16/09/2024
Recently I had a few students haul in for a day of lessons with their horses. One of the things they asked immediately, and almost apologetically, when the lessons started was “Is it okay if we video each other’s rides – just for ourselves, not to share or anything?” To which I replied in the same way that I have responded for the last nearly 25 years… “Yes, absolutely, please do! And feel free to share anything you want anywhere you want.” Why am I so adamant about this?
With the technology available at our fingertips now, the ability for learning experiences to surpass the “here and now” is boundless! Not only does video and photo allow the student to learn from the session, picking up things later they may have missed by being focused on something else in the moment, BUT it also allows the learning to reach beyond that student if they are willing to share their experiences.
When I see clips of myself teaching, it helps ME to be a better teacher, rider, trainer, and communicator. There are plenty of times that I learn from watching clips of myself teaching – ways I could have presented something more clearly, sooner, slower, otherwise… The learning expands even to myself, as the teacher. I have mentioned this in podcasts many times over the years, but when I look back on the “me” from even a few years ago, I sometimes chuckle at the things I’ve improved since. “Doing your best” is an ever-expanding horizon.
If there is nothing to hide, then there truly is nothing to hide. Horsemanship in a clinic should be the same as horsemanship in a lesson should be the same as horsemanship in private. Recently I have seen several trainers posting their new photo and video policies, telling clients that they aren’t allowed, or if they do that it’s only for their own use and not to be shared “unless we approve of it first.” This has been common for AGES. It’s not a new policy and I have nothing against someone not wanting photos of themselves being shared. Everyone has their own privacy boundaries, which is fine.
I get it, some people have terrible concentration faces and cameras catch awkward angles sometimes (I swear, I’m 10 pounds less than I look on camera! And my own concentration faces can look downright menacing sometimes). Participants in my clinics, students in lessons, and owners of horses in training sign PR release forms saying photos can be taken and shared. The riders that don’t want to sign PR releases, we don’t have pictures or videos of. But they’re still welcome to photo/video themselves and me if I’m working with their horses… and share at their discretion.
Since the more recent scandals of high-profile riders falling from the pedestals they’ve been put on, we’re seeing a LOT more trainers posting “No Photo/Video” policies, either physically in the arenas or in their social media posts. Many are adding in their policies and posts, “we don’t have anything to hide, the horse is our number one priority, and we want to be transparent.” Well, there’s a difference between transparent and translucent, isn’t there? It seems many people have become afraid of any pictures or videos being shared from training, lessons, etc. Why? This whole “behind the barn” business we see trainers trying to protect themselves from is one of those things that makes me scratch my head a bit. To twist a bit of Hamlet, “Methinks thou dost protest too much.”
The camera catches what is. Our goals are what we aim for. Learning from photos and videos can help us to bridge that gap. As a learner, it’s not about the picture being perfect, but about honest feedback. If we catch a “perfect” moment on video or in a photo, then we can celebrate that moment. If we catch a moment that is less than perfect, but closer than it was the last time, then it’s worth celebrating that we are on the right path towards our goal. If what is videoed or photographed is ugly, loud, or otherwise imperfect, is it something you can learn from? Can the moment and the process be explained in a way that helps us to understand the progression?
The recent uproar of videos and photos showing blue tongues, repeated senseless whippings, bloody lips, and more, are problematic because they capture what are very clearly not harsh MOMENTS, but MENTALITIES. Can you follow a progression of training in those? Can anyone clearly explain a training process that justifies what you’re seeing?
If we are truly aiming to be transparent, then there is no need to filter. Nothing is hidden… and moments can be used for education. Even ugly moments.
