A prudent question is one half of wisdom. ~Francis Bacon
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered. ~John Ruskin
Answering
questions about a student’s horsemanship is more difficult than you may
think (if I want to do it well, which I do!). How you phrase your
question can make the difference between getting an
excellent/appropriate answer, an answer that didn’t quite answer what
you thought you asked, or not getting an answer at all!
I
often get emails from students asking questions about their
horsemanship, and I love to ‘remote problem solve’. It’s not so easy,
though... Often I have never seen the student or horse they are asking
about. All I have are words in an email to try to form a picture of the
situation they are describing. Yet how I need to answer the question
depends greatly on the context and the skill level of that particular
horse/human. The hardest part in any question is to figure out
what information this particular person actually needs at this moment in their journey.
I
found that some e-mails had questions that were easy to discern while
other e-mails made it difficult to even figure out what the question
was. Sometimes the question got hidden among a bunch of other
information and I missed it. I decided to look at those emails and
figure out why some questions were ‘easier’ to answer even if the actual
question involved a lot of thought, and why some questions were more
‘difficult’ to answer even if the question was basic.
I’ve
developed a format that can help you organize your questions so they
will elicit an answer with the best information for you.
How to organize your question:
First,
realize that asking a question is different than telling a story. In a
story, there is a set up, then a slow build to a final, often dramatic
conclusion. You have to hang on to the end to get the whole picture.
This is NOT what you want to do when asking a question!
Think
more of how a newspaper works... There is a headline to grab the
attention and bring focus to the subject, then the first paragraph says
the most important things you need to get the picture... The rest of the
article gives the extra details.
This is called ‘The
Inverted Pyramid’... You put the most important information at the top
and the details get 'less important' as you go on... But do include
them, because they are still important!
If you send your
questions organized this way, it will really help me (or any other
teacher you may ask). If I know the question or problem right away, it
will give meaning to the other details you may give... Otherwise I won't
know which is pertinent information and which is not... At least
without having to go back and read a confusing e-mail again...
This
format I describe below assumes you are asking a question specific to
you and your horse. If you are asking a general technique or philosophy
question I would tempt you to make sure you have done your research
first! In other words, if you ask a question such as: “What does
collection mean?” or “How do you start a horse?” please understand that
those are big questions! It is a general question so the answer, if
answered fully, will need to cover a lot of territory.... There are
entire books on those general subjects. And if I don’t answer it fully,
(“collection = carrying weight on the hind end”, or: “start a horse from
the beginning”)... Sometimes a little information is worse than none!
If
the person you are asking has written a book, has DVDs or articles,
search them first! Find out what you can find out on your own.
Curiosity, or ‘investigative behavior’ is a great thing to practice! If
you have done your research and you STILL have a question, then you will
be able to ask a more precise question in regards to your particular
situation that will have a better chance of resulting in a meaningful
answer.
Outline:
- State the question
- State your/your horse’s level of experience
- Details about subject of question
- Peripheral details
- What you have already tried
- Anything else we need to know
An example:
State the question first! Can you do it in one sentence?
Example: What can I do when my horse hides from the contact and curls his neck when I ride him?
Now,
as I read everything else in your email, I will already know what it is
connected to, and I will be looking for clues as to how best to answer
YOU.
Now the BRIEF description of your level of experience: (don’t worry, there will be room to give more of your ‘story’ at the end)
I
just passed my Level 3 in Parelli and I have never ridden a horse in
connection with the reins before. This horse was trained in western
pleasure until I bought him 3 months ago.
This will
help me know who I am talking to, and know what sort of information or
exercises you will most likely be able to apply.
Then give specifics about the issue in your question. Can you do it in bullet points?
- He does it in the halter and the bit, but worse in the bit.
- I use a regular snaffle of medium thickness
-
It happens every time, it doesn't seem to matter if he is having an
introverted or extroverted day, but it is worse when he is introverted.
This
will help me find the important points and will be easy to reference
back to. Just the process of doing this will help you understand the
issue better!
Now some other more peripheral details: Still in bullet points
- I can get him to stretch online... He does pretty well, but even then, sometimes his nose wants to go behind the vertical.
- He sometimes pins his ears when I do online work, and when I try the basic alignment exercise
- Our freestyle is great... His impulsion is good, although tends to be on the ,whoa, side of things.
- I trust him and feel very safe on him.
Here
you can list things that pop in your head that you think may be
important. This other information helps the reader form a clearer ‘big
picture’ of you and your horse.
Now tell me what you have already tried: still bullet points!
- I have played with these different bits: _______, _________, and _______. He seems best in the ______ bit.
- I read your book and have played with the information in that and DVD #1 about riding in connection with the reins.
- I have played with fluid rein but then he only then alternates between rooting and curling...
- I have been alternating from freestyle to in connection but he still just always thinks he is supposed to curl up.
-
I have been doing Pilates to become more stable in my seat... Sometimes
I feel wobbly and thought maybe that was making my hands unsteady.
It
is important to know what you have tried, and how it worked. Sometimes
when you write it out, you may find that there is something obviously
missing that you didn’t realize!
Anything else I need to know? OK, now you can write a narrative!
This
is really frustrating. I feel like I need to be light with my hands. my
other teacher (a lower level dressage trainer) says I need to make him
take the contact and really drive him from behind. I understand he needs
to be engaged, but it feels wrong... My horse seems to get worse even
when the teacher rides him this way and then he refuses to go forward at
all.
I am 60 years old and have fox hunted all
my life, but never rode dressage. I bought this horse because he is so
smooth, sweet and calm and I thought I could play a little with dressage
with him since I don’t care to go bombing through the fields anymore!
It has to be easier than this!
Please don’t let this
article make you nervous/self-conscious about emailing me or another
teacher your questions... This is written in the spirit of refining the
art of clear communication... Which of course is a huge part of the art
of horsemanship! I also believe that while going through the process of
forming your question, you may better understand your question, and
therefore be closer to finding the answer yourself!
The following is a (not so) exaggerated example, which is a made-up email for the sake of illustrating the point:
Hi Karen,
I
love your material, thanks so much for the Classroom, it is amazing... I
have learned so much. I started riding when I was 5 and I even competed
in barrel racing, then did some English hunter jumper type stuff. I had
a wonderful teacher, she really let us have fun during the lessons. I
was so lucky. Then I went to college and stopped riding for a while. I
started up again after I got married and I bought a warmblood
thoroughbred cross. He is black and has 4 white socks... Really
beautiful. He is the horse of my dreams.
He
runs off sometimes, but I am not scared of that, he just feels good and
needs to move. I did start taking some lessons with a local trainer
after doing Parelli foundation. She wants me to hold him tightly in the
reins and sometimes he gets tense, but I have played with your material
so I know how to make it better when I get home.
He has a nice smooth trot, and I even started some jumping with him. I
know I have scoliosis and I am doing pilates and yoga so I am becoming
much more aware and symmetrical. I am using a myler comfort snaffle with
your reins attached. I love them, and he seems to also. My question is
could his head tilt when he goes track left be related to why I have
trouble picking up the right lead? At home he is able to stretch nicely
and he generally does his other transitions really well.
Again, thanks so much for all you do!
---
....so
how many of you were able to keep track of all those pieces of
information in the beginning? If you were focused on the beginning, did
you catch the question? And if you did, didn't you find you had to go
back and re-read?
Does anyone remember that joke where
there is a bus and you are told about how many people get on and off the
bus at different stops? You diligently keep track of everything, doing
the math in your head, and then at the end you are asked something like:
“What color is the bus?” Don’t let your questions be like that! ;-)
Can
you see that it is difficult to really give a personal, meaningful
answer? The one question in there is actually a general question: “
...could the head tilt when he goes track left be related to why I have trouble picking up the right lead?”
My answer would be: “Yes, it could be related.” But that doesn’t help
too much! I can deduce that he impulsive and unbalanced based on other
things mentioned, but can you see it is not so easy to feel like I can
give a great answer. Let’s see if I am even able to put it in the format
above.
Question:
Could the head tilt when he goes track left be related to why I have trouble picking up the right lead?
Basic Level of horse/human:
Unknown (some Parelli foundation, some barrel racing, hunter jumper stuff of unknown level)
Specifics about question:
- sometimes tilts head going to left (when, why, how often: unknown)
- difficulty picking up R lead (type of difficulty unknown)
- myler comfort snaffle
More Related Info
- Sometimes runs off, rider not afraid (when, why: unknown)
- rider taking pilates, yoga to help with asymmetries
- gets tense, holds tight during lessons with local trainer
- at home he is able to stretch
- other transitions ok
What has she already tried?
Unknown
What else?
I
started riding when I was 5 and I even competed in barrel racing, then
did some English hunter jumper type stuff. I had a wonderful teacher,
she really let us have fun during the lessons. I was so lucky. Then I
went to college and stopped riding for a while. I started up again after
I got married and I bought a warmblood thoroughbred cross. He is black
and has 4 white socks... Really beautiful. He is the horse of my dreams.
He runs off sometimes, but I am not scared of
that, he just feels good and needs to move. I did start taking some
lessons with a local trainer after doing Parelli foundation. I have
played with your material so I know how to make it better when I get
home.
He has a nice smooth trot, and I even started some jumping with him.
---
When
organized this way it is clearer, but it is also clearer that a lot of
information is missing! The best answer is the answer that is most
appropriate for
you! Anyone can read a book and repeat the technical information.
The art of teaching requires that you know when to deliver which pieces of information!
I
LOVE to hear from my students and I LOVE to help problem solve
remotely... So please help me, or any of your teachers, to be able to
help you! I also think you will find that by organizing your thoughts
you will be on your way to your own problem solving!
Cheers!
Karen
