Solving Horsemanship Problems When You Don’t Have Professional Help

As a backyard horse owner, I am “it.” Day in and day out, the only person who generally interacts with my horses is me.

This comes with advantages, but it can also be challenging. Especially when I encounter problems. While I have sometimes availed myself of professional help, I usually have to solve problems on my own.

When I think about my horse life and those of my friends, I recall that we have encountered (or continue to encounter) a gamut of issues. Everything from not being able to get a horse in a trailer, to a horse bucking when asked to canter to one of our mounts spooking repeatedly on the trail.

A life with horses is a dream for many of us, but the reality of it is sprinkled with lots of hard physical and emotional work. It can be disappointing and down right scary at times when we can’t get our horses to cooperate.

And it’s not just backyard horse keepers with this issue. Even folks who board their horses may not be in a barn with a trainer.

Boarded horses might get daily care from folks other than their owners, but it is often only the owners who ride or do groundwork with their horses. Just like backyard horse-keepers, boarders often have to solve problems without professional help.

When I saw a ten-minute video made by Horse Class on the subject of horse problem solving, I knew it was something I would want to share on this blog. I know there are lots of us “do-it-yourselfers” who struggle with various aspects of horsemanship.

Sometimes these struggles can seem insurmountable. They can keep us from enjoying our horses to the extent that we would like to. Limiting what we can do with them. Or even impacting our safety.

Of course, there are many positives about getting professional help through lessons, clinics or having our horses in full-time training. But all those things cost money. They can also be physically hard to access if you don’t have a horse trailer, live in a remote area or have an extremely busy schedule.

Online learning opportunities might be more helpful than going it alone. Video recording your issue and paying a professional to review is an option for many. But online review is still not the same as having a professional guiding you through a difficult moment with your horse or stepping in to handle a situation. And of course, remote learning is not free. Just like in-person learning, online learning may not be in your budget.

If you largely work with your horse on your own like I do, I highly recommend you watch this video. Callie, the speaker, relays her six-part approach to dissecting horse problems. It might give you more insight into your horsemanship issues and ideas about how to thoughtfully approach them. It certainly gave me some food for thought. See the video here:

My Problem Solving Framework – A 6 Step Process to Solve Any Problem

After you watch the video, let me know in the comments section what aspect of the clip stood out to you? Do you have a systematic way of approaching problems that develop between you and your horse?