Horse Training

When you're training a new horse you have no idea what he has been taught previously. A new horse taken into the cavalry may have had several owners before you got ahold of him. Sometimes you are able to figure out some of it when your horse shows an aptitude for dressage or leans hard into a barrel in a turn but you never really know what cues he has been taught. So you basically have to approach the project like your horse is a blank slate. You try different things to see what he knows and try and build on what you discover. Ultimately, though you have to teach him the cues your unit uses so that everyone can ride him with close to the same result. However, once your horse learns your cues and the peculiarities of your style of riding you enter this surreal realm where you and the horse are one. It is a great feeling and both you and the horse enjoy it. It is beautiful and satisfying and you get the feeling that this is the way God intended man and horse to move together. It is not easy to get there but when you do you feel that all the physical hardship you endured to achieve this goal was well worth it. It is a spiritual feeling that can't be duplicated with any other type of animal. It is what makes riding for the cavalry worth the effort.