This video is for your viewing displeasure. While I KNOW how well and how much horses think and I know many folks think horses don't, it's still amazing to me how people can NOT know their horse or frankly, care. This guy doesn't give a rat's patoot about his horse as the approach to the jump shows. His horse is meerly a vehicle. Word has it the guy was nasty to the horse in the warm-up, too. Obviously, since he and the horse "aren't getting along well". 

video   Let me know what you think.

If you think slow progress and no progress are fun, that's your call. Staying with what you already know leaves you where you already are. Horses are so much smarter than that and yet folks are fine pretending the horse needs soooooo much time to understand a request. If what you're doing isn't producing good or exceptional results, consider changing. I know... too hard... wrong answer. But, I see people all the time spend unproductive time, sometimes years accomplishing very little. This from people who claim to want something so much different, to ride trail or feel safe and have fun in an arena. But they want to do it their way and their way isn't working well. Many times they don't have the knowledge or skills to get where they want, but they don't want to have anyone else's vast knowledge infringe on them. Ego? No one will EVER know as much from their own trial and error as they will know with a teacher--in anything! I don't see any value in an ego in horsemanship. One of the results folks get the most from this "I want my horse to love me so I'll never ask anything he doesn't already know" approach is: YOU ANNOY THE HORSE BECAUSE SHE'S SO BORED. Learning by definition is stepping into something you don't know. Therefore it will be uncomfortable.  Get comfortable being uncomfortable. When you feel uncomfortable, get excited and think, "Woot, I'm in a learning opportunity!"

For exceptional results, think "how and how can I".

Upcoming stuff:

Grabbing the clip. 

The key is not to prioritize what is on the schedule, but to schedule your priorities."
 Stephen Covey
 "awareness" - the need for calm.  maintain boundaries in order to create focus, both in yourself and your horse.  ladder jumping - the art of waiting   timing/feel   come

Sincerely,
ME