I have Zero use for 99% of the “trainers” out there collecting money for their thoughts.
I am one of the fortunate few to have been blessed with a grandfather who, by all accounts in the rural county where we lived, was “born on a horse”.
He was about a half generation ahead of Ray Hunt & the Dorrance Brothers. It is with respect (because I do like those fellas) that I say grandad may have been able to share a thing or two with them
I am not a fancy rider, nor have I ever wanted to be. My heart has always been in trail riding - sliding down river banks, digging up the other side, finding deer trails and following them. Hacks in city parks were always insulting to me, when I could still ride, lol
Thanks to my grandfather and his gentle heart, I learned how to train horses, breaking my own, and re-schooling/rehoming several that idiot people had ruined.
My horses are not finitely broke, rather they are broke to the inth in the basics and were/are capable of taking control when the person sitting in the saddle did something really REALLY stupid. I witnessed one act of stupidity where my onriest horse and the rider could have easily gone over the edge and landed in a heap 50-75 feet below but my horse froze and wouldn’t move until the situation was resolved and he felt it was safe to move.<<THAT to me is a great thinking and well broke horse.
Now that I’ve said all of that, there is only ONE trainer in today’s modern world that I have respect for and that is Mark Rashid. I even bought his first five books because he reminds me so much of my grandfather.
His books are not for everyone, however, because he doesn’t slam you in the face with answers - at least he didn’t used to. He writes in anecdotal form rather than academic, forcing the reader to figure out the answer for themselve. Some folks don’t like that because they can’t think for themselves, lol
I haven’t kept up with Mark Rashid for several years, hopefully some marketeer has not changed his ideals for the sake of mone.
See what Mark has to offer for you and your horse in person, and online. Considering The Horse is about the way we choose to shape our horsemanship through our own growth.
markrashid.com
So there’s my two cents from an old retired trail rider, who has owned and reschooled several horses in my lifetime and never had a horse of any breed, cross, or mindset refuse me for very long; they were all also broke to riding in heavy traffic, some handling that better than others.. II don’t have any of those fancy credentials and “merch”, nor have I ever aspired to more than having well mannered & willing trail companions who don’t know of intricate things, but the basics they do know are rock solid and able to be trusted on any cliffhanger of a trail