jump.