09/03/2025
At Rising J, we have all the above, a pokey pete, a princess drama, and an honest abe. And I couldn’t agree with or love this post more.
And I’ll bet all the students (and maybe even parents!) could tell you exactly who’s who based on their lessons and what they’ve worked on with each horse.
The Horse Assignment Lottery - Why Your Least Favorite Lesson Horse is Actually Your Best Teacher
Every barn has THAT horse. You know the one:
Too slow for the impatient kids OR too sensitive for the heavy-handed riders OR too smart for their own good OR too honest about riding mistakes
Students see: "The worst horse in the barn"
Instructors know: "The most educational horse in the program"
Meet some legendary "problem" lesson horses I've known:
Pokey Pete - Wouldn't move unless you REALLY meant it. Taught more about proper leg aids than any textbook ever could.
Princess Drama - Would stop dead if you looked at the scary corner. Forced riders to actually RIDE through challenges instead of just hoping for the best.
Honest Abe - Would immediately show you every tense muscle in your body by getting tense himself. The ultimate mirror for rider anxiety.
Here's the plot twist: My most successful riders? They ALL learned on the "difficult" horses. Why? Because easy horses hide your mistakes. Challenging horses expose them - and force you to fix them.
The student who can make the lazy horse go forward understands impulsion better than the one who only rides the naturally forward horse.
The rider who can stay calm on the spooky horse has real confidence, not just borrowed confidence from a bombproof mount.
Next time a student complains about their horse assignment, remind them: This horse is about to teach them something they can't learn anywhere else.
The best riders aren't made on the best horses. They're made on the horses that demand excellence.
Fellow instructors: What's your favorite "difficult" lesson horse story?
